Stenocereus queretaroensis cactus experiences

[CaliLowWater]

Hi guys!

I live in SoCal and have a fascination with growing fruit producing cacti (and other very low water fruiting plants). I noticed that Stenocereus queretaroensis fruit is very popular in Mexico, and in contrast to other very tropical Stenocereus species, this cactus grows in highland areas where temps can get quite cold in the winter (lows in the 30s and low 40s).  So, it's not *that* different from SoCal, but all you see here in terms of fruit producing columnar cacti are all kinds of cacti sold and grown as "peruvian apple cactus." I have Peruvian apple cacti myself and the fruit of certain individuals can be excellent, but I'd love to try all kinds of different fruit producing cacti.

So, I noticed that nulzero was selling seedlings of this cactus for a while, did anyone in SoCal or Florida (or any other warm area of the world where it does not freeze) try this cactus outdoors? How have your experiences been so far?

[Bush2Beach]

Grows slooow by the coast , probably grows a little faster in the greater LA/SD desert.

[CaliLowWater]

Grows slooow by the coast , probably grows a little faster in the greater LA/SD desert.

Do you have pictures of yours? How old is your plant? Is it in the ground?  I'm a bit inland so summer temps are quite a bit hotter here than at the coast. Santa Cruz seems to be also much cooler in the Summer than most of Socal.  From my research, even though this cactus can take very low temperatures in its habitat, the summers are generally in the mid to high 80s. It's not a super hot lowland desert species since it grows at higher elevation down in Mexico.

[Bush2Beach]

I got these from Nullzy 2 years ago or so. SC has lots of microclimates but yeah they should grow faster in So Cal. These overwintered in the greenhouse with no rain hitting them.

[CaliLowWater]

Thanks for the pic! So they are outside during the summer? It does seem like they are growing very slowly. Do you fertilize and water them a lot during the summer?

By the way, here is a video of a guy in Huntington Beach grafted S. queretaroensis on dragon fruit root stock. In two years they grew *A LOT*.  Read the comments under the video before watching it. Then things make more sense:

https://youtu.be/-ksOmse8hI4

And if you want to "get rid" of some of your "babies", let me know.    I'm trying to get my hands on these. There's a guy on ebay selling young plants, but I'm not sure if they are actually this particula species, even though they are advertised as such. One can never be sure on Ebay.

[nullzero]

Bush they look like they missing out on some wavelengths of light or something may need supplemental light in winter to really push them. Have to wait till summer to update pictures of my plants in containers in Florida. I have them in mostly 3 gal clay pots with potting soil mix non irrigated in full FL sun. I have about 4 seedlings I have left from different batches. These seedlings grow much faster with temps in the 80s and full sun. Under nice grow lights they are pushing fairly well.

[nullzero]

Here is a seedling from the same seeds about 2 years old. Coastal Los Angeles  1/2 mi from ocean grown outside full sun.

[CaliLowWater]

Thanks for the pic, null! I live about 6-8 miles away from the ocean in San Diego, so it gets considerably hotter here in the summer and this species should grow more quickly here. I'm planning on planting this cactus in the ground when I finally get several of them. My experience has been that large cacti need lots of root space. For me they have always grown considerably larger in the ground given the same amount of time. I'm really hoping this species grows well here. It's about time we had another columnar cactus with yummy fruit besides the various cacti collectively called "peruvian apple cactus."

Was nobody else successful with this S. queretaroensis?

[simon_grow]

I sprouted 4 different color selection from Nullzero and they were doing ok but I neglected them and weeds grew over them and three of the colors died off although I still have seeds.

I believe I still have 2 small seedlings from the purple fleshed variety maybe only an inch tall. It’s fully exposed outdoors all winter. This year was mild and I didn’t get any frost but in a typical year, I do get frost so we should see if it can survive the frost next year.

I plan on grafting this onto my Opuntia to speed its growth.

Simon

[stuartdaly88]

Mine are also from Nullzero.
 Did absolutely fine down to zero but go this beautiful purple colour on the new growth (no damage though). My area gauteng South Africa is also very dry in winter which I'm sure helps.

[CaliLowWater]

I sprouted 4 different color selection from Nullzero and they were doing ok but I neglected them and weeds grew over them and three of the colors died off although I still have seeds.

I believe I still have 2 small seedlings from the purple fleshed variety maybe only an inch tall. It’s fully exposed outdoors all winter. This year was mild and I didn’t get any frost but in a typical year, I do get frost so we should see if it can survive the frost next year.

I plan on grafting this onto my Opuntia to speed its growth. How far away from the ocean do you live? I'm asking this to find out the heat requirements of this cactus. It can take cold and even (slightly) freezing weather, but I'm guessing it needs a certain amount of heat to really thrive, which it will only get more inland. So, in California there should be a "Goldilocks" zone a bit away from the ocean, but not too far. In these areas, the lows should not be too cold (i.e. rarely freezing, and if so, only by a degree or two for an hour or two at most), but the highs in the summer should be consistently in the 80s and even 90s for most of the time.

Simon

Hi Simon,
Thanks for the update!  How large are the seedlings now? Any pictures?

[CaliLowWater]

Mine are also from Nullzero.
 Did absolutely fine down to zero but go this beautiful purple colour on the new growth (no damage though). My area gauteng South Africa is also very dry in winter which I'm sure helps.

Thanks for sharing! How big are yours and do you have a picture, too? There is so little data on this species from outside Mexico, it's really strange. It should be a popular cactus in places like California, South Africa, parts of Australia, Mediterranean countires etc, but for some reason it's still extremely rare, and to my knowledge there are no mature specimen outside of Mexico.

[Tommyng]

My neighbor dug up all of these from his yard, maybe I should plant some of the fruit taste good.

[CaliLowWater]

My neighbor dug up all of these from his yard, maybe I should plant some of the fruit taste good.

By "dug up" you mean that he's going to chop them up and throw them away? Are you sure they are S. queretaroensis? If so, how big are (were) they? If he's going to throw them away, just get them. I'd LOVE to get multiple cuttings of this cactus if you can spare some. Seedlings are great, but cuttings are even better!

[nullzero]

Mine are also from Nullzero.
 Did absolutely fine down to zero but go this beautiful purple colour on the new growth (no damage though). My area gauteng South Africa is also very dry in winter which I'm sure helps.

Good to hear, yeah I don't think mature cacti from this species will have a problem until -3C or 26F. The area where they grow wild gets cold and dry in the winter upper 20s F is not uncommon. There may be other ecotypes which may not handle the cold as well.

[simon_grow]

They’re only about an inch tall. It’s actually the red that I have remaining and not the purple.




Simon

[CaliLowWater]

Thanks for the pics, Simon! Very nice little cacti! I think if you fertilize and water them regularly over the summer, they should grow quite a bit even without grafting. That's been my experience with slow growing species of succulents. Lots of fertilizer and water and lots of sun during the growing season doubles and triples their growth. Keep us up to date on them!

[roblack]

Night action


This one is 15 inches, got another 13. Received them in February 2018 from NZ, small seedlings.

They were outside, in 1/2 filled 3 gallon pots (guess that makes them 1.5 gallons), and recently planted in ground (about 2 - 3 months ago).

[nullzero]

Roback,

They look great fatten up nicely. Maybe only about 3 to 5 years from producing  . I noticed they really grow fast in those +90 degree Florida days with high humidity. Be careful if the area does not waterlogged.

[CaliLowWater]

Awesome plant, Roback! Looks almost like a little fat Pachycereus pringlei...much more light green of course.  

[roblack]

Thanks ya'll! Will keep an eye on the water. Lost some other cacti near that spot, these are a little higher.

[msk0072]

Where can i find a list of the fruiting cacti with short description of fruits, growth habits etc?

[stuartdaly88]

Mine are also from Nullzero.
 Did absolutely fine down to zero but go this beautiful purple colour on the new growth (no damage though). My area gauteng South Africa is also very dry in winter which I'm sure helps.

Thanks for sharing! How big are yours and do you have a picture, too? There is so little data on this species from outside Mexico, it's really strange. It should be a popular cactus in places like California, South Africa, parts of Australia, Mediterranean countires etc, but for some reason it's still extremely rare, and to my knowledge there are no mature specimen outside of Mexico.

They looking a bit thirsty in these pics. They get very nice and plump in late spring and summer😁

[CaliLowWater]

Thanks for the pics! Those are absolutely awesome! Are you thinking about putting at least one in the ground to see how fast it will grow? I just got a bunch of small seedlings and can't wait to put them in the ground at some point after growing them out in containers with lots of sun and fertilizer.

[stuartdaly88]

Thanks for the pics! Those are absolutely awesome! Are you thinking about putting at least one in the ground to see how fast it will grow? I just got a bunch of small seedlings and can't wait to put them in the ground at some point after growing them out in containers with lots of sun and fertilizer.

I definitely want to put in the ground but I'm renting 😔

A friend has some cuttings from me in the ground a year now. I should ask for an update from him😁