Cylindropuntia ramosissima

This is the diamond cholla, a pencil-thin, much-branched cholla from the low hot deserts of the Mojave and Sonoran regions. It needs full blazing sun, very hot summers, cool dry winters and a gritty soil that drains fast. Overwatering in winter is the main way it gets lost in cultivation.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

It grows on open desert flats, sandy washes and gravelly bajadas in creosote-bush scrub, with almost no shade.

Records run from near sea level to about 1,370 m, with a median of 490 m, so it belongs to the low desert.

ArizonaCaliforniaNevadaMexico Northwest

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Cylindropuntia ramosissima? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Cylindropuntia

Cylindropuntia californica Cylindropuntia imbricata Cylindropuntia bigelovii Cylindropuntia fulgida Cylindropuntia bernardina Cylindropuntia echinocarpa Cylindropuntia fosbergii Cylindropuntia tunicata Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa Cylindropuntia leptocaulis Cylindropuntia prolifera Cylindropuntia abyssi All 18 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.