What is the largest cactus plants? where do i buy one?

Question

do they flower?

Answer 1

The saguaro is certainly the biggest, they grow up to 50 feet tall and can weigh over a ton when fully hydrated. You will definitely need to fold down the rear seats to get one in the car!!

I reckon they are easy to buy in the south west US but more difficult to get in Europe. In either case you will need to wait a while for them to grow to maximum size, the largest are estimated to be about 200 years old.

Check out this site for more info -

http://www.desertusa.com/july96/du_sagua...

Answer 2

Saguaros are absolutely huge, there are photos on Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro

However, they take over 100 years to reach full size, so if you bought a good sized one it would be expensive as the plant dealer would have to have been taking care of it all that time.  Also you would need to plant it outside as it would be too big for a houseplant.

They aren't on the US Endangered species list, so there would be no restriction on growing them there (and they are a native plant).  Be incredibly careful if buying cacti internationally - they may be on CITES and require CITES and import permits, plus a phytosantitary certificate, as this cactus dealer's website explains:

http://cactus-heaven.com/index.phtml

All cacti flower if they have the right growing conditions - usually after a period of winter dryness so don't overwater in winter.  Cactus flowers are stunning, some of them open at night and have beautiful scent.

Answer 3

I know saguaro are quite large. I'm not sure if they flower or where you can buy them but they're also very slow growing.