Silver torch cactus
Cleistocactus strausii
Also called Wooly torch and Cleistocactus
Houseplant · Succulents & cactiIT GETS TO THREE METRES and stays as thin as your wrist the whole way. Plan for the height, not the width — and it needs a heavy pot before it is a metre tall.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 18 daysSoak, then bone-dry — wait until the soil is dry right through — lift the pot, it tells you.
- Light
- Bright, with direct sun
- Feed
- Every 60 days
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 0.3 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Bolivia and Argentina
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
HandlingTake care handling it
Dense fine spines. It looks soft and it is not.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-08-04. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.