Mammillaria brandegeei ‘Un Pico’ | Baja California Pincushion Cactus
€15,90
Mammillaria brandegeei (J.M.Coult.) Engelm. ex K.Brandegee ·
🌱 Morphology
Rare cultivar with only 1 spine per areole.... of this small Mammillaria with a globose, depressed, or shortly cylindrical, dark green body, solitary or forming clusters of several heads. It can reach approximately 9 cm in diameter. The tubercles are angular and the axils have wool. The areoles of the botanical species from which it originates normally produce 9–16 radial spines, yellowish or brownish-yellow, and 1–4 central spines that are somewhat longer and darker. In summer, it can contract and become partially sunken into the ground, an extraordinary adaptation for surviving drought.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, where it inhabits arid areas and desert scrublands. Some populations live practically flush with the ground on clay plateaus and survive the long summer drought by reducing their volume and creating a small, humid microclimate around the body. It is a true specialist of the peninsular deserts. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily, and Cacteae tribe.
❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −5 ºC when dry and with well-acclimated specimens. It must remain completely dry during the winter.
☀️ Lighting
Sun-loving. Intense lighting encourages compact growth, more pronounced spination, and good flowering. A DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended during active growth, with progressive acclimation to direct sun.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. Keep dry during the cold months. In spring and summer, water deeply and allow the substrate to dry out completely before the next watering. Its natural ability to contract during drought should not be confused with tolerance to excess water: it requires fast drainage and dry periods between waterings.
🌸 Flowering
Blooms in mature specimens. It produces relatively small flowers in greenish-yellow to yellow tones, which appear around the top, forming the characteristic Mammillaria crown. The fruits are pinkish and contain brown seeds. This species stands out among the Mammillaria of its surroundings precisely for its yellow flowers and lighter-colored fruits.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low nitrogen levels, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactaceae, is recommended, 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 substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
Gourmet 8x8 cm pot
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