Fouquieria macdougallii- Living Stones Nursery & Plants for the Southwest

Fouquieria macdougallii is a southern version of our native southwestern ocotillo (say 'oh-ko-tee-yo'). It's range starts about 60 miles south of the US border in north-central Sonora, and continues south just into Sinaloa, with a few sightings east into Chihuahua (say 'chi-wow-wa'). Its northern limit is because of freezing temperatures. This species will survive a mild, overnight freeze, but not much more. It is generally grown as a container plant, even here in the arid southwest.
	The typical growth form of F. macdougallii is as a 'tree' ocotillo. This refers to the tree-like trunk, above which branching takes place, as compared to our native ocotillo (F. splendens) which essentially branches all at the base, usually with no re-branching above this point.. This 'tree' characteristic is more evident in larger specimens. This thickened stem is also where the Mexican tree ocotillo stores some amount of water to use in time of drought. These plants are good summer growers and respond well to high temperatures coupled with lots of water. They are drought deciduous, and are usually dormant in winter, unless kept in a heated greenhouse. They tolerate full sun well as larger plants (ten inch pots or bigger) and develop a well-branched, stout form under these conditions.
Flowering takes place during the warm season and can happen anywhere from spring until early fall. The clusters of red flowers are similar to our native ocotillo, but with somewhat fewer flowers per cluster. They are attractive to hummingbirds, which are probably the main pollinators. F. macdougallii can flower in a 6 inch pot at three years of age. This species is best grown from seed, but cuttings will root and in time produce plants that are indistinguishable from seedlings. It is named after D.T. MacDougal, director of the Desert Laboratory in the early part of the last century, at Tumomoc Hill here in Tucson.