€10,60

🌱 Morphology
  Horticultural selection of the original botanical species, carried out in Spain. It is a globose, slow-growing cactus, generally solitary, although it may produce basal offsets with age. In adult specimens, it can reach approximately 1 m in height and 80 cm in diameter, progressively acquiring a somewhat more cylindrical shape. The body is deep green and features numerous deep ribs, generally more than 20 in adult specimens.

The areoles are densely arranged on the ribs and develop numerous yellow or golden spines. Each areole features several radial and central spines, the latter being more robust and longer, which can reach several centimeters. In this clone, the length of the spines is much shorter. The dense cover of golden spines is the characteristic that gives the plant its appearance of a large golden sphere and its common name, golden barrel.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Family Cactaceae. It is a species endemic to Mexico, with a natural distribution from Zacatecas to San Luis Potosí. It grows in dry scrub and semi-desert environments, on rocky slopes, where drainage is very fast.

Its natural populations are found at approximately 1,400 to 1,900 m in altitude. This high altitude is relevant for its cultivation: although it lives in a warm and arid region, nighttime temperatures and winter episodes can be considerably lower than those corresponding to a strictly lowland cactus. The currently accepted name is Kroenleinia grusonii; Echinocactus grusonii, the name by which it has been historically known, is its homotypic synonym.

❄️ Temperature
USDA Zone 8b–11b. It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −10 ºC in dry specimens, according to cultivation observations made at Desert CITY. This resistance should be interpreted as an observed tolerance to a specific minimum temperature, and not as a direct equivalence between −10 ºC and USDA Zone 8b.

The high altitude of some natural populations helps explain why it is not an exclusively thermophilic cactus. In cultivation, cold resistance increases considerably when the plant is completely dry, well-acclimatized, and protected from persistent humidity. The main winter risk is not just the low temperature, but the combination of cold and moist substrate.

☀️ Lighting
Indicative DLI PAR: 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹. It is a cactus with high light requirements. Intense lighting promotes compact growth, well-defined ribs, and dense, golden spination.

Young specimens should be progressively acclimated to direct sun. Once adapted, they can receive high radiation. During exceptional episodes of intense heat, especially in small pots, it may be advisable to provide some protection during the central hours to avoid excessive overheating of the body.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. Its cycle is related to warm temperatures and seasonal rainfall, but the high altitude of its natural populations introduces a marked thermal amplitude between day and night. Growth is especially favorable during spring and summer, when temperatures allow for adequate root activity.

During the active period, it is recommended to water abundantly and let the substrate dry completely before the next application. In autumn, watering should be progressively reduced and, during winter, kept practically dry. It should not be watered at very low temperatures.

During episodes of extreme heat, it may also temporarily slow down its activity. In these circumstances, heat should not be interpreted as a signal to automatically increase watering: first, it must be verified that there is active growth.

🌸 Flowering
Specimens need to reach considerable maturity before flowering (around 18 years). The flowers appear forming a ring in the upper area of the body, near the apex, and are yellow, with a campanulate to widely infundibuliform appearance.

Flowering occurs mainly during the warm months, approximately in summer. In cultivation in Spain, one can expect it, indicatively, between June and September, depending on the age of the specimen, the accumulation of light hours, and spring temperatures.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Cactáceas is recommended, applied after watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Floración. Fertilizing is not recommended during winter rest or when the plant is subjected to extreme temperatures.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.

📏 The sizes of our xerophytes are as follows:

S -> 9cm x 9cm

M-> 14cm x 14 cm

L->16cm x 16 cm

Pots for large specimens, with variable price depending on age and diameter

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this can also vary slightly because, after all, it is a living being! Each of the Desert CITY plants has unique characteristics.

S -> 9cm x 9cm

M-> 14cm x 14 cm

L->16cm x 16 cm

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this can also vary slightly because, after all, it is a living being! Each of the Desert CITY plants has unique characteristics.

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