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Fouquieria splendens
Also called Vine Cactus
Ocotillo is a semi-succulent desert shrub, native to the Southwest US and northern Mexico, with tall whip-like green stems and bright red flower spikes after rain. It is best grown in full sun with very little water and fast-draining, rocky soil.
Fouquieria splendens, commonly known as ocotillo, is a plant indigenous to the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Colorado deserts in the Southwestern United States (southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), and northern Mexico (as far south as Hidalgo and Guerrero).
Ocotillos look desiccated on the outside, but they are semi-succulent; it is more closely related to the tea plant and blueberries than to cactuses. It regenerates leaves after rainfall. They can be planted as garden ornamentals.
Ocotillo can be planted year-round with care. Ideal plants have been grown in pots from stem cuttings and from seed. Transplanting large bare-root plants has marginal success. They should be planted to the original growing depth and, as with cacti, in their original directional orientation: the original south side of the plant, which has become more heat- and sunlight-resistant, should again face the brighter, hotter southern direction. If their direction is not marked, success is again limited.
Individual ocotillo stems are sometimes used as poles as a fencing material in their native region, and often take root to form a living fence.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Fouquieria splendens 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.
