Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Native Fire Barrel Bareroot
Native Fire Barrel Bareroot is the California or compass barrel, a cactus native to Arizona deserts, sold with its roots bare for planting straight into the ground. Young plants are round and wrapped in red spines, and they slowly grow into a column 5 to 10 feet tall. A ring of yellow flowers opens on top in late spring, and native bees visit them.
Best for: native desert plantings, banks and slopes, and a red-spined accent planted straight into the ground.
It grows wild in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, including Arizona. It fits a native planting on very little water once rooted.
Bareroot barrels go right into native soil on a bank, slope or bed. Set each one at the depth it grew, with its sun side facing south.
The dense red, whitish or yellow spines cover the plant. A ring of yellow flowers opens at the top in late spring, and native bees visit them.
Soil that stays wet rots the roots. Planting it facing a new direction exposes the shaded side, which can sunburn.
- Cactus grouping3 ft apart
- Open planting4 ft apart
Keep it dry and in shade until you plant. Cleanly trim any broken or frayed roots, then let the cut roots dry for a few days in shade so they can seal over.
Set it no deeper than it grew, with the sun side facing south. Firm the soil around the roots, add no compost, and top it with gravel.
Plant it into dry soil and wait about a week before the first water. Then water every other week while nights stay above 60°F. In cooler weather, water only after 2 to 4 weeks without rain.
Once it is rooted, water every 2 to 4 weeks in summer. Water seldom in winter unless there is no rain.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
What does bareroot mean?
The barrel comes to you with its roots bare, with no pot or soil, ready to plant straight into the ground.
How do I plant it?
Trim any broken roots and let them dry a few days in shade. Plant it into dry soil at the same depth it grew, keep the marked sun side facing south, firm the soil and add a gravel mulch.
When do I water it?
Wait about a week after planting, then water every other week while nights stay above 60°F. Once rooted, water every 2 to 4 weeks in summer and seldom in winter unless there is no rain.
Is it native to Arizona?
Yes. It grows wild in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Mexico.
How big does it get?
It starts round and slowly becomes a column 5 to 10 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide. Older plants often lean toward the southwest.
When does it bloom?
Yellow flowers, reddish on the outside, open in a ring at the top in late spring, and native bees come to them.
How cold can it take?
It is hardy to about 10 to 20°F. Cover a newly planted barrel with frost cloth on a hard freeze night.
How do I move it without getting hurt?
Wear thick leather gloves and wrap it in folded carpet or cardboard to lift it. Never lift it by the roots.
Native Fire Barrel Bareroot for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Native Fire Barrel Bareroot is Ferocactus cylindraceus, the Arizona native barrel, sold bareroot. This page covers what arrives, how to plant it, first waterings, sun, cold and flowers.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
What arrives with a bareroot fire barrel?
A single native barrel cactus with its roots bare, ready to plant in the ground.
How to plant a bareroot barrel
Trim broken roots, let them dry, and plant into dry soil at the same depth and facing the same way it grew.
Watering after planting
Wait a week, then every other week while nights stay above 60°F.
Is the fire barrel native to Arizona?
Yes. It grows wild in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, including Arizona.
Fire barrel flowers and bees
A ring of yellow flowers opens on top in late spring, and native bees visit them.
Why do fire barrels lean?
Older plants often lean toward the southwest, which is where the name compass barrel comes from.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.