Either method is hit and miss. Good Luck

Very sloooooooow growing. I am too old and too impatient to do either. I buy 6-8 foot plants.

I purchased seeds from two species of Ocotillos this year (Fouquieria fasciculata & F. leonilae), and also had some seed from my own in-ground Mexican Tree Ocotillo (F. macdougalli). So, armed with seeds from these 3 species, I attempted my first ever ocotillos from seed.

The results:
- nothing at all from the 2 F. leonilae seeds planted
- 1 of the 2 F. macdougali seeds sprouted briefly, but died a week later despite my ministrations.
- 1 of the 2 F. fasciculata seeds sprouted, and is still alive.

The lone success - one F. fasciculata - is now about 2 inches tall and has about 6-8 leaves at its tip. However, desertlvr is completely correct...this seedling has stayed the same size for the past 3 months. It grew at a pretty decent rate for the first month, but nothing since.

But, it's still alive and green, so I guess that's just the way it goes!

I still have a couple seeds of each left over, so will try again either later this year or early next. Depends on my patience level! = )

I just love the ocotillos - and am thinking that I may finally get blooms from 2 of my other species this year for the first time! (F. diguetti & F. burragei)

Wish me luck!

Cheers,
Tristan

Sadly, those who buy the larger plants also sometimes buy illegally obtained plants often from south of the border or government land. Many of these plants fail to root and die. Often the homeowner does not even know they are dead since they look the same as when they were bought. There are many healthy ocotillos even as far north as Albuquerque (having seen below zero temps in the last fifty years). But many of these landscaper Chihuahuan stripper specials don't make it due to the shock or they rot having the core of the often gutted plant exposed to wet soil (it rains - even in the desert). Buy small. These can grow pretty fast if given the proper balance of water heat and sun. Save the ancient ocotillos in their native habitats and buy small. It is the right thing to do (and for your grandchildren too).

I live a few miles South of Tucson, AZ and have had reasonable luck propagating ocotillo cuttings. I have two large plants in my yard that I prune occasionally (not in the winter when it might get below freezing), and use the cuttings to start new "plants." I cut the stems off as close to the ground as is convenient, resulting in 5' - 6' cuttings. I then group 6 to 8 of them together, tying the top (2' down) and bottom (1' up) with twine or wire to 1. make the bundle easy to carry, and 2. make it easy to handle when planting. I usually plant the cuttings the same day as I remove them from the mature plants, but have been told that I could wait as long as two weeks (I have not tried this.). I dig a hole 4" to 6" deep (enough to get through the abundant caliche), wide enough to accommodate the base of the bundle. I do not add water to the hole. I insert the bundle in the hole and replace the removed dirt (no additives) and pack as tightly as I can using the handle-end of my trowel. I then use three small tent stakes and twine or rope to help the bundles stand erect. I then wait for results. I occasionally mist the stems but not on a regular basis and sometimes not at all.

Using the above method I usually (five times over 10 years) get four to six of the planted stems to respond and start growing, usually within 18 months. I have had two failures using this method, both when trying to start cuttings in areas that had previously been used for other plants where there were left-over soil amendments present.

I live in the high desert (3,500+ft elevation) just outside of Palm Springs, CA and have had more success with Ocotillos than anything else I've grown, though they are native here. I purchased 1 large bare root Ocotillo from Home Depot 3 years ago (I think it was an AZ native species). I soaked the plant and covered it in garbage bags overnight, dug a 2-3 foot deep hole, planted with about 50-50 mulch/native soil and one tree fertilizer stake (I think it was Miracle Grow). I watered it both by spraying the branches and watering the roots 2-3x a week as this was during the driest, hottest part of the summer and bare root ocotillos need more watering until they start to show life again. About 3-4 months after planting, my Ocotillo leafed out. It has leafed out and bloomed every year since. I also purchased a potted Ocotillo about 3 years ago. That one required less watering and has stayed strong. You must make sure not to overwater. The roots need to be able to dry out. I only water during the hottest months (June through September) and only water these plants once every 2-3 weeks. About 2 years ago, after my bare root Ocotillo bloomed, I took the wilted dry flower stem off and shook the seeds out into a large south-facing planter tub that was about 70/30 mulch/native soil. I watered the seeds about 2x a week. After a month, I had dozens of sprouts. Once they germinated (around June), I cut back watering to once a week, then once every 2 weeks around September, then I stopped watering altogether around October once the temperature dropped and occasional rain fell. I didn't cover these during the winter, which drops below freezing nightly for a couple of months during the winter. I believe most, if not all, survived the winter and came back the following spring. Around May/June, I began watering once every 2-3 weeks, stopping again in the fall. I still have most, if not all of the seedlings. They are almost 2 years old, about 3-4 inches tall, as of March about 26 seedlings have leafed out and another 10 or so appear to still be alive without leaves yet. They seem like they will need another year or two before they will be large enough to be re-potted, but these plants are so hearty I wouldn't be surprised if they survived repotting now. They do grow very slow. I have no idea why so many sites claim they grow 10-12" a year... my seedlings seem to grow about 2 inches a year and my mature plants grow 2-4 inches a year. I have talked to owners of local nurseries and my plants seem to be about the same size as the Ocotillos they sell of the same age. I haven't had any luck propagating a plant from a branch trimming. They all died and my mature plants seemed not to like that they were trimmed.

I have a house in the Mojave desert. I bought an ocotillo (labeled as from Arizona) from the "pile" at Home Depot in Yucca Valley 3 years ago and it is doing fine as far as I can tell. It has new growth and has flowered every year including this year. Based on that success I purchased 4 more this year. It is too early to know how those will fare but I suspect they will do fine, too. My method was to soak the plant in water and vitamin B-1 overnight and then plant the next day. For the new plant I watered every other day for 2-4 minutes depending on weather until September when I cut back on water and eventually stopped entirely until March again. Lots of sites say this is too much water - and it is for a mature, established plant which should be watered every other week - sometimes once per week depending on temperatures. In the wild they go for months at 100F+ with no rainfall at all. However, those are established plants growing in ideal conditions. I suspect they were established in wetter periods. I noticed when I cut back on water when the weather cooled in late summer the plant is a lot less happy. I think the key to success is water and lots of it. Just make sure most of it drains away. Standing water is death. As the plant matures cut way back on the water but it needs water to establish.