Stenocereus thurberi

The organ pipe cactus, a many-stemmed columnar cactus of the Sonoran Desert and Baja California that blooms at night. It needs intense sun, heat, a gritty mineral soil and summer monsoon water, and it is frost-sensitive: cold is what limits its northern range.

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

Rocky slopes, bajadas and desert plains in Sonoran Desert scrub, often on warm south-facing hillsides where frost is rare.

Recorded from 6 to 870 m (median 172 m, 45 records); mostly lowland desert below 1,000 m.

United States (Arizona)Mexico (Sonora)Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur)Mexico (Sinaloa)

🔒 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.