prairie cactus

Lace hedgehog cactus

Echinocereus reichenbachii

Native to Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

Southeast Colorado, southwest Kansas, west Oklahoma, east New Mexico, north, central and south Texas.

In the garden

A prairie cactus for full sun and lean, dry soil. At 3–8 in, it tucks into meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 6–9.

Light

Full sun Partial shade Full shade

Moisture

Dry Moist Wet

Find your zone:

Beetles Acmaeodera ornatoides also Euphoria kernii, Acmaeodera quadrivittatoides

Habitat: PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
Native range: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and TexasUnited States (5): CO, KS, NM, OK, TX. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
Native distribution: Southeast Colorado, southwest Kansas, west Oklahoma, east New Mexico, north, central and south Texas.The same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.

Light: Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
Moisture: DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
Hardiness zones: USDA 6–9The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
Soil: well drained gravelly clay, rock outcropping with soil pockets, calicheThe soils it grows in naturally.
Water use: LowHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.

Height: 3–8 in (8–20 cm)Typical mature height.
Life cycle: PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).