€100,70

🌱 Morphology
A slow-growing, succulent caudiciform subshrub that develops a highly thickened, tuberous main stem, partially underground, from which numerous short, thick, and spiny branches emerge. It can reach approximately 1–1.5 m in height in adult specimens.

Each branch typically ends in a rosette of leaves, creating a compact and characteristic silhouette. The leaves are alternate and concentrated at the tips of the branches; they are elliptical to narrowly oblong, up to about 8 cm long and around 2 cm wide, dark green in color, with a lighter midrib and an underside that may exhibit fine pubescence. They are deciduous and may be shed during dormancy.

The branches feature pairs of spines at the nodes. The combination of a highly developed caudex, short branches, and terminal rosettes allows it to be distinguished from tree-like Pachypodium such as P. lamerei and P. rutenbergianum.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Family Apocynaceae. It is endemic to south-central Madagascar, especially associated with the Horombe plateau area. Kew places it within the desert and xeric shrubland biome. It is found in rocky, very well-drained environments, with populations documented on granitic and gneissic outcrops, at approximately 500 to 1,000 m altitude.

It grows exposed to high solar radiation and withstands periods of drought thanks to water storage in the tuberous stem.

Taxonomically, for a long time it was considered a variety of Pachypodium rosulatum under the name P. rosulatum var. horombense. Currently, Kew accepts Pachypodium horombense as an independent species.

❄️ Temperature
USDA Zone 10b–11b. It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −1 ºC, only as a brief reference for dry, well-acclimatized specimens in protected conditions.

For routine cultivation, it is advisable to be much more conservative: during winter dormancy, it is recommended to keep it dry and especially avoid the combination of cold + moisture. Some cultivation sources place the practical limit around 10 ºC, while other horticultural references note an occasional tolerance near 1 ºC when it remains completely dry.

☀️ Lighting
Indicative DLI PAR: 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹.

It requires very high light to maintain a compact structure and properly develop the caudex and branches. Full sun or a very bright position is recommended, with progressive acclimatization when coming from greenhouse conditions.

The high light intensity also favors the formation of compact leaves and abundant flowering.

💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
It is a species adapted to a seasonally dry climate, with activity concentrated during the warm season. During the vegetative period, it develops new leaves and branches and uses the reserves accumulated in the caudex during unfavorable periods.

During active growth, it is recommended to water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry completely before the next watering. The caudex allows it to withstand relatively long periods without water.

Upon the arrival of autumn, it may begin to lose leaves and enter dormancy. During winter, watering should be gradually reduced until it is kept practically dry, especially when temperatures drop.

Dormancy with leaf loss is a normal physiological response and should not be interpreted as a lack of water.

🌸 Flowering
The flower is one of the most distinctive characters of Pachypodium horombense.

It produces a long-peduncled inflorescence that emerges above the rosettes and bears approximately 3–10 flowers. The flowers are intense yellow to chrome yellow, large, about 17–23 mm in diameter, and feature an extraordinarily widened corolla in the shape of a cup or bell, almost horizontal.

The inflated base of the corolla forms five large sacs or chambers, a very characteristic floral adaptation into which the pollinator can enter.

This flower allows it to be distinguished very easily from Pachypodium succulentum and P. bispinosum, whose flowers have a completely different morphology. It is also particularly useful in contrast to P. rosulatum, with which it was historically taxonomically confused.

In the southern hemisphere, it flowers approximately between April and August. In Spain, under cultivation conditions, flowering may shift to occur approximately between October and March, depending on temperatures and the timing of entry into and exit from dormancy. SANBI places natural flowering between April and August.

🌿 Nutrition
During active growth, Desert CHOICE® Succulents is recommended, applied after watering. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.

Fertilizing is not recommended during winter dormancy or when the plant has lost its leaves.

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

13x13 and 16x16 gourmet black pot

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