This gorgeous Echinocereus fasciculatus, commonly known as the Robust Hedgehog, was featured at one of the gardens I visited during a recent Sedona, Arizona garden tour. (Notice the famous red soil of the area.)The brilliant magenta flowers found on some of the Hedgehog species was just the color I had been looking for when I purchased and planted what I thought was a Strawberry Hedgehog (Echinocereus engelmannii) earlier this year.Hedgehog cacti are found in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. The clumping, columnar Hedgehog cactus is nondescript, except for the flowers. It can grow to 20 inches, but usually stays about 12 inches tall. The long lasting flowers come in spring, and depending on the species, has numerous colors from which to choose (or not choose, as I found out.) It takes no care unless we don't get rain in the summer months. In that case, an occasional watering is OK.
The fruit is edible, and makes a good meal for birds and desert rodents. I've never tried the fruit, which supposedly tastes like strawberries, but that's only because the birds always beat me to it.
What a fabulous colour! Hope you get to taste one of those fruits sometime. Happy GTS
ReplyDeleteWhat a vibrant colour the flower is. I really like learning about your plants.
ReplyDeleteSara from farmingfriends
I love Arizona! And the red soil of Sedona is just lovely, as are the vibrant blooms here! Happy GTS! :)
ReplyDeleteThose flowers are positively glowing they're so bright.
ReplyDeleteI love the name. I want to get it just for the name.
There is a native plant here in the Santa Cruz mountains called the Sticky Monkey Flower. I love that name too.
So, the fruit tastes like strawberries, another reason to get this plant.
You have a lot of interesting information in your posts.
Thanks for the comments. Participating in GTS has been fun, and I've learned a lot visiting the various participants' sites.
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