Ocotillo

Ocotillo is a sculptural native desert shrub with tall, spiny canes that may remain leafless through dry spells. After substantial rain it produces green leaves, then red-orange tubular flower clusters at branch tips in spring and summer. [University of Arizona Cooperative Extension](https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/attachment/Ocotillo.pdf) · [Yavapai County Native and Naturalized Plants](https://yavapaiplants.extension.arizona.edu/fouquieria-splendens) ## Site and size Use ocotillo as a specimen accent in a hot, sunny, dry garden with fast-draining sandy or gravelly soil. It is native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts and can grow over 15 feet tall and equally wide; leave generous clearance around its thorny canes. [University of Arizona Cooperative Extension](https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/attachment/Ocotillo.pdf) ## Water Newly transplanted plants need careful establishment watering: the University of Arizona recommends at least weekly irrigation during summer and twice monthly in winter, while warning that excess water can kill roots. Once an ocotillo leafs out routinely and flowers, reduce supplemental water; established plants generally need little or none in cool weather and no more than every two to four weeks in the hottest summer conditions. [University of Arizona Cooperative Extension](https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/attachment/Ocotillo.pdf) ## Seasonal interest The canes are often bare, but rain triggers short-lived foliage and the flowering season can extend from March into July. Red-orange flower clusters attract hummingbirds in the Southwest. [Yavapai County Native and Naturalized Plants](https://yavapaiplants.extension.arizona.edu/fouquieria-splendens) · [University of Arizona Cooperative Extension](https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/attachment/Ocotillo%20Plant%20Spotlight.pdf) ## Maintenance No routine pruning is needed; do not cut back the cane tips during transplanting. Use nursery-propagated stock and check local rules before collecting or moving native plants.