Pilosocereus Pachycladus in Phoenix Extreme Heat

[Xica_da_Silva]

Hi all,

I've got a lovely outdoor 2-3 ft tall Pilosocereus that I planted last fall in full sun. He currently seems to be growing well in our warmer temps and very happy. However, even though I know these guys can tolerate heat (originating from the Northeast Brazil), since I haven't seen too many around town here in Phoenix, I'm wondering if they can cope with our extremes of 115F+ temps during July/August? Right now he is surrounded by decorative rocks (which are light in color)...since these are hotter than grass or dirt I wonder if I should rake the rocks away from him by a couple of feet to give him some 'cooling space'? Or are they similar to Saguaros terms of heat tolerance in which they can handle just about any hot temps? (btw, I do know they are sensitive to cold already) Really love this beautiful cactus and want to make sure he survives!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[tumamoc]

The heat's not the problem. Its the occasional freezing temps that could do it in.

[Xica_da_Silva]

Thanks, Tumamoc.

Yeah. We had a soft freeze last year and even though I covered its 'head' with a styrofoam cup, he still got a little 'frost-bite' underneath it. So maybe next year I'll set some c-7 Christmas lights around him? Hmmm... In fact, he started to grow a new branch from the damaged area, which I understand is fairly common (which I don't mind as it doesn't matter to me whether the cactus is perfectly columnar or not).

[Peterthecactusguy]

yes, they can take the heat fine, it's the cold that does them in. I am pretty sure I could try one of those in Black Canyon City, and it would die when we get our once every 5-10 hard freeze that hits us. Two years ago we had temps down to 16F and it killed many native plants including some saguaros which are starting to die now.