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Echinocereus rigidissimus
Also called Arizona Rainbow Cactus
A small, solitary desert cactus with colorful spines and bright pink flowers in spring. Grow it in gritty, fast-draining soil with good airflow, and water sparingly.
Echinocereus rigidissimus, commonly known as the Arizona rainbow cactus or rainbow hedgehog cactus, is a solitary-growing cactus that rarely branches or offsets with age.
Echinocereus rigidissimus requires porous soil as it is sensitive to overwatering. It prefers a soil with plenty of stones with little organic material to ensure that it dries as quickly as possible. Echinocereus rigidissimus requires full sun to part shade during its active growing season from spring through to early autumn, as well as adequate air circulation to reduce the chance of rotting. In winter abstain from watering Echinocereus rigidissimus and keep the soil mixture dry, as it helps encourage flowering in the spring season. Echinocereus rigidissimus is hardy to temperatures of −12 °C.
The natural habitat of Echinocereus rigidissimus is distributed abundantly throughout Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico, as well as in the United States in Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at elevation from 1200 to 2000 metres above sea level. This cactus prefers south facing slopes and is rarely seen on flat ground. It prefers the 1500 meter elevation. Plants are resistant to small grass fires, but cannot tolerate hotter fires. With perfect habitat, these plants have been seen growing up to 45 centimeters in height. A 2018 measurement of one plant in the Santa Catalina mountains showed a height of 48 centimeters, a record. Flowering occurs from late April to early June depending on the elevation and spring heat. These plants will not flower when stressed, but lack of flowering is rare. Their habitat has been negatively affected by cattle, cactus collectors and off road vehicles. These plants are becoming less common in southern Arizona.
Echinocereus acanthosetus · Echinocereus acifer · Echinocereus adustus · Apache hedgehog cactus · Arizona Hedgehog Cactus · Baker Kingcup Cactus · Echinocereus barthelowanus · Berlandier's hedgehog cactus · Pinkflower hedgehog cactus · Brandegee's Hedgehog Cactus · Sonoran Rainbow Hedgehog · Echinocereus canus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Echinocereus rigidissimus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
