Spring bloom season decoration cactus live plant spiny pincushion cactus Mammillaria spinosissima

Spring bloom season decoration cactus live plant spiny pincushion cactus Mammillaria spinosissima

Mammillaria spinosissima is endemic to mountains of central Mexico. (Morelos, Guerrero, and Mexico State)

The species occurs in tropical dry forests and xerophyllous scrub. Accompanying species can be: Hechtia glomerata, Echeveria gibbiflora, Oxalis deppei and Agave horrida.

Mammillaria spinosissima is commonly cultivated around the world, often found in plant nurseries and private collections, and is nicknamed the "red-headed Irishman" because the most common cultivated forms have red or rust spine.

Simple at first. later often clustering.

Cylindrical, dark blue-green 7-30(-50) cm. long (2,5)6-7(-10) cm. in diameter, almost hidden under a dense covering of spines;

Very short, ovate conical, four-sided basally, 2 to 3 mm long; axils of tubercles setose but usually lacking bristles. Usually without latex.

Thin, needle-like, usually weak, hardly pungent, but variable.

20 to 26, straight, whitish, white to dirty white to yellow to deep reddish brown, 4-6(-10) mm long.

4 to 15, bristle-like, 1-1,5(-2) cm long, reddish or pinkish brown, or yellowish, stouter than the radials.

Flowers from the upper part of the plant in a ring shape around the apex, purplish or deep-pink, 12-20 mm long, 15 mm in diameter; inner perianth-segments acute; filaments much shorter than the perianth-segments, purple. Self fertile.

Club shaped up to 20 mm long, greenish to dull purple.

Mammillaria spinosissima is a poorly known taxon, there are taxonomic uncertainties concerning its validity. It is very variable due to it's wide area of origin in Mexico and spines ranges in colour from white, to yellow, red or brown. There are several different subspecies and cultivars. Three subspecies are recognized, the nominate subspecies, subspecies pilcayensis (Bravo) D.R.Hunt and subspecies tepoxtlana D.R.Hunt.

Mammillaria sponosissima is an easy to grow cultivar, just as a classic cactus, don't requires any special treatment, but need as much light as possible without burning the plant to encourage the heaviest spine formation. It is a great starter plant for the cactus grower, that readily builds up into a cluster of stems highlighted by reddish spines, further decorated by rings of purple-pink blooms.

Direct sow after last frost or (usually) or division . Seeds germinate in 7-14 days at 21-27° C in spring, remove the glass cover gradually as the plants develops and keep ventilated, no full sun for young plants! The seedlings should not be disturbed until they are well rooted, after which they can be planted separately in small pots. Cuttings: wait until the offsets that appear at the base of old clustered specimens are 1/3 the size of the parent and then detach and plant. Cuttings will take root in a minimum temperature of 20° C (but better in hot weather). Cuttings of healthy shoots can be taken in the spring and summer. Cut the stem with a sharp, sterile knife, leave the cutting in a warm, dry place for a week or weeks (depending on how thick the cutting is) until a callus forms over the wound. Once the callus forms, the cutting may be inserted in a container filled with firmed cactus potting mix topped with a surface layer of coarse grit. They should be placed in the coarse grit only; this prevents the cut end from becoming too wet and allows the roots to penetrate the rich compost underneath. The cuttings should root in 2 to 6 weeks.

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