€15,90

Mammillaria microhelia Werderm. · 

🌱 Morphology
  Small, slow-growing Mammillaria, initially globose and later cylindrical, solitary or forming small clusters. It can reach about 15–25 cm in height and 3–6 cm in diameter. The tubercles are conical and rounded, with naked or slightly woolly axils. The areoles are armed with 30–50 white or yellowish radial spines, thin and arranged like sun rays, usually accompanied by 1–4 more robust, reddish or brown central spines, up to 1 cm long.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
A Mexican species with a very restricted distribution in Querétaro, where it grows between 2,000 and 2,600 m in altitude. It lives on volcanic rock, in semi-arid scrubland and in submontane deciduous oak forests. It is, therefore, a mountain Mammillaria rather than a hot desert species. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily and Cacteae tribe.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −5 ºC when dry and with well-acclimatized specimens. A completely dry rest period notably increases its cold resistance.

☀️ Lighting
It needs plenty of light and appreciates direct sun, which promotes denser spination and abundant flowering. During periods of extreme heat, it may benefit from light shade during the central hours. A DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended during active growth.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. Keep completely dry during the winter. In spring and summer, water deeply only when the substrate is completely dry, allowing it to drain quickly. It is especially sensitive to excess moisture at the roots; ventilation and drainage are essential.

🌸 Flowering
It blooms from the first years of cultivation. The flowers appear mainly in spring, although in cultivation they can last for a good part of the warm season. They are small, bell-shaped, in shades of cream, greenish-yellow, pink or magenta, and can form a delicate crown around the apex. It is pollinated by insects.

🌿 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 with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

8x8cm pot

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