Saguaro cactus

[Gunslinger808]

From when I first moved to Arizona till now, I've always been facinated with the Saguaro (or Sahuaro) cactus.
These things are a regular part of our backdrops and photos here in Arizona, and yet we tend to overlook them.
Gene Autry movies just wouldn't be the same without them!
They can grow 60 foot tall, live for Centuries, and survive hurricaine force winds, yet are so delicate that one miss-placed shot can kill a 200 year old specimen.
You've seen them in all the old westerns, and probably recognize them as one of the icons of the Southwest not even realising what they are.
They grow only here in AZ, and a very narrow band in Mexico.
A few of my favorites, they were here before me, and will be here long after I'm gone.

This old man is my personal favorite, he can be seen on the drive between Florence and Tucson:

This one is at least 30 foot tall:

And they live through snow, freezing times, and drought:

Heck, if you take pics in our area they're as part of the landscape as dirt!:

focus on the background ya pervs!

 

[chud333]

Cactus....What cactus ????

Now what was this thread about again??


Chuck

 

[Riverkilt]

Lived down in Phoenix for 35 years before coming up to the canyonlands. Some years ago a young drunk took a shotgun to a saguaro. He walked around it and around it shooting round after round into it trying to "chop it down." He got the job done but when the saguaro fell it fell on him and killed him. They're heavy suckers. Gotta love Darwin.

 

[JJEH]

AZ is just awesome!

 

[timn8er]

Cactus....What cactus ????

Now what was this thread about again??


Chuck

.

In regards to the last pic...Exactly! Great post & great info on the cacti. I had no idea that they lived that long & grew that tall.

 

[rwsmith]

Organ Pipe

I enjoyed our trip through Organ Pipe monument. We walked out among the saguaros and saw some great specimens. Huge. Did you know that they sing?? When the wind blows though them they give off sounds like a soft organ pipe. I wonder if this is why it's called 'Organ Pipe Monument"? I was also amazed at the amount of wild life in the area.

 

[jaykellogg]

If I am not mistaken they are protected by law in AZ. I know you can buy them from landscapers. I also heard that the "arms" are grown to provide some balance.

 

[yaktamer]

They really are amazing. Pictures don't really do them justice, particularly in conveying their size. The thing that I found most interesting is that they won't grow any "arms" until they are about thirty years old.
How Old Is That Saguaro?

 

[Mickey D]

I see what you mean about it getting cold down there.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

The Saguaro cactus is one of Arizona's desert wonders, but they are delicate in a few ways and can be easily damaged. One of your photos show a Saguaro with a downward bent arm. That was caused by the arm freezing and dying during extremely cold weather. The root structure is close to the surface and can be damaged by people walking too close. The biggest threat to them is lightning during thunderstorms. One hit from a lightning bolt will instantly kill the whole plant and turn it into a black, gooey mess that will soon fall to the ground. When that happens they become a home on the desert floor for many other animals to live in. It is said that that needles, some of which can he 2 inches long, where used by the Indians for sewing and other uses. They are as sharp as any needle you can buy in a store.

Saguaro Cactus Fact Sheet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro

Nice looking rifle BTW!

 

[gunlovingirl]

I love Arizona scenery and history. I always enjoy the photos that John posts, along with his history lessons. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos Gunslinger! Some day I'm going to see it in person!

 

[wuluf]

Lived down in Phoenix for 35 years before coming up to the canyonlands. Some years ago a young drunk took a shotgun to a saguaro. He walked around it and around it shooting round after round into it trying to "chop it down." He got the job done but when the saguaro fell it fell on him and killed him. They're heavy suckers. Gotta love Darwin.

I remember that!
I love the Saguaros deorated with lights for Christmas..

 

[A10]

That is some beautiful country down there..........

 

[RightArm]

Lived down in Phoenix for 35 years before coming up to the canyonlands. Some years ago a young drunk took a shotgun to a saguaro. He walked around it and around it shooting round after round into it trying to "chop it down." He got the job done but when the saguaro fell it fell on him and killed him. They're heavy suckers. Gotta love Darwin.

I've heard a few people a year die this way.
DON'T MESS WITH THE CACTI.
They'll kill you, man.

 

[Arik]

Mmmmm......tequila!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[PALADIN85020]

Great pictures, although I noticed no saguaros in that last one!

Here is a shot I took not long ago near our home of a gathering storm over Squaw Peak - that's one of the many saguaros in the area - just a young'n.

John

 

[Ranger514]

I remember hearing or reading that thieves are stealing the smaller, younger saguaros off public and private lands. They dig them up, cart them off, and sell them for landscaping.

 

[shouldazagged]

I see what you mean about it getting cold down there.

Shame on you! (I thought the same thing.)

I've seen incredible pictures of the saguaros when they get the chance to fill up with water and become almost barrel-shaped. Is it true they can last up to a year on one fill-up?

And don't they also provide homes to some kinds of woodpeckers? I don't imagine the birds would worry much about predators climbing up to take the young'uns.

Great photos, thanks.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Shame on you! (I thought the same thing.)

I've seen incredible pictures of the saguaros when they get the chance to fill up with water and become almost barrel-shaped. Is it true they can last up to a year on one fill-up?

And don't they also provide homes to some kinds of woodpeckers? I don't imagine the birds would worry much about predators climbing up to take the young'uns.

Great photos, thanks.

They are home to the cactus wrens, who bore out holes in them for their nests. The cactus wren is the official Arizona State Bird. The unofficial State Bird can be found most any weekday on the freeways during rush hours.

John

 

[JJEH]

I'm 6' tall.

 

[BigCityChief]

Lived down in Phoenix for 35 years before coming up to the canyonlands. Some years ago a young drunk took a shotgun to a saguaro. He walked around it and around it shooting round after round into it trying to "chop it down." He got the job done but when the saguaro fell it fell on him and killed him. They're heavy suckers. Gotta love Darwin.

I'd call that poetic justice.

 

[jkc]

I remember hearing or reading that thieves are stealing the smaller, younger saguaros off public and private lands. They dig them up, cart them off, and sell them for landscaping.

That happens, but the specimens most in danger of theft are the extremely rare "christate" or "crested" saguaros, where the main stem quits growing upward and typically grows in a gnarly fan shape. They are prized by collectors, and are frequently stolen from public or State Trust lands. Several nice specimens have vanished in recent years from the desert not far from Gunslinger's home, including one that was just east of the intersection of the old and new alignments of the Florence-Kelvin highway, another near Grayback Peak, a couple near the Cochran road... Anybody looked in Gunslinger's back yard???

 

[jkc]

The Saguaro cactus is one of Arizona's desert wonders, but they are delicate in a few ways and can be easily damaged. One of your photos show a Saguaro with a downward bent arm. That was caused by the arm freezing and dying during extremely cold weather.

The main stems are also damaged by freezing, usually resulting in a "necked down" reduction in the stem's diameter, at the point in the plant's growth when the injury occurred. Saguaros of similar age growing close together exhibit similar spacing of these "pinch points" --- I once stood on a saguaro-studded desert ridge with a very savvy botanist who could start at the top of stem, and recite the dates of freezes that caused the rings in the stems --- "That was the freeze of January, 20xx, the next one down was caused by the freeze of 19xx, then 19xx, ...", and so on... These plants are so long lived, they provide a sort of living record of environmental anomalies such as hard freezes in places where saguaros survive...

 

[longhorn too]

Uh! Nice photos!!!

 

[LennyLames]

. . . the specimens most in danger of theft are the extremely rare "christate" or "crested" saguaros, where the main stem quits growing upward and typically grows in a gnarly fan shape. They are prized by collectors, and are frequently stolen from public or State Trust lands. . .

As previous posts have stated, they only grow branches when bigger. Unfortunately, those crested ones that get stolen have very low survival rates. I recall reading a study whose results indicated that a saguaro that's over 12 feet high will have a very low chance of survival when transplanted, so those beautiful plants will eventually die.

I have several mature specimens of the non-crested variety in my yard. All started growing long before any permanent human habitation in the area. Some even show apparent scars from unrecorded wildfires of long ago.

A few years ago, I started collecting the red fruit that dropped from my plants, and planted the seeds. In nature, very few of the total seeds produced actually germinate, and out of those that do, only about 1 % survive.

I lost all the prior batches, mostly from rodent predation, and a couple of times from too much sun exposure when I set the trays outside and forgot to bring them back in. Last year's batch has made it through so far with the help of peanut butter-laced "better mousetraps."

Here's a photo of the latest batch, now approaching a year old. Tape measure is in inches. I use harvested rainwater.

Once they reach the stage where they have large thorns and a protective outer layer, I'll transplant them outside under a "host" plant that will protect them from the elements. They can be made to grow much faster under ideal conditions (such as watering once or twice a week during hot, dry periods) so I hope I won't have to wait for my reincarnation to see them grow branches.

 

[Gunslinger808]

A few years ago, I started collecting the red fruit that dropped from my plants

An interesting side note:
My wife uses the fruit to make a great Jam, it sort of taste like a cross between Strawberry and Plum.
It also was used by the Native Americans to make a sweet syrup.

 

[Cyrano]

Neighbor across the street had a big saguaro in his front yard. He had desert landscaping and it looked very nice. Last year we had a hard freeze, about -9º, and it did for the saguaro. Big empty place their yard now. It also did for a big barrel cactus in my yard. I'm trying to get a lantana to grow there now. Even I can't klill a lantana.

 

[loc n load]

Revenge of the Saguaro

Lived down in Phoenix for 35 years before coming up to the canyonlands. Some years ago a young drunk took a shotgun to a saguaro. He walked around it and around it shooting round after round into it trying to "chop it down." He got the job done but when the saguaro fell it fell on him and killed him. They're heavy suckers. Gotta love Darwin.

I was working in that area then and I remember that incident.....killed him DRT.....as you said Darwin at work....

 

[mod34]

From when I first moved to Arizona till now, I've always been facinated with the Saguaro (or Sahuaro) cactus.
These things are a regular part of our backdrops and photos here in Arizona, and yet we tend to overlook them.
Gene Autry movies just wouldn't be the same without them!
They can grow 60 foot tall, live for Centuries, and survive hurricaine force winds, yet are so delicate that one miss-placed shot can kill a 200 year old specimen.
You've seen them in all the old westerns, and probably recognize them as one of the icons of the Southwest not even realising what they are.
They grow only here in AZ, and a very narrow band in Mexico.
A few of my favorites, they were here before me, and will be here long after I'm gone.

This old man is my personal favorite, he can be seen on the drive between Florence and Tucson:

This one is at least 30 foot tall:

And they live through snow, freezing times, and drought:

Heck, if you take pics in our area they're as part of the landscape as dirt!:

focus on the background ya pervs!

Apologies, but not very easy to do my friend; not easy at all!

 

[chaparrito]

I enjoyed our trip through Organ Pipe monument. We walked out among the saguaros and saw some great specimens. Huge. Did you know that they sing?? When the wind blows though them they give off sounds like a soft organ pipe. I wonder if this is why it's called 'Organ Pipe Monument"? I was also amazed at the amount of wild life in the area.

Organ Pipe National Monument has lots of Saguaros, but it gets its name from the Organ Pipe Cactus, another cereus variant which grows in beautiful profusion there. They're called that for obvious reason I'd say.