€10,60

Gymnocalycium schickendantzii var. delaetii (K.Schum.) Backeb.

🌱 Morphology
 A solitary, slow-to-moderate growing cactus with a globose-flattened body that is larger than that of the type subspecies, featuring a dark green epidermis that can take on bluish, brownish, or bronze tones depending on light intensity. It has broad ribs with very rounded, prominent tubercles clearly separated by transverse grooves, one of its most characteristic features. The areoles are elongated and woolly. Each areole produces about 8 robust radial spines, somewhat flattened and arched outward, which interlace with those of neighboring areoles. Young spines are black or dark brown and later turn grayish. It generally lacks a central spine.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Its range is located in northwestern Argentina, especially in Salta and Tucumán, with populations and field records also in La Rioja, Catamarca, and Córdoba. It lives between 400 and 1500 m, in dry Chaco environments, steppes, and scrublands, frequently growing under the protection of shrubs. This tolerance to partial shade is an important ecological characteristic of the plant.

Family Cactaceae · Subfamily Cactoideae · Tribe Cereeae

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −7 ºC for short periods and with the substrate completely dry. In its habitat, it experiences winter frosts, although in cultivation, the combination of prolonged cold and humidity should be especially avoided.

☀️ Lighting
This species tolerates and naturally seeks some protection from shrubs. Bright partial shade or soft sun is recommended, avoiding the most intense summer sun of Madrid. As a reference, a DLI PAR greater than 20 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ provides enough energy for compact growth without unnecessarily stressing the epidermis.

💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
Winter dormancy. It grows mainly during spring and summer, coinciding with the rainfall regime of its habitat. During active growth, it is recommended to water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry completely before the next watering. In autumn, water intake is progressively reduced until it is kept almost dry during the winter.

🌸 Flowering
The flowers appear even on lateral areoles, as well as near the apex. They are widely funnel-shaped, about 5 cm long, white or slightly pink. The reddish buds are especially characteristic of delaetii and are one of the traits that distinguish it from the type subspecies. In its habitat, it blooms during the austral summer; in European cultivation, mainly between May and September, potentially producing several successive flowers during the season. Plants grown in botanical gardens have shown prolonged flowering, although only a few flowers remain open simultaneously.

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

🪴 Pot
9x9 cm gourmet black pot

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

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