I think it needs water if anything...

It rained a week ago, more rain coming this week. You are right, it does not look very plump. If we don't get a good rain coming up, I'll water it.

Those guys grow during summer mostly and should not be watered when cold. So I would not feed now if going into the winter. Your pot size seems right, the roots do need some space so repotting and/or feeding with low nitrogen fertilizer at the beginning of growing season might help. The younger plant do tend to turn yellow/brownish when under too much sun, so again depending on your location, some shade during summer mid-day may help keeping it greener. Looks nice though

Thank you Alain and Stefan. I'm in So Ca, it sits in full sun year 'round. I have covered it in heat waves. I really don't want to move it as it's heavy and would have to be moved later maybe depending on changing seasons, shade situations, etc. I think what confuses me is that I understand the Sonoran Desert gets some rain in the summer, so I was thinking maybe that summer is when it should be fed. I realize these plants need very little feeding, but I don't think it's had anything in a long time.

You are pretty safe then when it comes to cold. They do get some water during winter in their natural habit too but they don't take much of it. Rightly, they do get rain in the summer during their growing season, so water and light feeding (low nitrogen!) at that time is best :). I get some frost here so no/very little water and protection from rain in winter for mine.

Socks, I am in SoCal. Are you in South Carolina? If you are in Southern California then my experience might be helpful. I planted mine on a raised bed almost 26 years ago. Being in SOUTHERN Cal. it gets rain mostly in the winter which is opposite of what it gets in monsoonal Arizona. Because it is in the ground it has free root run. These don't put out a taproot per say. The roots run very close to the surface so they can catch all the water they can get in the monsoon flash floods. My understanding is that these are not supposed to survive for long in winter rainfall areas. I don't know if I've been lucky, or if these are more adaptable than thought. I thought I was going to lose it in the last really strong El Nino about a decade or so ago. Mine blew up like a baloon and I was afraid it would crack and get a fungal infection. I will tarp the ground around it in the coming El Nino to be safe. I got this at just under 6 feet (per permit requirement) about 27+ years ago so it has been uprooted (moved) twice in its lifetime. The indented waist shown in the picture just above the 2 posts I supported it with is about the 6 foot mark. The other picture shows an exposed surface root.

It is about 14 feet now if I guess right. I don't know how old it was when I got it. I will guess it was at least 15 to 20 years at collection. Now it would be about 41-47 years old. It still has not branched. Imagine how old the giants with multiple branches in Tucson must be.

Aloebot you‘re pretty cool in my book;). How big was the hole when you replanted your Saguaro?

I read that a fully mature Saguaro can absorb up to 200 gallons of water during a rainstorm.

Saw this the other day. Wish cell towers around here looked like these...

Thanks Kara. I don't think I made much of a hole at all. The raised bed you can see in the picture is about 5 feet wide and trails back through the Dasylirion. I believe I made a depression in the bed deep enough to just cover about a 3 foot root spread. I think the raised bed is about 2 feet deep. The 2 metal posts and loose straps or ropes helped keep it erect until the roots did their thing. I have been too lazy to remove the posts. Maybe that will be a near future project.

Aloe, thank you for sharing all that! I'm in Southern California. Saguaros absolutely fascinate me, and I enjoyed hearing about yours. That's an ocotillo next to it?

When we drive to Arizona, I love seeing them. Each seems to have its own personality. It seems odd they almost stop at the CA/AZ border. Sometimes the slopes are dotted with them and other low-growing shrubs, and it is so beautiful.

Socks, the Ocotillo is possibly a hybrid. I got it as a 1 gallon plant at Cal Poly. It was a student project. I assumed it was a rooted cutting, but it could have been seed grown. The other plant I got at the same time is surely a F. diguetii. This one may be a cross between F. diguetii and F. splendens (ocotillo).

Nice to see cactusmcharris is back in town;).

I spent 4 years in Tucson while in grad school, and that's just about the postcard area for Saguaro. Almost all the yearly rainfall is, as stated above, in late Summer and early Fall. Occasional light showers in Spring but dry as a bone most of the year.