Boyce-Thompson Hedgehog

this species of Echinocereus is quite common around the BCC area. I have two of them. One was a rescue after severe flooding in the Black...Read More Canyon City area in 2010. Another was a cutting from a plant that was growing in the way of a path at a friend's house. The cutting survived being rooted twice. First time it was allowed to callous. Next time was when a javelina stepped on the plant and caused both stems to fall over. I cut them cleanly with a knife and allowed them to dry and callous over again. Roots formed after awhile and they went back in ground where one sprouted a bud that was promptly eaten by either a rabbit or a javelina. I need better fencing !

These have brilliant flowers that are a must for any gardener in Arizona. they like partial shade although I have seen them growing in full sun locations.

Some comparisons between three Hedgehog species that were at one time considered to be three varieties of Echinocereus fasciculatus.
...Read More> E. fasciculatus has grayish central spines that are 1-3 inches long.
E. boyce-thompsonii has straw (yellow-tan) colored central spines that are 1-4 inches long.
E. bonkerae has shorter (half inch) central spines that are grayish-white.

I've seen this growing in the wild in Oracle Junction, AZ; Oro Valley, AZ, and on the 'El Camino Del Diablo Trail' (Devils' Highway) that runs between Ajo and Wellton in Arizona through the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.