Reviving 2 Saguaro Plants

[mikethecactusguy]

When I moved out here to Indio Ca, I immediately got bitten with the idea of acquiring a Saguaro. That idea was squashed when it became apparent the prices for mature plants are just way above anything I was willing to pay. A year later the 3 Home Depots all received 5 each 3ft Saguaro's. But at $599.00 still way out of my range. 6 months into them sitting at the stores, 2 stores lowered the prices down to $400. They went fast. The home Depot near me did not lower the price and the 5 have sat there since being delivered. This store did little to care for them. In July I had stopped in the store and got into a conversation with the Plant Buying Manager. I inquired about the Saguaro's. He made me an offer I could not refuse. $200 each. I bought the 2 best inspite of their condition.

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You can see how emaciated they are and all the sunburn sun stress they have been suffering. I decided that for the price it was worth trying to revive them.
First concern was sun protection and sun acclimation. They had sat so long that any markings indication orientation were long gone. So inserted stakes and wrapped 3 sides in 60% shade cloth.

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Next was watering. The big Question was are the roots functioning at all. Saguaro plants are one of the only species that will not re-root if the system is badly damaged. And cuttings will not root. They survive for years before dying off. So functioning roots or not. After wrapping I watered the hell out of the plants. I waited a week and watered again with a fertilizer mix. I waited another week and watered them again. Then came a monsoon rain on Friday night. Hurricane Hilary followed Saturday night, all day Sunday a bit of Monday Morning. 5 days later more Monsoon rains hit off and on for a few days. This past 3 days are more rain off and on. I unwrapped them 7 days ago to see how they were doing. Here are todays pictures.

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The roots are alive and well. Both have plumped up really nice. Turned a nice dark green and some of the sun damaged has diminished Thet grow slow so it will be years and years before the damage heals completely.
Next will be the planting of these in the ground.

[zpeckler]

Great looking plants, even if they are a little rough around the edges! I hope they survive and thrive!

[madkactus]

the saquaro's look like they are recovering nicely. Too bad they had to suffer under harsh conditions not properly cared for. Store should have realised earlier that the cacti would not sell at the set price and lower the price accordingly.

[mikethecactusguy]

Saguaro are endemic to Arizona and highly protected. You need to have a permit to dig one up and move. You need to have a license to sell. Cost is usually $100 per foot. Add in delivery cost and a 3 to 4 ft plant sells for $600. The taller they are the more expensive the per foot price is. The issue is if the transplanted plant is going to survive. There is a 50/50 chance that your new $3000 10 ft Saguaro is not going to root and will suddenly die 10 yrs later.
Since mine have shown they are taking up water I'm sure they will do well. To minimize the chance of root damage, when I put these in the ground I'm going to leave them in this dirt/mud mixture and drop them in a big hole.

[FredBW]

I have read before and just looked it up again. How a 50 foot tall saguaro can have a root system 100 foot in diameter,and only a few inches deep.
Which would put a Saguaro of any size in a container under a lot of stress. Also gives thought to planning on where to plant. Like next to a concrete driveway or road. Yes they put down a tap root a few feet deep. But nothing like a tree. It's a wonder cacti such as yours survive for long in any type of container.
http://www.saguaronationalpark.com/saguaro-cactus.html