€15,90

Mammillaria humboldtii Ehrenb. 

🌱 Morphology
  For collectors... Miniature cactus, globose-depressed, light green, solitary when young and later cespitose, forming small mounds. Each head reaches about 7 cm. The tubercles are cylindrical with woolly axils, and the areoles lack a central spine. It presents more than 80 very fine white radial spines, arranged in several series, which almost completely cover the body and give it a snowball-like appearance.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
Endemic to Hidalgo, Mexico, especially in the Barranca de Metztitlán, where it lives at approximately 1,350 to 1,500 m. It is a specialist of limestone rock crevices and ledges, on very steep walls where water drains away quickly. It inhabits a semi-arid landscape of xerophytic scrub, with summer rains and a long dry season. It belongs to the Cactaceae family. It is a species with an extremely restricted distribution and is considered threatened.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −5 ºC when kept dry and with well-acclimatized specimens. Damp cold is especially dangerous due to the high density of spines, which retain moisture around the body.

☀️ Lighting
It requires plenty of light to maintain its compact white coat. It tolerates direct sun, although in cultivation it is advisable to protect it from the most scorching midday sun during heat waves. An approximate DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended, with progressive acclimatization.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. Keep completely dry during the cold months. In spring and summer, it is recommended to water deeply and let the substrate dry out completely before watering again. Water should preferably be directed to the substrate and not to the crown, because the numerous spines can trap moisture against the epidermis. Its calcareous and extremely well-draining habitat explains its sensitivity to excess water.

🌸 Flowering
It flowers approximately from about 4–5 years of age. In its habitat, it develops buds from December and reaches peak flowering in January-February; in cultivation, this may shift toward spring. The flowers are purplish-pink to bright red, about 1.5 cm, and appear forming the characteristic crown around the plant. It is facultatively xenogamous, so cross-pollination favors seed production, although there is some capacity for self-fertilization.

🌿 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 technological square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

8x8 cm pot

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