Scott Calhoun has had a thing for cactus for more than 20 years, “as long as I’ve been gardening, pretty much,” he says.
And living in Tucson, Ariz. — “the center of the universe when it comes to cactus” — certainly hasn’t diminished his enthusiasm.
He has brought some of what he has learned as a gardener and garden designer to “The Gardener’s Guide to Cactus: The 100 Best Paddles, Barrels, Columns, and Globes” (Timber Press). And one thing he is sure of: Cactus is not used enough.
“You see all these categories (of plants) — trees, evergreens, shrubs, ground covers and accent plants,” he says. “But as a group, it’s an enormous family of plants (some 2,500 species) that is very neglected in terms of people using them in gardens. With a lot of us gardeners, it’s a whole different thing, like it’s not a plant.”
Part of it could be the fear factor. Those spines can look ferocious, he says, but, “Look at the pain people go through to grow roses.”
And once gardeners get over that trepidation, they have to overcome the notion that cactus is strictly a desert plant.
“I don’t want to give people the idea that you throw them in the ground wherever and they grow,” Calhoun says. “But I start thinking of the Midwest beginning east of Denver, and you get out on the Plains, there are a lot of cactus that grow in that climate, from Texas up to Canada. (Growing cactus) isn’t so much a cold hardiness issue. There’s one that grows at the top of mounds over 10,000 feet in Colorado. You don’t have to have a desert rock garden to try some of these. You can have a handsome container garden.”
Calhoun says that anyone can grow cactus, especially if you’re a chronic underwaterer.
He points to Japan, where the climate is not cactus-friendly, but where some of the world’s best container gardens are.
The keys, he says, are fast-draining soil, a pot not much bigger than the plant, and the ability to hold back on the watering. He suggests the prickly pear as a good starter; in Arizona, he says, you can throw a pad on the ground and come back in two weeks, and it will have started rooting.
“If you can’t grow one of these you can’t grow anything, really,” he says.
The prickly pear can be grown as far north as zone 3, he says. “They’re not wimpy at all. They’re not all tropical or sub tropical plants.” They may lie down and turn purple over the winter, but when the weather warms they’ll stand back up.
Cactus has something else going for it: affordability. Most are grown in nurseries, and for $5 or $6 you can get a nice starter.
“They’re not any more than perennials, really,” Calhoun says. “The only difference you’ll notice is you’ll get smaller plants, not a one gallon size. They’re incredibly long lived too. Many cactus will outlive you, and you can pass them on to the next generation.”
Some tips for staging cactus
In “The Gardener’s Guide To Cactus,” Scott Calhoun suggests ways to get the most out of a cactus container garden.
*Choose only one species per container.
*Up-pot your cactus every 3 to 5 years, adding fresh soil with each repotting.
*Use a pot whose shape and color complement the plant.
*Plant the cactus so its best side lines up with the front of the pot.
*Plant high in the pot and use rocks to stabilize the cactus.
— W.H.
