What Kind of Cactus Grows Tall - 4 Giant Cactus Varieties

Cacti are very unique plants. Most are covered with thorns, which serve as a defensive measure against those herbivorous animals that, otherwise, would cause them significant damage. But among all of them, there are several that stand out above the rest, and they are of course the tall cacti.

Do you want to know what kind of cactus grows tall? I present them to you here in this post.

Contents

1 Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
- 1.1 How long do saguaro cactus live?
2 Trichocereus
3 Oreocereus
4 Espostoa

Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)

what kind of cactus grows tall — “Carnegiea gigantea” by Dingilingi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The first is, how could it be otherwise, the Carnegiea gigantea, much better known by the name of Saguaro. This is a cactus that many of us dream of, and even as soon as we have the opportunity, we buy one to have in our collection. It has an extraordinarily slow growth rate, but it reaches a height of about 20m, something surprising in a cactus.

How long do saguaro cactus live?

The longest-living cactus is thought to be the Saguaro cactus, which originates from the Arizona desert and Mexico and can live up to 300 years. That longevity is not a trait of all cactus species.

Trichocereus

The botanical genus Trichocereus comprises more or less tall cactus species, but they are all columnar. Now, if you are looking for spiny plants with an interesting height, then the Trichocereus pasacana and the Trichocereus pachanoi are for you. Both grow fast, reaching 10-15m tall.

Oreocereus

The Oreocereus are cacti that, although they do not reach the height of the plants that we have seen so far, with time there will be no other option than to plant them in the ground. They grow up to 4-5m, with spines that, as you can see in the photo, are quite long (about 7-10cm in length).

Espostoa

And what about the Espostoa? They are very decorative plants, as they are covered by white thorns, and even fibers that look like gray hair, as is the case with Espostoa lanata. They grow to a height of about 2-5m depending on the species.

Tall cacti are wonderful, don’t you think? Which one did you like the most?