A plant that’s really thriving in our summer heat and drought is the Southwest US (Arizona, Texas, New Mexico) native cactus, Grusonia emoryi. This colorful, compact, rock garden-sized specimen, matures at 1′ tall x 3′ wide, with great age. If you have free-range pets, who like to play with such plants, you may want to forgo this, since the beautiful spines will latch themselves onto any animal that dares come close. As long as the soil is well-drained, this has taken both drought and floods.
Commonly, and aptly known as Devil’s Cholla, this poor cactus has been involved with a long-running custody dispute, between the genus Cylindropuntia, Corynopuntia, and Grusonia. We’ll stick with Grusonia until the smoke clears. The specific epithet honors William Hemsley Emory (1811-1887), a Army major, who helped survey the US/Mexico border.
