€15,90

🌱 Morphology
  Crested form of Nyctocereus serpentinus, a cactus that originally has a long, slender, and serpentine growth habit. The fasciation transforms the cylindrical stem into a wavy and deeply folded crest, which can form authentic plant sculptures. The epidermis is bright green and the areoles are distributed irregularly along the folds, retaining the fine spination of the species, although greatly modified by the crested growth. The cristata form generally remains more compact than the normal plant and develops wide, sinuous, and highly ornamental structures over time. It is a form of horticultural origin.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
The species is native to Mexico, especially from areas with a seasonally dry tropical climate in the center and south of the country, including Michoacán, Morelos, and Oaxaca. It grows as a climbing or trailing cactus among vegetation, capable of developing very long stems. It belongs to the Cactaceae family. 

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 10a
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to −1 ºC when kept dry and with well-acclimated specimens. Due to its seasonally tropical origin, greater caution is recommended than with mountain cacti, especially avoiding cold combined with humidity.

☀️ Lighting
It needs plenty of light and can be grown with several hours of direct sun once acclimated. Intense lighting helps keep the crest folds compact and prevents excessively weak growth. During active growth, a DLI PAR of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. During the cold months, watering is greatly reduced and it can be kept practically dry if temperatures are low. In spring and summer, deep watering is resumed, always allowing the substrate to dry out completely between waterings. In the crested form, rapid drainage and good ventilation between the folds are especially important to prevent moisture buildup.

🌸 Flowering
The species produces large, tubular, nocturnal flowers, generally white to greenish-white, which appear on mature stems. In the crested form, flowering may be irregular or less frequent due to the alteration of meristematic growth.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and low nitrogen levels, such as Desert CHOICE® Cactáceas, is recommended, applied once a month when watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Floración.

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

10x10 cm pot

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The plant measurements 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.

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