Sclerocactus glaucus

The Colorado hookless cactus, a small blue-green barrel of the cold desert in western Colorado, protected as a threatened species. It needs full sun, a very mineral and dry root zone, hot summers and a hard, dry winter freeze to stay healthy and flower.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night A clear drop at nightTargets 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

Alluvial benches, gravelly river terraces and clay hills in salt-desert shrub and pinyon-juniper edges of the Colorado and Gunnison river valleys.

Grows at roughly 1,300-1,900 m; the measured elevations (4,400-5,700) are in feet, not metres.

Colorado

🔒 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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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.