Earlier today I was asked, "How long does it take for a Saguaro to grow arms?" The commonly held belief is that it takes 100 years before they will grow an arm.
However, as with much plant information, this answer is not totally true. The single most important factor in determining when a saguaro will start to grow an arm, is the availability of water. Put simply, the more water a saguaro receives, the more quickly it grows. In a landscape setting where irrigation is present, Saguaros grow much more quickly then they do in their natural desert habitat. Saguaros that grow in southern Arizona, around Tucson, grow more quickly than those that grow in the western regions because there is more rainfall in southern areas.
A Saguaro that grows out in the desert can take 50 - 100 years to grow arms. In a landscape setting, arms can appear much earlier.
2 comments:
Thank you Noelle for answering my question!
This is a spot on article. Many gardeners of drought tolerant plants do so for many reasons. Saving water might just be one of them. Sometimes though, gardeners forget that if they do choose to water their drought tolerant plants they can get them to grow faster. This is especially helpful if the gardener is growing their plants for a special purpose like maybe growing a hedge as a windbreak.
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