Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens
  
About Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) 11 Nurseries Carry This Plant Ocotillo is a curious-looking and unique desert plant of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Common names include Ocotillo, Coachwhip, Jacob's staff, and Vine Cactus, although it is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small 2-4 centimeter ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months. The stems may reach a diameter of 5 centimeters at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 meters, but growth is very slow. Large specimens in the wild may be 200 years old. The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The plant produces two types of leaves. The first leaves on new growth produce a petiole (leaf stalk) which hardens into a sharp spine after the leaf drops off. Subsequent leaves sprout from the base of the spine. The bright red flowers appear in spring and summer, occurring as a group of small tube shapes at the tip of the stem. They are pollinated by hummingbirds or carpenter bees.
To learn more, visit the Jepson Herbarium's YouTube channel and watch a short video about this species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MV_D78A0jw&t=2s
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Succulent

Size
Size
10 - 33 ft tall
15 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Fountain, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Very Slow, Fast

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Red

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds, Verdin and other desert bird, insects

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed ) SHOW ALL
Hemileuca electra Image
Hemileuca electraHemileuca electra

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers rocky, sandy or decomposed granite soil. Soil PH: 7.0 - 9.0

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Creosote Bush, Brittlebush, Jojoba, Blue Paloverde, White Bursage, Chuparosa, Barrel Cactus, Desert Lavender, Indigo Bush, Apricot Mallow, Opuntia spp, numerous annual wildflowers

Propagation
Propagation?
It can be propagated from cuttings, but results are variable.  For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Native to the Colorado Desert (and slightly extending into the Mojave Desert), it is found in very arid slopes, canyons, washes and alluvial fans in fast draining sandy, gravelly soil, often among boulders but also in pure sand

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.5" - 17.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 2.31", Coldest Month: 41.7" - 63.0", Hottest Month: 71.5" - 89.1", Humidity: 2.01" - 42.79", Elevation: -187" - 4171"


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


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In