Sclerocactus brevispinus

A tiny, short-spined barrel cactus from a few square kilometres of the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah, federally listed as threatened. It needs blazing sun, cold dry winters and very sparse water, and is notoriously hard to keep on its own roots 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

Grows on sparsely vegetated, gravel-covered clay and shale benches in cold desert shrubland. Details here come from the genus and its Uinta Basin habitat rather than from the data file.

Basin floor at roughly 1,400–1,600 m; the data file has no elevations of its own.

United States (Utah)

🔒 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

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More Sclerocactus

Sclerocactus sileri Sclerocactus glaucus Sclerocactus mesae-verdae Sclerocactus brevihamatus Sclerocactus mariposensis Sclerocactus wetlandicus Sclerocactus wrightiae Sclerocactus polyancistrus Sclerocactus johnsonii Sclerocactus papyracanthus Sclerocactus pubispinus Sclerocactus whipplei

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 Public domain licence, unmodified.