Types of Cleistocactus – Golden Tail, Monkey Tail, or Silver Torch

Choose a golden rat tail, a monkey tail, or a silver torch first.

Choose a golden rat tail, a monkey tail, or a silver torch first

The first choice is the habit you want. Golden rat tail hangs with golden spines. Monkey tail hangs with white hair. Silver torch stands as a silver column. If the tag only says Cleistocactus, look at whether the stems hang or stand, then pick that kind. [1] [2]

Browse by kind

Match the hanging tail or the upright column, then pick that kind. A silver torch will not fill a hanging basket, and a golden tail will not stand as a column. Care for the plant you already have on How to Grow Golden Rat Tail Cactus. [3] [4]

Golden rat tail

golden rat tail cactus is the trailing plant with short golden spines and orange tubular flowers. Tags may say Cleistocactus aureispinus or Hildewintera. Buy this group for a hanging golden tail, not for an upright silver column. It is Cleistocactus winteri, not the common rat tail cactus.

Monkey tail

monkey tail cactus is the trailing plant with long white hair-like spines. The name is cola de mono. Tags may also say rat tail — check the Latin, because that shop name usually means Aporocactus. Buy it for hanging white hair, not for golden spines.

Silver torch

silver torch cactus is an upright column densely covered in short white spines. Tags may say wooly torch. Buy it for a silver column in a pot or a frost-free rock garden, not for a hanging basket. It is Cleistocactus strausii, not an old-man cactus.

If you wanted a hanging golden tail, buy golden rat tail — silver torch is an upright column.