How to Landscape With Cactus

Go to your local nursery and buy cactus and succulents that grow in your climate zone. If you live in USDA hardiness zones 12 or 13, choose fishhook barrel, Englemann's hedgehog and saguaro for spots in full sun. In zone 10, replace saguaro with ocotillo.

Pick a spot in your yard that has full sun and well-drained soil. Plant cacti in groups of odd numbers with the same sun requirements, around a boulder.

Dig holes no deeper than the root ball in the container and at least three times as wide. Spread cactus roots laterally, not vertically. Wear leather gloves and use a thick pad of newspaper to hold the plant so you do not get thorns in your hands. Remove cactus from the pot and set in the hole. Gently tease the roots loose from the root ball to give them a head start in growing outward. Backfill with native soil. Do not amend the soil and do not water.

Water the cactus after two weeks. Soak the roots thoroughly. Do not water again for four to six weeks. Water once a month in cooler months, once a week in the hottest part of the year, usually May and June. Follow this watering schedule for only one year, after that let Mother Nature take care of it. Water cacti outside of this schedule if they look drought stressed. Stress appears as shriveled pads on prickly pear cactus, and compressed ribs on columnar cactus such as saguaro and barrel cactus.