Home
Garden Plants


Compare Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon


Firecracker Penstemon and Moonlight cactus


What is

Life Span
Annual and Perennial  
Perennial  

Type
Cactus or Succulent  
Flowering Plants  

Origin
Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, South America  
Southwestern United States, California  

Types
Not avilable  
-  

Number of Varieties
10  
40  
99+

Habitat
Desert  
Dry areas, meadows  

USDA Hardiness Zone
-9999  
4-9  

AHS Heat Zone
-  
9-1  

Sunset Zone
7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24  
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21  

Habit
Weeping  
Clump-Forming  

Information

Plant Size
  
  

Minimum Height
30.00 cm  
99+
61.00 cm  
99+

Minimum Width
4.20 cm  
25.40 cm  
99+

Plant Color
  
  

Flower Color
Dark Salmon, Sandy Brown, White, Yellow  
Crimson  

Flower Color Modifier
Multi-Color  
Bicolor  

Fruit Color
Green  
-  

Leaf Color in Spring
-  
Green  

Leaf Color in Summer
-  
Green  

Leaf Color in Fall
-  
Green  

Leaf Color in Winter
-  
-  

Shape
  
  

Leaf Shape
Succulent  
Oblong  

Thorns
Yes  
No  

Season

Plant Season
-  
Summer  

Growing Conditions
  
  

Sunlight
Full Sun, Partial shade  
Full Sun, Partial Sun  

Growth Rate
Fast  
Fast  

Type of Soil
Sand  
Loam, Sand  

The pH of Soil
Alkaline, Neutral  
Neutral, Alkaline  

Soil Drainage
Well drained  
Well drained  

Bloom Time
Early Spring, Early Summer, Late Spring, Late Winter, Mid Spring  
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer  

Repeat Bloomer
-  
No  

Tolerances
Drought  
-  

Care

Where to Plant?
Container, Ground, Pot  
Ground  

How to Plant?
Grafting, Seedlings  
Seedlings, Stem Planting  

Plant Maintenance
Medium  
Medium  

Watering Plants
  
  

Watering Requirements
Average Water Needs  
Do Not over Water, Requires watering in the growing season, Water Deeply, Water when soil is dry  

In Summer
Lots of watering  
Lots of watering  

In Spring
Moderate  
Moderate  

In Winter
Average Water  
Average Water  

Soil
  
  

Soil pH
-  
Neutral, Alkaline  

Soil Type
-  
Loam, Sand  

Soil Drainage Capacity
-  
Well drained  

Sun Exposure
-  
Full Sun, Partial Sun  

Pruning
-  
No pruning needed in the early stages, Prune to stimulate growth, Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead leaves, Remove deadheads  

Fertilizers
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer  
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, Apply 10-10-10 amount  

Pests and Diseases
-  
Insects  

Plant Tolerance
Drought  
Drought  

Facts

Flowers
Yes  
Showy  

Flower Petal Number
Semi-Double  
Single  

Fruits
  
  

Showy Fruit
Yes  
No  

Edible Fruit
Yes  
No  

Fragrance
  
  

Fragrant Flower
Yes  
No  

Fragrant Fruit
Yes  
No  

Fragrant Leaf
-  
No  

Fragrant Bark/Stem
No  
No  

Showy Foliage
No  
No  

Showy Bark
No  
No  

Foliage Texture
Bold  
Medium  

Foliage Sheen
-  
Matte  

Evergreen
No  
No  

Invasive
No  
No  

Self-Sowing
No  
No  

Attracts
-  
Hummingbirds  

Allergy
Itchiness  
Asthma  

Benefits

Uses
  
  

Aesthetic Uses
Hanging Basket, Showy Purposes  
Showy Purposes  

Beauty Benefits
-  
-  

Edible Uses
Yes  
No  

Environmental Uses
-  
Air purification  

Plant Benefits
  
  

Medicinal Uses
-  
Burns, Snakebite, Stomach aliments  

Part of Plant Used
Fruits, Nut  
Whole plant  

Other Uses
Used As Food, Used as Ornamental plant, Used for Landscaping  
Used as Ornamental plant  

Used As Indoor Plant
Yes  
No  

Used As Outdoor Plant
Yes  
Yes  

Garden Design
Container, Houseplant, Lawns and Turf, Mixed Border, Tropical  
Container, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower  

Scientific Name

Botanical Name
Selenicereus pteranthus  
PENSTEMON eatonii  

Common Name
Selenicereus, Moonlight cactus  
Firecracker Penstemon  

In Hindi
moonlight cactus  
Firecracker penstemon  

In German
Selenicereus  
Kracher penstemon  

In French
Selenicereus  
Firecracker penstemon  

In Spanish
Selenicereus  
Penstemon del petardo  

In Greek
Selenicereus  
πυροτέχνημα penstemon  

In Portuguese
Selenicereus  
Penstemon do foguete  

In Polish
Selenicereus  
petarda penstemon  

In Latin
moonlight cactus  
Firecracker Persicaria  

Classification

Kingdom
Plantae  
Plantae  

Phylum
Tracheophyta  
-  

Class
Magnoliopsida  
-  

Order
Caryophyllales  
Lamiales  

Family
Cactaceae  
Scrophulariaceae  

Genus
Selenicereus  
Penstemon  

Clade
Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots  
Angiosperms, Asterids, Eudicots  

Tribe
Hylocereeae  
-  

Subfamily
Cactoideae  
-  

Number of Species
1  
250  
99+

What is >>
<< All

Difference Between Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon

If you are confused whether Moonlight cactus or Firecracker Penstemon are same, here are some features about those plants to help you choose better. Many people think that these two plants have the same characteristics, but one can see Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon Information and learn more about it. Fertilizers required for proper growth of Moonlight cactus are All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, whereas for Firecracker Penstemon fertilizers required are All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer and Apply 10-10-10 amount. Hence, one should know the basic difference between Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon if you are planning to have them in your garden to enhance its beauty.

<Flowering Plants

Compare Cactus

Importance of Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon

Want to have the most appropriate plant for your garden? You might want to know the importance of Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon. Basically, these two plants vary in many aspects. Compare Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon as they differ in many characteristics such as their life, care, benefits, facts, etc. Every gardener must at least have the slightest clue about the plants he wants to plant in his garden. Compare their benefits, which differ in many ways like facts and uses. The medicinal use of Moonlight cactus is whereas of Firecracker Penstemon is Burns, Snakebite and Stomach aliments. Moonlight cactus has beauty benefits as follows: while Firecracker Penstemon has beauty benefits as follows: .

Compare Facts of Moonlight cactus vs Firecracker Penstemon

How to choose the best garden plant for your garden depending upon its facts? Here garden plant comparison will help you to solve this query. Compare the facts of Moonlight cactus vs Firecracker Penstemon and know which one to choose. As garden plants have benefits and other uses, allergy is also a major drawback of plants for some people. Allergic reactions of Moonlight cactus are Itchiness whereas of Firecracker Penstemon have Asthma respectively. Having a fruit bearing plant in your garden can be a plus point of your garden. Moonlight cactus has showy fruits and Firecracker Penstemon has no showy fruits. Also Moonlight cactus is flowering and Firecracker Penstemon is not flowering . You can compare Moonlight cactus and Firecracker Penstemon facts and facts of other plants too.

Cactus

Cactus

» More Cactus

Compare Cactus

» More Compare Cactus