Say it: car-NEG-ee-uh jy-GAN-tee-uh. Common names: saguaro (suh-WAR-oh), giant saguaro.
Where it grows
Only in the Sonoran Desert: southern Arizona, Sonora in Mexico, and a thin strip of southeastern California along the Colorado River near Blythe. Found on rocky slopes and bajadas below about 4,000 feet, usually starting life under a nurse tree.
Size and growth
A single thick column, branching into arms with age. 40 feet or more at maturity, with a lifespan well over 150 years. Very slow in the wild; much faster with water and care. Expect a small seedling in year one, a few inches by year three, and steady growth after that.
Flowers and fruit
Creamy white, waxy flowers 3 inches across crown the stems in late spring, opening at night and lasting into the next day. Pollinated by bats, bees and birds. Red fruit splits open in early summer, each holding around two thousand tiny black seeds. Plants usually flower between 35 and 70 years old.
Care
- Light: full sun once established; bright but gentler light for seedlings.
- Water: deeply but infrequently in warm months, keep dry in winter.
- Soil: fast-draining mineral mix.
- Cold: mature plants shrug off brief light frosts; seedlings don't. Keep young plants above freezing.
From seed
Easy. Surface-sow, keep warm (80–85°F) and humid, and expect germination in 7–14 days. Leave seedlings together in the tray for their first year. Wild saguaros are protected, so seed is the right way to own one.
Giant Saguaro seeds · Crested Saguaro seeds · Full saguaro growing article