Ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens Engelm.
Also called ocotillo.
Cluster of tall, spiny, unbranched canes that leaf out after each rain and carry red flower tips in spring. A living sculpture or fence.
Size over time
Typical landscape size 2.4–4.5 m (8–15 ft) tall and 1.8–3 m (6–10 ft) wide; slow growth, about 20 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.12) from the #5 install size.
Bloom
Scarlet flowers, Mar–May (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).
| Plant | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocotillo : Mar–May |
Design notes
- Bare-root transplants can take a year to leaf out; leafing confirms establishment, not death.
- Protected under Arizona's native plant law: buy tagged nursery or salvage plants.
Regions
Native range: Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.
Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:
Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.
Related plants
Plan with Ocotillo
Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.