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Saguaro Cactus Towering Desert Giant

 Saguaro Cactus Towering Desert Giant

Saguaro Cactus Towers Along Trail
Did you know that the saguaro cactus grows only in certain parts of Arizona, Mexico, and California?  I became instantly enthused with the saguaro cactus when I moved to Arizona 16 years ago.  In fact, my enthusiasm has become something of a household joke as my family is so accustomed to seeing saguaro cacti in our daily lives.  Neighbors have the towering saguaro standing like sentinels in the front yards though in reality, the cactus was likely there long before the home was built.


Protected Desert Plant

Saguaro cacti can live a very long time.  Over 150 years old is not at all uncommon and the arms you see growing out from the cactus usually don't start to appear until the cactus is 75-100 years old.  Like all cactus plants, they grow very slowly and are not easily replaced when one is lost.  They are actually a protected plant species in Arizona.  When a new road is being put in or a housing development starts wandering into what once was open desert, the saguaro must be relocated or reused in the existing landscape as I am sure resulted in many of my neighbor's cacti.  


Damaged Saguaro Cactus Photo
Though protected and slow-growing, the saguaro cactus is surprisingly resilient. Birds make their homes in the cactus flesh and scar the cactus creating what I have heard called a boot though I don't know if that is the technical name for it.  It is basically a scarred over pouch that the bird can then use to hold their nest.  The cactus can be pecked to an extreme, be full of holes, and yet still stand tall in the desert with green growth to be seen.  



Just How Heavy is a Saguaro Cactus?

Being a cactus, saguaro like the hot desert temperatures and go a very long time without water as they soak up rainwater when it falls and bloat to store water for later.  Storing the water in this manner allows the desert plant to slowly use the water over time to keep it alive.  I knew saguaro cacti were heavy but didn't know just how heavy until I gave it a search.  A fully hydrated saguaro can weigh 70 to 100 pounds per foot.  Given that a full-grown saguaro can be 40-60 feet tall, that is a very heavy cactus.  With this knowledge, it isn't hard to imagine that a great danger to a saguaro is too much water as they get too heavy soaking up lots of water and topple.




I hope that I have sparked your curiosity about this amazing desert plant.  To hike on a trail and have these giants soaring overhead is an experience that I never tire of.  There are several National Parks, most notably Saguaro National Park, where you can see high concentrations of these tall sentinels.
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