Echinocereus triglochidiatus is one of the most spectacular cacti you will ever come across in the succulent world. These are native plants to Mexico and to the United States and they would form in a wide array of habitats.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are robust and versatile sets of plants. Their habitat would be desert areas , mountain woodlands, rocky slopes and some forest as well.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus go by the common name called claret cup cacti and they would usually grow in a clump manner.
Further they produce some attractive blooms during late spring too.. So, if you are a proud owner of these lovely plants, you may come across so many pollinators as well.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus would be a great pick for freshers in gardening as they only require easy maintenance from you.
However, if you wish to enhance your knowledge on how to grow them well, this article would be really helpful for you.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus common names called hedgehog cactus, claret cup hedgehog kingcup cactus, strawberry cactus or crimson hedgehog.
How do I identify Echinocereus triglochidiatus?
Echinocereus triglochidiatus would reach a maximum height of 10 inches (25 cm). Further they would be 4 inches (10cm) in width as well.
You could expect them in these sizes given that you provide favorable conditions for them. Having said that, when they grow in the wild, they will grow larger than these sizes too.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are long growing plants. Besides they would tend to take a cylindrical shape as well. You could spot their flowers forming on top of their stems.
Further they would stay in bloom for several days too. You could spot these flowers blooming in slightly different colors due to the genetic differences.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus flowers would contain so much nectar. Hence, pollinators such as hummingbirds are quite attractive for these plants.
These are perennial succulents which contain a waxy coating along with so many spines. This is very crucial in conserving water and keeping animals such as deer away from the plants.
Growth rate
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are slow growing plants.
Onelook care guide
| Botanical Name | Echinocereus triglochidiatus |
| Common Name | Claret cup cacti |
| Plant Type | Cactus |
| Mature Size | 10 inches ( 25 cm) in height / 4 inches ( 10 cm ) in width |
| Sun Exposure | Full sunlight to partial shade |
| Soil Type | Well-draining , sandy |
| Soil pH | Neutral |
| Bloom Time | Spring |
| Flower Color | bright orange red to dark red |
| Hardiness Zones | USDA hardiness zone 7a-10b. |
| Native Area | Mexico and to the United States |
| Toxicity | Toxic |
| Average price | 15 USD |
How do you take care of Echinocereus triglochidiatus?
Light Requirement
In terms of providing the right growing care treatments for the plants, it is important that you try to mimic the same conditions they get in their natural habitats.
In other words, they would prefer to have a lot of sunlight to grow to their best potential. So, when you grow them as houseplants you need to ensure that you fulfill the sunlight requirement.
Since they wish to have nearly full sunlight conditions, best would be to place them near a bright sunny windowsill.
Having said that, you need to ensure that you do not expose them to direct sunlight, especially during summer.
Ideal thing to do during summer is to expose them to filtered sunlight instead of exposing them to direct sunlight. Exposure for direct sunlight would result in the scorching of the plants.
If you think your indoor grown Echinocereus triglochidiatus are running sufficient sunlight, I suggest placing a grow light to supplement sunlight.
Temperature and humidity
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are not frost hardy plants . As such you need to expose them to warmer temperatures right throughout the year.
If you had grown them outdoors and experienced colder weather, best would be to bring them indoors.
Is it cold hardy?
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are not cold hardy plants.
Zone
Echinocereus triglochidiatus grow well in USDA hardiness zone 7a-10b.
Watering Requirement
It is vital that you water these plants well as it will have a greater impact on the wellbeing of the plants. You may apply water for them once every 14 days during their active growing season.
However, you can minimize watering them when they are in fall and suspend watering them at all during winter particularly if you live in a humid area.
In fact, high humidity and over watering would bring death to the plants. When watering you need to always observe the soil condition.
If their soil is moist you should wait for a couple of days and then water. On the other hand if it is dry, you can resume watering them right at that moment.
Soil Requirement Type / pH
An excellent draining soil mix would be ideal for these plants unless it would lead to diseases such as root rot. They would prefer to have a lean soil mix too.
Hence refrain from adding too much compost. You may also add a thick layer of gravel around the plants so that it would refrain the plants from getting it waterlogged and soggy.
Besides, you may also use a sandy potting mix or a succulent soil mix as they will be fast draining. If you wish to improve the draining, you could add substances such as perlite or pebbles in the soil mix.
Pot size Potting and Repotting
When it comes to selecting the right pot, I recommend using an unglazed pot which has sufficient draining holes. That will avoid the excess water retained in the pot.
Further you need to select a pot which is slightly larger so that the plants can grow freely. I recommend conducting repotting once every year so that it would provide fresh growing conditions for the plants.
Unless you keep growing them in the pot , the nutrients would be depleted and your plants will find it difficult to absorb the essential nutrients well.
Having said that when you do the transplanting make sure that you do not damage the plant’s roots as they are so fragile. You may either use the same container or use a slightly larger container.
Where to Plant
You could plant them in landscaping along with plants such as agave, yucca or even with any other cacti type. In addition to that you may also choose Gaura, Agastache to grow along with these plants.
Fertilizer and time of year
Echinocereus triglochidiatus usually grow in poor soil mixes which do not contain a lot of nutrients usually. Having said that if you could add some fertilizers that would be quite beneficial for the plant’s growth.
Best season to add the fertilizers would be their active growing season which would usually be spring. You could just use these fertilizers once a month.
I recommend using a liquid fertilizer which has a high component in potassium as they would suit these plants the best.
Do not feed them in winter as they would be literally in the relaxing period using winter and they will not consume any of their energy during winter.
Flower
Echinocereus triglochidiatus flowering season would be usually from April to June. Further those flowers would stay in bloom for several days as well.
You could expect only the matured plants to bloom, and they need to be at least 5 or 10 years old to produce flowers.
Those blooms would take either a funnel shape or a tube shape. You could spot them in bright orange red to dark red colors. Hummingbirds are quite attractive for these as they contain a lot of nectar.
Dormancy
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are winter dormant plants.
Toxicity
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are poisonous for pets. In fact, these plants comprise Cyanogenic glycosides, glucosinolates and amines.
Common bugs and illnesses
Echinocereus triglochidiatus can resist pests attack and diseases in general. Having said that, if there are lapses in the care treatments, they would be susceptible for spider mites’ attacks, mealybugs attacks and for scales attacks as well. To treat them you may use neem oil sprays or even insecticides as well.
In addition to these, Echinocereus triglochidiatus will not stand over watering at all. If you accidently expose them to such conditions, it will lead to root rot.
If your precious Echinocereus triglochidiatus goes through this condition, chances are that they may perish as well.
Special Care tips
Echinocereus triglochidiatus require a minimum care treatment as aforesaid. With that being said, it is vital that you provide them the right growing care treatments.
In addition to that keep in mind that these plants consist of spines and you need to protect yourself from those. Best would be to protect yourself from wearing gloves as unless they could injure you.
Benefits
Echinocereus triglochidiatus was used to make sweet cakes by the native Americans. In addition, they would make great additions for both indoor gardening and for outdoor gardening as well.
How to propagate Echinocereus triglochidiatus?
You could conduct seeds and the offsets propagation method to propagate them.
However best would be to conduct the propagation by the offsets without using the seeds. In other words, you could make new plants faster from the offsets.
To start off you simply have to pluck one of these offsets using sterile kitchen tongues. Next, leave it in a place where they can dry and become calluses.
Next grow them in a well draining soil mix.You need to ensure that you place it in a warm dry place but not exposed for direct sunlight.
Conclusion
Echinocereus triglochidiatus are handy to grow in any place be it indoors or outdoors. In fact, irrespective of the place you plant them, they will grow well.
Even though they need a minor supervision and a care treatment from you it is important that you fulfill their main growing necessities.
I hope this information made you want to have a Echinocereus triglochidiatus and trust that now you are well equipped with the required growing care treatments as well.
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