High Country Gardens
Kingcup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
Best low-maintenance choice for gardeners seeking drought-tolerant, wildlife-friendly desert blooms.
Discover the Kingcup Cactus, a resilient native plant from New Mexico's Sandia Mountains. This Echinocereus triglochidiatus variety thrives in full sun and lean soils, offering stunning deep scarlet-red flowers each spring that attract pollinators. Its robust, spiny nature provides excellent resistance to deer and rabbits, making it a low-maintenance choice for rock gardens and xeriscapes. Requiring minimal watering once established, this perennial succulent is well-adapted to arid conditions and is a hardy addition to any garden, blooming reliably year after year.
$18.99
Owner Satisfaction
4.6
/ 5
Category Rank
864
/ 3268
#864 in Landscaping & Garden Plants
Price vs Category Average
-31%
Below average
Hardiness Zones
58
/ -
Who it's for
- Cold-climate gardeners seeking durable, winter-hardy desert plants
- Landscapers wanting high-impact, vibrant spring floral displays
- Eco-conscious homeowners prioritizing low-maintenance, water-wise landscaping
Who should skip it
- Gardeners working with heavy, moisture-retaining clay soils
- Impatient growers looking for immediate, fast-growing landscape results
- Families with small children or pets in high-traffic areas
Performance breakdown
Drought Resilience
Thrives in arid conditions with minimal supplemental watering once established.
Pollinator Appeal
Vibrant scarlet blooms act as a magnet for local hummingbirds.
Pest Resistance
Spiny structure effectively deters deer and rabbits from grazing.
Cold Hardiness
Reliably survives harsh winters across zones five through eight.
Maintenance Effort
Requires almost no intervention once settled into well-draining soil.
Visual Impact
Striking clumping habit provides architectural interest throughout the year.
Key Specs
Hardiness Zones
5-8
Mature Height
5-8 inches
Mature Spread
18-24 inches
Ships As
Potted Plant
Age
2-4 years old (seed-grown)
Soil Requirement
Fast-draining, low fertility
Native To
North America
Care Level
Easy
Features
- Striking scarlet-red spring blooms
- Attracts bees and hummingbirds
- Highly cold hardy
- Deer and rabbit resistant
- Low maintenance succulent
- Tolerates lean soils
- Drought tolerant
- Native plant selection
What customers say
Consumers overwhelmingly celebrate the exceptional quality and reliability of the Kingcup Cactus. Reviewers consistently note that the plants arrive robust, healthy, and securely packaged, ensuring successful establishment with minimal effort. This hardy variety proves highly reliable, thriving quickly even in challenging, arid environments. Buyers appreciate its low maintenance nature and successful long term survival, confirming its excellent value for adding vibrant, drought tolerant color to the landscape.
Know before you buy
Yes, this variety is highly cold hardy and thrives in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8, making it well-suited for regions with significant winter temperatures.
Since the Kingcup Cactus has a mature spread of 18 to 24 inches, you should space them at least 20 inches apart to allow for their natural clumping growth habit.
No, this plant prefers lean, low-fertility soils. Adding fertilizer is generally unnecessary and can actually hinder the plant's health or bloom production.
Yes, its robust, spiny structure makes it unappealing to deer and rabbits, allowing it to thrive in landscapes where other plants might be grazed.
This is a drought-tolerant succulent that requires very little supplemental water. Once established, it relies primarily on natural rainfall and should only be watered during extended, extreme dry spells.
While it is excellent for xeriscaping, you can grow it in a container as long as you use a fast-draining cactus potting mix and ensure the pot has adequate drainage holes to prevent root rot.
Still have a question?
Ask Hayley anything about this product before you decide.
Ready to buy?
$19