Ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens, was the species that I intended to procure as Rhody and I walked out and into the desert that surrounded the home we lodged at northwest of Phoenix at the end of last April. I had seen it from the roads on the way there. I should have stopped to procure cuttings or small specimens while I had the chance. Furthermore, I should have stopped for cuttings or small specimens as we left without procuring any earlier. It is a fascinating species that I am completely unfamiliar with.

Hedgehog cactus, Echinocereus engelmannii, is all I procured instead. At least I believe that it is this particular species. I really do not know for sure. A few species of the genus are native to the area. This species just happens to be the most common among them, and its description seems to conform to my observations of this specimen. Other species bloom with floral color that is different from that which I observed with a few remaining shriveled floral carcasses. Most other species exhibit different foliar patterns or textures with their spines. This particular species is distinctly more unappealing than the others, but I got it.

Now, I have no idea of what to do with it. First, I should probably wait to see if it survives. The bits that I got might have been a bit too fresh to root before they rot. I suppose that I should remove the developing fruit to divert resources to vegetative growth and root development. I thought that they would abscise naturally after bloom, in response to the distress of separation from the original specimen. I would prefer natural abscission to unnatural intervention. Pruning wounds from such intervention might promote rot while the cuttings are already vulnerable to rot from below.