Plant Profile
Common Name: Saguaro Cactus
Scientific Name: Carnegiea gigantea
Native to: Sonoran desert – limited to southern Arizona
Growth: all growth occurs at the tip of the cactus. The rate of growth is very slow.
Under natural conditions it may take 20 years to attain one foot in height. By age 50 it could be seven feet tall. By age 100 it could be 25 feet tall. It usually starts to grow arms between 50 to 100 years of age (average 70), and it may live for 200 years or more
Blooms: first blooms between 40 and 75 (average 55) years old.
Comment: Some saguaros have dozens of arms, while others never produce arms. Growth rate, size and number of arms are likely affected by the amount of moisture.
