Golden Barrel Cactus

[ts_guest]

Here is a Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusonii), that was huge. It died overnight from some kind of pest or old age. When I obtained it, the neighbor had it for 25 years and told me it was probably at least 75 years old. When I got it, the cactus was in a wooden barrel, that it outgrew and I had four people help move it from the back of the front yard closer to the mailbox.

First we laid out a large tarp. Then we broke down the slats on the wooden barrel, and slid the cactus onto the tarp. We slowly moved it over the granite yard until it was near a place I wanted it to be. We dug a wide hole for it to sit in and rolled it into the hole. It thrived, until one day it had shrunk to half its size.

 

[bmcleod19]

That's a cool cactus. Nice work!

 

[IcyBC]

So sorry that your golden barrel cactus died! It looked fantastic and round. Are you going to replace it with a new one?

 

[claudine]

Oh no, your cactus died? I'm very sorry to hear that, it looked beautiful. I've never seen such a big catus in person.

 

[amelia88]

Sorry to hear about your cactus - I love the style though of the one in your picture. They look so interesting! Do most people's gardens in Phoenix have a similar sort of setup with cacti prevalent?

 

[ts_guest]

Thank you to all who replied. No, I'm not going to replace the Golden Barrel Cactus in that spot. Living in the Sonoran desert is so different than anywhere else I've lived. When I first moved to my home 17 years ago, my front and back yards looked like jungles. There were desert plants growing everywhere and I loved it. Over time, I gradually got tired of maintenance and the upkeep on plants during extreme heat -- we can have temperatures during the summer months over 115 degrees F, without an end in sight, and no rain for months.

I had a beautiful front and back yard, but I decided to cut down my giant Queen Palm Trees -- they looked like King Palms that grow in California. The heat was taking it's toll and I had no idea on how old they were. They were the first to go. Over the years I had other things removed (some I sold), and some were trashed. Now, I have less to worry about and have four fish barrel cacti in the front yard near my bedroom windows. I have six large potted plants in the back yard, that I planted last Spring.

When I had the swimming pool demolished last Spring, I decided to put in a bird bath and some potted plants. The heat destroyed half of the plants, but the succulents and cacti lived. They are doing nicely and I don't expect any problems this coming summer. I do have a small Golden Barrel Cactus in a container and it's going to stay in the back yard.