€7,95

Mammillaria simplex Haw.

🌱 Morphology
   Cactus with a globose to shortly cylindrical habit, solitary or forming small groups, with a slightly depressed apex and up to about 20 cm in diameter. The tubercles are conical, green, and contain milky sap; the axils have little wool. The areoles develop 3–5 reddish or brownish central spines, 7–8 mm long, generally with a darker tip, and 10–16 shorter radial spines. The flowers, small and bell-funnel-shaped, are cream-white and form a crown around the apex.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is an especially interesting species because it is the type species of the Mammillaria genus. It is distributed throughout Venezuela, Colombia, and numerous Caribbean islands, including Curaçao, where it grows on rocky and limestone terrain in warm, dry, and seasonally arid environments, from sea level up to approximately 1500 m. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, tribe Cacteae.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 10b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to 5 ºC when kept dry and if the specimens are well-acclimatized. It is a tropical Mammillaria and does not tolerate frost well; in winter, it is recommended to keep it protected from cold humidity.

☀️ Lighting
It needs plenty of light and several hours of direct sun, always with progressive adaptation. During active growth, it can be maintained with an approximate DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹. Good ventilation helps, especially in humid climates.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. Although it comes from tropical regions, it responds well to a winter period of significantly reduced watering. During spring and summer, it is recommended to water abundantly and do so again only when the substrate is completely dry. In autumn, watering is progressively spaced out until it is kept practically dry during the winter.

🌸 Flowering
It can bloom from about 3 years of age, although this depends on the size and cultivation conditions. It produces small cream-white flowers, about 1–1.2 cm, that appear in a crown around the apex; it can bloom repeatedly when conditions are favorable. It is self-fertile and develops striking red, club-shaped fruits, 1–2 cm long.

🌿 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.

📏 The sizes of our basic collection xerophytes are as follows:

S -> 9cm x 9cm

M-> 14cm x 14 cm

L->16cm x 16 cm

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly, because it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.

• Hassle-free returns

• Free Shipping on orders over €79.99

• Secure and protected payment guaranteed.