Cactus are well-known and popular plants that many people use to add a decorative feature to their homes. Many people also use cactus plants as another form of nutrition.
As cactus plants are, in fact, plants, people use them for decorating and even eating. However, the variety of cactus species allows it to be used by people in many ways around your home and even outside it.
You’ve likely heard of using cactus plants as decorative pieces or even as a superfood to help you feel like you’re on track to a healthy life.
However, there are also ways that you can use some species of cactus to build and create structures to help with the protection of your home.
One of these structures that people have recently started to invest in is cactus fences. Cactus fences involve species of cactus plants that are more structurally sound.
Columnar cactus is the best option for this. If you have extra cacti plants lying around, you may want to build cactus fences.
Table of Contents
What is a Cactus Fence?
A cactus fence is a boundary that you can construct from old cactus plants. Alternatively, you can also grow a cactus fence by fashioning cactus plants in a way to make a cactus barrier.
Cactus plants that you would use for this type of structure are columnar cacti which have a more elongated stem and bud.
The cactus plants are also extremely sturdy, thus they are likely to become the foundation of a solid barrier.
Cactus plants are also easier to grow which means that you don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort in the process.
Mexican Fence Post
The cactus plant which people use most often for a fence is the Mexican fence post. This massive cactus is tall, has columnar trunks, and can reach a height of twenty feet or more.
If you’re thinking about cactus as trees, this cactus species is as good as it gets. The Mexican fence post cactus is one of the most common cactus species you would see on television and media.
This species can grow to become extremely tall during the duration of its lifetime. These plants can grow when there’s a greater amount of water.
They need water so that they can grow and reach their optimum heights.
It is called a Mexican fence post as this type of cactus is naturally and generally found in many areas of Mexico.
The idea of the cactus fence comes from Mexican neighborhoods. In many areas of Mexico, people would use these columnar cacti to create a fence to separate one home from another.
When you look at the spines and protective mechanisms of these columnar mechanisms, you understand why they were used as fences in Mexican neighborhoods.
These cactus plants are also used to make fences in the roadways of Mexico.
The Mexican fence post cactus is native to the states of Hidalgo, Queretaro, and Guanajuato in Mexico. However, it is found throughout Mexico.
If you are planting Mexican fence posts then you have to understand that taking care of them requires some effort.
Like all other cactus plants, the Mexican fence post also requires that you place it in well-drained soil.
They also need a significant amount of sun or partial shade. It is extremely resistant to drought since the reserves present in this plant are bountiful.
But it still needs watering in the hot summer months. You would also need the soil to dry out completely before you water it again.
These, amongst other considerations, are important to maintaining the Mexican fence post.
How Tall Do Mexican Fence Post Cactus Get?
In natural desert areas and their natural habitats, Mexican Fence Post cactus easily reach a height of about 20 feet, or sometimes they reach even greater heights.
These cactus plants thrive in areas of higher temperatures and must be protected when the temperatures dip below twenty-five degrees.
Chances are, however, that the cactus plants you’re growing will not grow past a certain point in the confines of your home.
You may also not want this to happen as some cactus plants start needing a whole lot of water when they grow.
Instead, you can opt for a more manageable Mexican fence post cactus which doesn’t grow quite as tall.
If you manage to grow one in your backyard, then you will find that most Mexican fence post cactus can grow rather large.
However, the larger they grow, the more problems they create in maintenance. Thus, it would be best if you kept a close eye on the height of your plants.
How to Make Cactus Fences?
People have been building fences to protect themselves throughout history. Granted, these walls are generally made from a material that is more strong and tough, like concrete.
The material of these walls is inorganic and is generally a mixture of concrete and steel.
However, other methods and materials are available to create fences around your home. One of which includes making a cactus fence.
Columnar cactus has the sturdiness which you would need for building fences and walls.
These materials are organic which is why a cactus fence or a cactus wall will sometimes be described as ‘living.’
Cactus and other succulents have spines, which makes them a natural barrier when it comes to fences and walls. Cactus fences are made from cactus plants that are close in space.
However, if you want to build a cactus fence from scratch, you can build it around wire or even wood which you interweave with cactus plants.
You can then sink this frame into the soil and then watch as cactus plants grow out from it. The cactus plants will grow and bloom as you take care of them routinely.
Cactus fences don’t have to be extremely tall to serve their purpose.
You can use smaller cacti to achieve your purpose as well. For example, you can use a stiff-spiked golden barrel cactus that grows two to three feet tall and provides some coverage.
How to Cut Mexican Fence Post Cactus
We now know that the cactus plant which we will use for the cactus fence is the Mexican fencepost cactus.
But the issue is how we’re going to create cuttings for the Mexican fence post cactus so we can create a cactus fence from it.
Taking cuttings from a cactus is never easy but when we’re talking about the propagation of the Mexican post cactus, you have to understand all the steps you need to take.
Once you’ve taken these steps, you’ll have a brand new cactus fence to look forward to.
You can propagate the cactus from cuttings easily. It may sound scary if you’re doing it for the first time.
However, all you need to do is, take a bud or a small cutting from the cactus and transplant it to a pot.
You’ll need to take a small cutting and deeply embed it into the ground, but first, you’ll want to provide these cuttings with the right conditions so they can grow and produce healthy buds for your cactus wall eventually.
Providing the right conditions to the cactus fence plants is important so that it can create the type of fence you require for your home.
The growth rate of Cactus Fence
Once you’ve propagated and planted the cuttings, you then have to take care of the cactus fence. The cactus fence’s growth time depends on how you take care of several factors.
We have listed some of these factors below:
Soil
The soil for the Mexican cactus plant must be well-drained. These Mexican fence post cactus plants are used to dry soils. Thus a soil that is completely dried out between waterings is necessary.
Light
You have to ensure that the Mexican Post cactus gets ample sun because that’s how it will thrive. For your cactus fence, you should try to sow the plant at a time when you’re receiving at least six hours of sunlight.
You should make sure that there are no trees or structures which are coming in the way of your light.
Water
Water is in limited supply in deserts, so you must water these plants very sparingly so that they may grow naturally in the drought.
Purpose and Variety of Cactus Near Fences
If you don’t have the time or energy to make a cactus fence, you can place the cactus near the fence.
By doing so, you can create a bit of a fence all on your own. You can use smaller cactus plants to create a fence using different other cactus plants.
Does a Cactus Fence Need Maintenance?
A cactus fence will need maintenance. However, the amount of maintenance it requires is not a whole lot.
It just needs you to provide it with the right kind of soil, water, sunlight, and nutritional conditions so that it can grow and thrive into a great cactus fence.
The number of hours you will spend on the cactus fence is not likely to be extremely high.
