Acanthocalycium glaucum | Copper Moon. Blue Acanthocalycium from Catamarca
€21,20
Acanthocalycium glaucum (F.Ritter) Lodé
🌱 Morphology
Generally solitary cactus, with a globose to short-cylindrical body and a bluish-green or glaucous gray epidermis, which can reach about 15 cm in height. It features 8–14 rounded and slightly notched ribs, with whitish areoles. The spines are dark, generally with 5–10 straight radials up to 2.5 cm long and, occasionally, 1–2 centrals; some plants may lack central spines. Its bluish appearance and woolly areoles create an especially elegant contrast.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic to Catamarca, northwestern Argentina, especially in the Belén–Hualfín area. It lives in desert environments and xerophytic shrublands of the Prepuna, on stony terrain, at approximately 1200 to 3600 m depending on the known populations. It belongs to the Cactaceae family. The name currently recognized by Joël Lodé is Acanthocalycium thionanthum subsp. glaucum; Acanthocalycium glaucum F.Ritter is its basionym.
❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8b
Tolerates minimum temperatures of down to −7 ºC when kept dry and with well-acclimated specimens. During periods of intense cold, it is recommended to keep the substrate completely dry.
☀️ Lighting
Requires very intense light and direct sun to maintain its bluish hue and compact spination. A DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended during active growth, with progressive acclimatization.
💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
Winter dormancy. During the winter, it remains practically dry. As temperatures rise, watering is resumed, being abundant but spaced out, allowing the substrate to dry out completely between waterings. In cultivation, it is advisable to replicate the natural alternation between long periods of drought and intense but occasional rainfall.
🌸 Flowering
It flowers from 5-6 years of age. The flowers appear in the apical area and reach up to 6 cm in length and diameter. They are generally yellow, although there are forms with red or bicolored flowers, sometimes with a yellow or orange center. The floral tube is covered in hairs and scales tipped with small spines, a very striking characteristic of the genus.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low nitrogen levels is recommended, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae, applied once a month when watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
9x9 cm pot
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