Leuchtenbergia principis Hook.

🌱 Morphology
   One of the most unmistakable cacti: its cylindrical stem develops a rosette of long, triangular, glaucous tubercles resembling agave leaves, which can reach 10–12 cm in length. Each tubercle ends in a woolly areole with fine, flexible papery spines, generally 8–14 radial spines and 1–2 central spines, the latter occasionally much longer. The lower tubercles age, dry out, and eventually fall off, leaving a bare, corky stem. It has a powerful napiform root, so it requires sufficiently deep containers. It can reach about 50–70 cm in height, although cultivated specimens are usually smaller and very slow-growing.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
Endemic to central and northeastern Mexico, in the Chihuahuan Desert, mainly on limestone slopes and rocky plains at elevations between 1,500 and 2,000 m. It is found in Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. It is the only species in the genus Leuchtenbergia, belonging to the Cactaceae family, Cacteae tribe. Its extraordinary resemblance to a small agave is responsible for its common name “agave cactus”.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
Tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −7 ºC when dry and with well-acclimatized specimens. Protection from moisture during cold spells is especially important due to its thick napiform root.

☀️ Lighting
Requires direct sunlight and very intense radiation to keep the tubercles compact, glaucous, and properly triangular. During active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended as a guideline.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. It should be kept practically dry during the winter, especially when temperatures are low. From spring to early autumn, it can be watered deeply when the substrate is completely dry. During flower bud formation, it may need slightly more water, but always with fast drainage. Excess moisture is one of the main causes of specimen loss.

🌸 Flowering
Mature specimens produce large yellow, fragrant, bell-shaped or infundibuliform flowers, approximately 5–8 cm in diameter, which emerge near the young tubercles and open during the day. Some references describe pink or reddish hues on the outer parts of the perianth. After flowering, smooth green fruits form, which dry out upon ripening and contain numerous large, dark seeds.

🌿 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® Cacti, 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 with a substrate enriched with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

📏 Gourmet xerophyte in 10x10 cm, 12x12 cm and 14x14 cm pots

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The photo description specifies the plant's measurements, but these may also vary slightly because it is a living thing! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.