Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Spiral Cereus
Spiral cereus is a blue-green column cactus whose ribs twist in a corkscrew as it grows. It branches from the base into a candelabra 6 to 13 feet tall. Mature plants open big white flowers at night in late spring and early summer. It grows fast for a cactus and needs little water, but it doesn't handle freezing, so plan to cover it on frost nights.
Best for: entry or courtyard focal point, big pots on a patio, and night flowers.
It branches from the base into a candelabra of twisting blue-green columns 6 to 13 feet tall. That shape makes it a focal point for an entry bed, courtyard, or the corner of a patio.
It grows well in a large pot, and a pot lets you roll it under a patio roof on frost nights. Use a pot with a drainage hole and cactus mix. Pots dry out faster, so check the soil about weekly in summer.
Mature plants are heavy bloomers. The big white to pinkish flowers open at night, and each one lasts less than a day. Fruit only forms when flowers are cross-pollinated with another plant.
It doesn't handle freezing, so an open spot you can't easily cover is a risk. It also rots if it shares a drip line with lawn or thirsty shrubs. Cacti need water far less often than those plants.
- Specimen planting12-20 ft apart, center to center
- Group of columns in a bed12-20 ft apart, center to center
Wait about a week after planting before watering. Then water every other week while nights stay above 60°F; in cooler weather, only after 2 to 4 dry weeks.
Water deeply now and then in the warm months when the soil is dry, and little or none in winter. Pots need water more often.
Plant it facing the same way it grew, and give it light shade cloth the first summer. New plants sunburn easily until they settle in.
It is frost tender, so cover it on frost nights. Put foam cups on the stem tips or drape frost cloth to the ground, and uncover in the morning.
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.
How big does spiral cereus get?
About 6 to 13 feet tall over time, sometimes taller. Each stem is 4 to 5 inches thick, and it branches from the base into a candelabra. Give it room to branch, and keep it back from walkways, since the spines are sharp.
How fast does it grow?
Fast for a cactus, up to about a foot a year. Give it room, since the columns branch from the base as they grow.
Will the twist stay?
Yes. The twist is a fixed trait, and plants grown from cuttings of a twisted plant keep it. Seed-grown plants are mixed, and some grow straight. If one stem grows straight, you can cut that stem off.
How often should I water spiral cereus in Phoenix?
In the ground, give it a deep soak about twice a month from May through September and about once a month in spring and fall. In winter, water only in a long dry spell. Each soak should wet the soil about a foot deep, then let it dry out.
Does it need full sun?
Mature plants take full sun. New plantings do better with some afternoon shade the first summer, like shade cloth or a patio chair set over it, since they can sunburn.
Is spiral cereus cold hardy?
It takes only light frost. Short dips to about 28°F can scar it, and a hard freeze can kill the stem tips. When a freeze is forecast, cover it with frost cloth and put foam cups on the tips.
My cactus froze. What do I do?
Leave it alone until spring. Cutting frost damage in winter can make things worse. Once new growth starts, trim away tissue that stayed black or mushy. A stem whose tip froze stops growing taller and usually sends up new stems below the damage.
Why is my cactus getting yellow or white patches?
Pale, bleached, or tan patches on the side facing the sun are usually sunburn. It often shows up after a plant is set in facing a new direction. The scar stays but is mostly cosmetic. Soft, dark, mushy spots are different and point to rot from too much water.
Can I grow it in a pot?
Yes. Use a pot with a drainage hole and cactus mix. Potted cacti dry out faster, so check about once a week in summer and water only when the soil is dry.
When does it bloom?
It blooms in late spring into early summer once it is mature. The flowers open at night and last less than a day, so look for them in the evening or early morning.
Is it safe around pets?
It is not known as a poisonous plant. The spines are sharp, so plant it back from where dogs run and play.
Spiral Cereus for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Spiral cereus is a column cactus with ribs that twist in a corkscrew. It grows fast, needs little water, and opens big white flowers at night. It does not like frost, so plan a way to cover it. This page answers the questions people ask most about growing it here.
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How big does spiral cereus get?
Plan on 6 to 13 feet tall over time. It branches from the base into a candelabra of stems 4 to 5 inches thick. It grows fast for a cactus, up to about a foot a year.
Planting spiral cereus in Phoenix
Spring and early summer plantings root in fastest. Winter plantings sit still in cold soil, and midsummer plantings face more sunburn. Plant into dry soil and keep the side that faced south at the nursery facing south again. Wait a week or two before the first watering.
How often to water spiral cereus
Water about twice a month from May through September and about once a month in spring and fall. In winter, water only in long dry spells. Soak about a foot deep, then let the soil dry. Keep it off the lawn or shrub zone.
Protecting spiral cereus from frost
Spiral cereus is one of the frost-tender cacti. Short dips to about 28°F can scar it. Cover the whole plant with frost cloth that reaches the ground, and slip foam cups over the stem tips. Skip plastic, which traps moisture and freezes against the skin. Frost cloth breathes, so it can stay on through a cold stretch.
Sunburn or rot?
Pale or tan patches on the sun side are sunburn, often from planting it facing a new direction. They scar but rarely kill. Soft, dark, mushy spots mean rot from too much water, and they need fixing fast.
Keeping the twist
The spiral is a fixed trait that carries through cuttings. Seed-grown plants don't all twist. If a stem grows out straight, cut it off at the base to keep the look.
Spiral cereus in a pot
It's a good pot plant, and a pot makes frost nights easy. Use cactus mix and a pot with a drainage hole. Check the soil about weekly in summer and water only when it's dry.
Spiral cereus flowers
Mature plants bloom heavily in late spring and early summer. The flowers open at night and are gone within a day. Fruit only sets when flowers are cross-pollinated with another plant.
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