Echinocereus Species, Golden Rainbow Hedgehog, Texas Rainbow, Yellow-Flowered Pitaya

The Echinocereus dasyacanthus does quite well in the Boise Valley here in southwest Idaho. It is at least hardy to zones 6a, 6b, and zon...Read Moree 7. Needs fast draining soil and a sunny location and does especially well on mounds over 2 feet and also in raised planters. It is very similar in hardiness to the echinocereus reichenbachii types. Very free blooming and a great addition to any desert garden.

This usaully grows solitarily rarely clumping.
The flowers are most frequently yellow to yellow-orange-gold but will sometimes be ...Read Morewhiteish, orange, pink, magenta, purple, chartruese or pastel rainbow.
This species has frequently been included into Echinocereus pectinatus but is actually a separate species.

Other valid synonyms are:
Echinocereus ctenoides
Echinocereus pectinatus subsp. ctenoides
Echinocereus dasyacanthus subsp. rectispinus

This cactus has been with me for three years now and it has bloomed every year since. It started out with three segments, each one about...Read More a foot long, growing from one root system. I've been wanting it to form a pup or two, and boom, I got twelve! The yellow flowers are about 5" across and are fragrant. They will open wide only in full sun and last 3-5 days. It seems pretty easy to grow and takes the heat and cold here very well. I water it once a week in the summer and very little in the winter.