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San Diego Barrelcactus
Ferocactus viridescens
  
14 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About San Diego Barrelcactus (Ferocactus viridescens) 14 Nurseries Carry This Plant Ferocactus viridescens is a rare species of barrel cactus known by several common names, including coast barrel cactus and San Diego barrel cactus. It is native to southern California and northern Baja California, along a very restricted portion of the coast. Most of its native range is in San Diego County, California, where most of its habitat has already been removed, and much of the remaining habitat is threatened by development, agriculture, and other alterations in its habitat. As a result, it is included on CNPS List 2B.1. This cactus is spherical, oblate, or nearly cylindrical, is usually wider than tall, and less than 30 centimeters in height. The flesh is bright green and arranged into several ribs covered in arrays of long spines. The spines stick straight out or may curve a bit, and are red when new, dulling to gray or tan. The cactus blooms in yellow to greenish flowers with red or pink scales. The fruit is yellow or red. Although wild populations are in the immediate vicinity of the coast, it can be grown inland in areas that do not experience regular freezing. It makes a great specimen for the dry coastal garden in the southern counties.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Succulent

Size
Size
1 ft tall
1.5 ft wide

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Pink, Green, Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Various insects are attracted to the flowers

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Yosemitia graciella Image
Yosemitia Graciella Yosemitia graciellaYosemitia graciella

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 14

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Sandy. Soil PH: 5.2 - 7.6

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Works with a special subset of chaparral and coastal sage scrub plants known as Maritime Succulent Scrub which can include Shaw's Agave (Agave shawii), Coast Sagebrush (Artemisia californica), Del Mar Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. crassifolia), San Diego Viguiera (Bahiopsis laciniata), Golden Spined Cereus (Bergerocactus emoryi), Bushrue (Cenoridium dumosum), Coast Cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera), Chalk Dudleya (Dudleya pulverulenta), Bush Sunflower (Encelia californica), Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum or parvifolium), Cliff Spurge (Euphorbia misera), Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei), Giant Coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea), California Boxthorn (Lycium californicum), Fish Hook Cactus (Mammillaria dioica), Nuttall's Scrub Oak (Quercus dumosa), Sage (Salvia sp.), and Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana).

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Sea bluffs and marine terraces, sandy, rocky places along the coast, often overlooking the ocean. Also found on well draining ridges more inland.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 9.4" - 15.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 0.44", Coldest Month: 49.2" - 56.2", Hottest Month: 69.6" - 77.6", Humidity: 1.24" - 22.21", Elevation: 7" - 1201"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Biznaga-barril Verdosa, Coast Barrel Cactus, San Diego Barrel Cactus


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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