Species · genus Ferocactus · Cactaceae

Candy Barrel Cactus

Ferocactus wislizeni (Engelm.) Britton & Rose

Also known as: Fishhook Barrel Cactus · Southwestern Barrel Cactus · Arizona Barrel Cactus · Compass Barrel · Fishhook Cactus

Growth habit

succulent subshrub or shrub

Native range

Arizona, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, New Mexico, Texas

Reference · F. wislizeni

Cultivars of F. wislizeni

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under F. wislizeni yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Ferocactus wislizeni is a barrel cactus native to the arid deserts and dry grasslands of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, so it stores water in its thick stem and rots if kept wet. Give it the brightest, sunniest spot you have and a gritty, fast-draining mineral mix. Water deeply only after the soil has been completely dry for a stretch — wait until the mix is bone dry several inches down, then water and let it dry out fully again.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 30 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

8–32 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus mix with extra pumice

Propagation

From seed

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Yellow to red blooms on mature barrels in strong light

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Candy Barrel Cactus yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.