Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Index/Abstracts
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Call for Papers
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
    • Ecological Restoration
    • Land Economics
    • Landscape Journal

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Native Plants Journal
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
    • Ecological Restoration
    • Land Economics
    • Landscape Journal
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Native Plants Journal

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Index/Abstracts
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Call for Papers
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Visit uwp on Facebook
Research ArticleRefereed Research

Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA

Sara Scoles-Sciulla, Alexander Stosich and Lesley DeFalco
Native Plants Journal, March 2023, 24 (1) 4-17; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/npj.24.1.4
Sara Scoles-Sciulla
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 500 Date Street, Boulder City, NV 89005
Roles: Ecologist
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Alexander Stosich
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 500 Date Street, Boulder City, NV 89005
Roles: Botany Technician
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Lesley DeFalco
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 500 Date Street, Boulder City, NV 89005
Roles: Research Plant Ecologist
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata (Clokey) Blackb. [Cactaceae]) is a rare cactus of the Mojave Desert. We explored whether cultivation from joint cuttings is a viable method for supporting threatened populations. Terminal joints were collected from adult plants at the type locality and grown in a shade house: We tested whether 2 soil mixes that varied in the ratio of inorganic and organic components (50:50 compared to 85:15) and 2 watering frequencies (250 ml every 5 d compared to 500 ml every 10 d) promote root growth important to outplanting survival. Plants grown from joint cuttings in the 50:50 soil had greater shoot and root biomass, produced more joint segments, and had higher initial and final survivorship over the 5-mo study. Neither soil nor watering treatments shifted biomass allocation to roots as hypothesized, but frequent watering produced longer roots, which may benefit reintroduced plants by assisting root access to deep soil moisture. Despite their vigor during collection, freshly cut joints rapidly declined in condition, resulting in approximately 50% mortality during the first month of the study. Initial mortality was not explained by the identity, condition, or size of the maternal plant. Prior-year weather patterns and collection procedures may influence quality and durability of joint cuttings and require further study. While larger plants were produced from the 50:50 mix, and root length was increased by frequent watering, reintroduction of nursery-grown plants will indicate whether such treatments aid establishment in the dry habitat where this species occurs.

Scoles-Sciulla S, Stosich A, DeFalco L. 2023. Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA. Native Plants Journal 24(1):4–17.

KEY WORDS
  • arid lands
  • Clark County
  • conservation
  • habitat restoration
  • reintroduction
  • Cactaceae
NOMENCLATURE
  • Baker (2016)
View Full Text

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Native Plants Journal: 24 (1)
Native Plants Journal
Vol. 24, Issue 1
20 Mar 2023
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Native Plants Journal.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Native Plants Journal
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Native Plants Journal web site.
Citation Tools
Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA
Sara Scoles-Sciulla, Alexander Stosich, Lesley DeFalco
Native Plants Journal Mar 2023, 24 (1) 4-17; DOI: 10.3368/npj.24.1.4

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA
Sara Scoles-Sciulla, Alexander Stosich, Lesley DeFalco
Native Plants Journal Mar 2023, 24 (1) 4-17; DOI: 10.3368/npj.24.1.4
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Response of Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene (turkey tangle frogfruit) to post-emergence application of three graminicides
  • Fine-scale trait variation of five native forbs along environmental gradients
  • Salt desert seeding trials to inform restoration seed mixes
Show more Refereed Research

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • arid lands
  • Clark County
  • conservation
  • habitat restoration
  • reintroduction
  • Cactaceae
  • Baker (2016)
UW Press logo

© 2025 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire