€26,50

Gymnocalycium pflanzii (Vaupel) Werderm. 

🌱 Morphology
A globose Gymnocalycium with relatively fast growth, generally solitary at first, although it may produce offsets with age. The body is globose-flattened, yellowish-green, olive green, or grayish-green in color, and reaches approximately 6–8 cm in height and up to 15 cm in diameter. It presents only 8–10 ribs, thick and well-defined, divided into rounded polygonal tubercles. The areoles are elongated and oval, initially with yellowish-cream wool. It develops 6–9 radial spines, robust, rigid, and characteristically curved backwards, in addition to a generally short central spine. The spines can be brownish-pink or whitish-brown, with a darker tip.

These characteristics make it possible to distinguish it from Gymnocalycium saglionis, which is much larger and has 15–30 or more low, wide ribs, larger and more elongated areoles, and generally longer spines. In G. pflanzii, the lower number of ribs and the strongly recurved radial spines are good clues for its identification.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It has a wide distribution across Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, where it grows in sandy plains and rocky outcrops, at approximately 500 to 2,000 m of altitude. It mainly inhabits dry and seasonally arid environments, often among low vegetation that provides some protection from intense solar radiation. The species is highly variable, and several subspecies are currently recognized.
Family Cactaceae · Subfamily Cactoideae · Tribe Cereeae 

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8a
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to −12 ºC for brief periods and with the substrate completely dry. Although it comes from relatively warm regions, some populations live at high enough altitudes to withstand episodes of dry cold. In cultivation, the combination of cold and humidity should be especially avoided.

☀️ Lighting
It needs high light levels. It can be grown in mild direct sun, but in very intense summers it is advisable to provide light protection during the central hours. Adequate lighting promotes compact spination and can produce bronze or purplish tones on the epidermis. A PAR radiation of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ (DLI) is recommended.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. During active growth, it is recommended to water abundantly and let the substrate dry out completely before the next watering. In autumn, supply is progressively reduced to keep it dry during the winter. A highly draining substrate is essential to avoid root problems.

🌸 Flowering
The flowers emerge near the apex and are campanulate to infundibuliform, with a short floral tube, ranging from pinkish-white to salmon pink, and can reach about 5 cm in length and diameter. The throat has a characteristic carmine to purple-pink hue, while the style is also reddish and the anthers are yellow. The flowers last for several days and can appear successively during the growing season.

The flower is also one of the best characteristics to distinguish it from G. saglionis: in pflanzii, the flower is more clearly campanulate, with a red throat and short tube; in saglionis, it is urceolate, with an absent or very short tube and without the characteristic carmine throat, and its stamens are whitish or yellowish instead of reddish. G. pflanzii can flower while relatively young and produce several flowers during the season.

🌿 Nutrition
During active growth, Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae NPK (Ca-Mg) 4-4-7 (4-4) is recommended once a month along with watering. Assimilable calcium promotes the formation of firm tissues and the maintenance of turgidity, while magnesium participates in chlorophyll synthesis. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.

🪴 Pot
12x12 cm gourmet black pot

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot with substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

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