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Rudeness entirely deserved, should have read the article more carefully, thanks. Actually the pics I can see don't show much vegetation around the base. It coul

Rudeness entirely deserved, should have read the article more carefully, thanks. Actually the pics I can see don't show much vegetation around the base. It could be that they just aren't evolved to deal with fire ie, dried out bases. Anyway you know your stuff and I don't. > 1-2 foot chunks sectioned from a saguaro trunk will quickly die. The plant's "spongy interior" mentioned in the article will dry out if cut like this I'm deeply surprised. Can the ends be cauterised to prevent this? > the mature plants are extremely slow growing I understand they are at the start of their lives and end, but I thought in the middle there was a burst of growth, otherwise how could they reach their large sizes? > There are also some state laws around removal and destruction of saguaros Hadn't considered this. Very good point indeed. Thanks for a thoughtful, tolerant reply (edit: "Sonoran desert resident here". I envy you)

mythrwy 4y ago
Growth rate is a function of water. If you water saguaro well (but not enough to rot the roots) they actually grow reasonably quickly for a large cactus. But, over-watering can cause them to split so it's a very fine line. This is one of the reason saguaro (and other cactus) have ribs. So they can expand and contract as they store/use water. In nature they grow when it rains, which is not that often in their native climate. Their roots go out quiet a ways, fine roots go out around as tall as the plant is, but they are surprisingly shallow. A large specimen can weigh several tons. This large shallow root system allows them to capture much shallow monsoon rain. When we moved them, we took off all roots leaving only the large base roots maybe 2 or 3 feet from the trunk. We would have to brace them for a few years before they established enough of a root system to hold themselves up.
dylan604 4y ago
>I understand they are at the start of their lives and end, but I thought in the middle there was a burst of growth, otherwise how could they reach their large sizes? They are really old? https://www.epicroadtrips.us/2020/tucson_potpourri_1/saguaro-age.jpg https://www.epicroadtrips.us/2020/tucson_potpourri_1/saguaro...

mythrwy 4y ago

Growth rate is a function of water. If you water saguaro well (but not enough to rot the roots) they actually grow reasonably quickly for a large cactus. But, over-watering can cause them to split so it's a very fine line. This is one of the reason saguaro (and other cactus) have ribs. So they can expand and contract as they store/use water. In nature they grow when it rains, which is not that often in their native climate. Their roots go out quiet a ways, fine roots go out around as tall as the plant is, but they are surprisingly shallow. A large specimen can weigh several tons. This large shallow root system allows them to capture much shallow monsoon rain. When we moved them, we took off all roots leaving only the large base roots maybe 2 or 3 feet from the trunk. We would have to brace them for a few years before they established enough of a root system to hold themselves up.

dylan604 4y ago

>I understand they are at the start of their lives and end, but I thought in the middle there was a burst of growth, otherwise how could they reach their large sizes? They are really old? https://www.epicroadtrips.us/2020/tucson_potpourri_1/saguaro-age.jpg https://www.epicroadtrips.us/2020/tucson_potpourri_1/saguaro...