My grandmother collected this species, and some others, out west somewhere before I was born in the early years of Worl War II. So I grew up around this cactus in Southern Indiana, where it was considered an oddity by most people in those days, and where I experienced first hand how sharp their spikes can be.

I broke off the end of one of the columns at one of those junctures where they seem to be naturally pinched inward, from my grandmother's original specimen in the mid 1960s. It has been with me ever since. It just keeps growing and sort of crawling along, too slowly to notice unless you could take time-lapse photography of it, until parts of it outgrow or "crawl" out of its container. I break off more of it and give it to my sons or to friends every so often. Someday my grandsons will inherit some of it and will no doubt be richer for living with and caring for this dangerous but beautiful "oddity" of a cactus.

I have found that it will grow in just about anything from mud to sand. A combination of any kind of soil, gravel and sand is best. I don't think the proportions of each are all that important, but roughly 1/4 sand and 1/4 gravel, mostly toward the bottom of the container, to 1/2 part garden soil would be my advice. I have never used any kind of plant food or fertilizer on this specie. I have had sections of this cactus fall off on to concrete where it remained for months. When picked up and placed on top of the soil, it began growing roots and anchored itself to its new plot of earth.

This is one of the more brutal cactus species of my collection and I would not handle it even with leather gloves. It can be cut for propagating with a butcher knife. I use barbecue tongs to pick it up, or sometimes just a couple of sticks (chopstick style). When dried leaves stick to it, or other outdoor clutter, such as cobwebs, spider webs, and even bird feathers, It can be cleaned by brushing with a paint brush. It is tough enough to take a hard blast from my garden hose, which always makes it look greener and somewhat glossy.

This specie does not like cold weather and must be brought indoors well before any chance of frost. I experimented one year with a pot of it and left it outdoors overnight when there was a frost advisory. There was no frost afterall, the temperature only went down to 36 degrees F. but the cactus died anyway. 41 degrees F. is just about all the cold that it can take. Indoors for the winter, it does well in low light areas. Incase space near a window is at a premium, because of other tropical plants that need the light, the Crawling Log Cactus may always be kept farther away from the light than the other plants. One year I kept a pot of it in my laundry room on top of the drier where there was not much light but plenty of warmth. That specimen grew more during that winter than it ever did outdoors in the summer sunlight, because of the wamth of the drier beneath the pot.

I once raised them in a 10 gallon tub, which was a bit heavy for bringing indoors each autumn and taking out each spring. Now I grow them in smaller pots which means more trips in and out carrying the pots. One year I had about 9 of them. The specimens shown above need to be transplanted. They have definately crawled out of their little pots. This autumn, when it is time to bring them in again, they will be transplanted into 2 gallon nursery containers, which are larger yet not too heavy.

Hardy outdoors only when temperatures will be above 41 degrees F.

© 1999 Michael King