Common names: barbed-wire cactus

Seedlings develop a trunk that will support the plant. Cuttings will not develop a trunk but can be trellised like dragon fruit.

Flowers bloom at night during warm weather and must be pollinated by moth or humans. Some individuals are reported to be self fertile. Fruit is ripe when the skin splits.

Regular watering during warm weather in Phoenix improves flowering. Keeping the ground continually moist is ideal. Regularly fertilizing with nitrogen also improves flowering.

May sustain tip damage if the temperatures drop into the teens.

Propagation

Cuttings cut at a joint root more readily that when cut between joints. Cuttings need partial shade until they have developed roots.