Sclerocactus pubispinus

A small fishhook cactus of the Great Basin in western Utah and eastern Nevada, growing among sagebrush and pinyon-juniper at about 1600-2100 m. It expects bitter, dry-ish winters well below freezing and hot, sunny summers, and it rots easily on its own roots, so collectors often graft it.

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

Open gravelly or rocky slopes and flats, often on limestone or calcareous soils, in sagebrush steppe and the lower pinyon-juniper belt. This follows the genus and the measured sites; species-specific detail is thin.

Recorded at 1615-2073 m, median about 1890 m.

UtahNevada

🔒 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

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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.