A large cactus along the fence of a country house.

A group of large Barrel Cactus taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens near Phoenix, Arizona.

It's not too late to book your spring trip!

Saguro cactus

Abstract macro of a Saguaro cactus (carnegiea gigantea), showing vertical lines of spines.

No plant could live in a true desert, where it never rains. But the places where cacti and other desert plants grow do get rain only every couple of years or so. When it rains, desert plants quickly take up the water through their roots, storing it in fleshy leaves and stems. That stored water allows them to survive until the next rain comes. The roots of desert plants are very deep, drawing from hidden underground water, or widespread and shallow to best gather the water that hits the…