Think of It As the Coolest Shade Tree Ever—From the Desert

Name:Giant Mexican candelabra cactus (Pachycereus weberi)

Zones:9–11

Size : Up to 30 feet tall and wide

Conditions : Full sunlight ; dry , well - drain soil

Native range : Mexico

I have always live in a seasonally frigid locating , from western New York to Colorado . Not that there ’s anything incorrect with that , but if your experience is like mine , around January 5 or 6 you pine for a palm Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or something — anything that reminds you that the world still has fond places . I ’ve always had a peculiar love for the desert , so when the chance came to start a minor garden in Tucson , Arizona , I leapt for it . Cacti , medal , aloes , bougainvillea — what ’s not to love ?

Still , with some of these slow - grow plant I can only await so much . I splurged on a 4 - metrical foot saguaro cactus a 10 ago , and it now stand at about 10 feet improbable . But fickle nurseryman are never satisfied , and it did n’t take long for the next bounteous fixation to send me off the runway . A late tour through the unbelievable Mexican state of Oaxaca opened my eyes to a various tropical desert humanity I had only dreamed of , and the highlighting of all was the unbelievable candelabra cactus .

Perhaps the ultimate in xeric shade tree , this coinage has massive grim column that spread outward from a single trunk , each arm arching up in rhythmical succession from the previous editorial . Reaching as much as 30 feet magniloquent and panoptic , this is a serious linchpin for your landscape painting . Its nocturnal white blooms are cross-pollinate by bats ( which just add up another level of cool ) , and its fruit is edible . However , there ’s a catch : It does n’t like to go below about 35 ° atomic number 9 , so Tucson could be a tad on the parky side . And if I plant one today , I may live to see it reach 8 feet , maybe with the beginnings of an arm or two . It seems like I ’ll need to start with about a 15 - foot specimen , but I just have n’t been capable to score one of those online yet . But I ’ll keep looking .

The Expert : Dan Johnsonlives and gardensin Denver and in Tucson , Arizona . He is the associate director of gardening for the Denver Botanic Gardens .

From Fine Gardening # 193

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