- Home
- Cold-Hardy
- Cylindropuntia
- Cylindropuntia kleiniae
Cylindropuntia kleiniae
The plant likes full sun.
Always water the pot after the substrate has dried out. When placed in a rock garden, water at your discretion.
The plant is frost-resistant and can withstand temperatures down to -12 °C.
Frost-resistant species of Cylindropuntia can tolerate temperatures below –20 °C if they remain dry. Grow them in a sunny spot with good drainage.
Cylindropuntia kleiniae is a shrubby cactus distributed from eastern New Mexico through western Texas and south through Mexico to the San Luis Potosí region. It occurs in dry desert areas and on limestone slopes at elevations of approximately 800 to 1800 m. In English it is known as Klein’s Cholla or Klein’s Pencil Cactus, and in Spanish as Tasajillo.
The plant is composed of cylindrical segments up to 30 cm long. These segments branch openly, forming a spreading and airy crown. Each areole bears 1 to 4 spines that are greyish to pinkish in colour. Older stems gradually become woody. Overall, the plant forms a shrub reaching up to about 1.5 m in height and around 1 m in width.
The flowers are pink and usually appear in May and June, in late spring and early summer. After flowering, persistent fruits develop that are spineless, elongated, tuberculate, and fleshy. The fruits range in colour from green to red.
Cylindropuntia kleiniae requires a very well-draining substrate and a sunny position. Watering should be moderate and only after the soil has dried. Thanks to its resilience and shrubby growth, it is suitable not only for container cultivation but also for planting in dry rock gardens, where it remains stable and natural in appearance.