Long-Lived Giants
Saguaros stick around for a while: They can live on average between 150 and 175 years and generally don’t reach maturity until 35 to 65 years old. This longevity helps the cacti survive the extremes of their natural habitat, as the cactus’s resilience to drought increases as they grow. Older cacti are able to store large amounts of water and withstand unusually dry seasons. Smaller cacti, meanwhile, generally rely on the moisture in the ground to survive and may not last through a season where the soil is dried out. Younger cacti generally need several seasons of favorable growing conditions with plentiful rains to develop to maturity.
