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Alluaudia procera
Madagascar Ocotillo!
If you are familiar with Fouquieria splendens , a.k.a Ocotillo, then you will have a sense of the form of this plant. Though not a relative of our southwest native the form is strikingly similar. The ultra-thorny, upright stems produce small leaves between the numerous thorns only during periods of sufficient moisture and then drop the leaves during dry periods, similar to the Ocotillo. The plant is very sculptural in silhouette and those that like the aesthetics of the thorn will surely like this plant. In habitat and in warm enough zones this plant can gain tree-like status, reaching heights of up to 50' but can be easily maintained as a smaller plant in a container for many years. The plant in our collection stayed compact in a pot for quite a few years until we set it on the groundt. It is now reaching for the top of our 20' tall greenhouse and will eventually have to be trimmed back. However, it is so striking as it grows up, up, and up that we will enjoy it a long as we can. Though not rated cold hardy it has had no damage in our unheated greenhouses during the last two cold winters, where temperatures in the greenhouses fell below 32 F for many hours.
