Copiapoa cinerea | Desert Plant
€40,00
🌱 Morphology
Silver in the mists... A very slow-growing Copiapoa, with a globose to elongated cylindrical body, generally greenish-gray and covered by a characteristic whitish pruina that can give it an almost silvery appearance. It can grow solitarily or branch laterally and basally, forming loose clusters with age. The stems can reach approximately 1 m in length and 18 cm in diameter. It features 12–30 rounded, shallow, and slightly tuberculate ribs. The areoles, ranging from gray to black, are spaced apart and develop highly variable spines: from 0–6 radial spines and up to 4 central ones, usually dark at first and grayish with age. The apex is covered by white to grayish wool.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
A species endemic to northern Chile, with populations from the vicinity of Paposo to the surroundings of Taltal and other coastal desert localities, from approximately 30 to 1,000 m in altitude. It grows on extremely arid rocky slopes, frequently under the influence of the camanchaca (coastal fog), in the coastal lomas ecosystem of the Atacama Desert. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Copiapoa genus. The name used follows the classification by Joël Lodé, Taxonomy of the Cactaceae, volumes III–VI, 2026. Echinocactus cinereus Phil. is its historical synonym.
❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 10a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to 0 ºC provided it is kept completely dry. Its coastal habitat has relatively moderate temperatures, so it must be protected from frost and, especially, from the combination of cold and humidity.
☀️ Lighting
It requires very intense lighting, preferably in full sun. High radiation promotes compact growth and the development of the characteristic grayish pruina. As a guide during active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. It is a species extraordinarily adapted to aridity. During active growth, moderate and widely spaced watering is recommended, allowing the substrate to dry out completely before watering again. In autumn, water intake should be progressively reduced until it is kept dry during the winter. Prolonged humidity must be avoided, especially at low temperatures.
🌸 Flowering
It produces pale yellow, funnel-shaped flowers, approximately 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter. The inner perianth segments may have a reddish apex, while the outer ones frequently show a characteristic reddish central stripe. They appear in the areoles near the apex, generally during spring and summer. The fruits are small, pinkish to reddish, up to about 1.5 cm in diameter.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low levels of nitrogen 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 technological square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
9x9 cm gourmet black pot
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