The Mammillaria or “Powder-puff” cactus belongs to the Cactaceae family. These cacti are one of the most popular in the world, with more than 200 species and varieties. Mammillaria cacti are native to Mexico, although some species come from other places, including the United States and some Latin-American countries.
In this article we will learn more about the Mammillaria, including how to take care of them appropriately.
The basic care for Mammillaria includes the following steps:
- Purchase a healthy cactus, with adequately draining soil.
- Mammillaria cacti do well indoors, provided they get enough light. Place the cactus in a well-lit place; windows are ideal. Remember that this type of cactus thrives with about 4 hours of intense sunlight per day.
- Be sure to have proper fertilizer and soil for when repotting time comes.
- Water thoroughly, but only when the soil is almost completely dry.
If you follow these basic steps, your cactus should be able to survive. However, this is just the beginning of understanding what really makes them thrive. Read on to understand more about mammillaria cacti and the steps involved in looking after them.
Basic Care of the Mammillaria Cactus
What does it take to have healthy Mammillaria cacti? In short: the basic care fundamentals for most plants: sunlight, water and soil.
Placement and Sunlight
Knowing where to place your mammillaria cactus is the first step towards healthy growth. Cacti, as we know, need a lot of sunlight and this one is no different.
Many species, however, dislike more than 4 hours of direct sunlight per day. When indoors, it’s best to place the cacti next to a window, to get as much direct sunlight as possible, as well as a lot of indirect sunlight.
Water
Mammillaria cacti require excellent draining. Letting a cactus sit in water is a mistake you need to avoid. The key to proper watering is to spread it evenly and thoroughly in the pot. It is important, however, to make sure that the soil dries out almost completely in between watering. Extremely light misting will do just fine in winter.
Soil & Fertilizing
In the case of soil, attention should be given to excellent draining, as stated earlier. This will make sure that watering is done correctly and we don’t have a cactus that sits in water for days on end.
Some cacti enthusiasts create their own soil mix. To this end, they will often use one part potting mix, one part coarse sand and one part loam.
Another point to consider is the use of fertilizer. During the growing season it is wise to use fertilizing, but this fertilizer should be suspended during the winter season.
Air & Humidity
Mammillaria cacti do best in temperatures of around 70 °F (21 °C). During the dormancy period, a cooler climate is acceptable (around 60 °F to 65 °F or around 15 °C).
Obviously these cacti prefer dry climates. Humidity will hamper them, in general. To avoid humidity, we should strive to keep our cacti out of bathrooms, for instance, where humidity is on average greater.
A cool period during the dormancy stage encourages blooming of the flowers the following season. We will talk more about this later on in this guide.
Advanced Care of the Mammillaria Cactus
Propagation
Propagation is a simple way to create more cacti. Offsets, so to speak, regularly form around the base of the cactus. Propagation simply means taking one of these offsets, letting it dry, and then repotting it.
This propagation should be done in two phases.
- The first phase will place the plant in a first pot until the formation of new roots.
- Once these roots are created, repotting this cactus into a normal pot is possible.
Potting & Repotting
Repotting, now that we’re on the subject, is best done during the warm season.
There are some steps to remember here:
- The soil must be dry before we attempt repotting.
- Carefully remove old soil from the roots, including dead roots or roots which have rotted. Apply fungicide if need be.
- Once this cleansing has taken place, put the cactus in the new pot, making sure to spread the roots out.
- Let the cactus dry and rest for about a week and then start to water lightly.
Repotting should not be done more than once every two years. The idea is to examine the roots and cut away the dead or rotten roots away only.
Fertilizing
Mammillaria cacti can be fertilized in several ways. It’s possible to do so with specially formulated fertilizer or with a weak houseplant fertilizer (which has low nitrogen and high potassium and phosphorus).
Note, however, that fertilizing this type of cactus must be done prudently. Too much fertilizing will create a lot of green growth, sure, but will discourage blooming of flowers.
Rejuvenation
Rejuvenating a cactus is necessary when the cactus appears wilted, brown and dying. There are several things that we can do if we want to revive a plant. These include:
- Inspect the roots to see if there is rotting. Remove them if this is the case. In that case, repot the cactus completely.
- Avoid overwatering in future.
- If the cactus seems sunburnt, try to keep it out of direct sunlight.
- The other key to rejuvenating your cactus is proper nutrition. Re-soiling is a good idea, as is a prudent use of fertilizer.
The Different Types of Mammillaria Cacti
Mammillaria cacti, as we pointed out, have over 200 different species. These cacti are, for lack of a better word, ‘ball-shaped’. Some of them are one single ball whilst others grow and spread out in clumps.
In the case of spines, these come in different shapes and sizes. Some spines are very stiff whilst others are much softer. Some species may have flowers as well. Flowers themselves may come in different shapes and sizes. Some flowers may be small and pink, and others can be yellow or white. Some mammillaria cacti even have fruit.
Interestingly, most mammillaria cacti are endemic to Mexico. Mammillaria cacti are generally small and easy to grow. These characteristics have made them extremely popular and sought after.
Some eye-catching mammillaria cacti include the following:
Mammillaria albiflora
Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, this is a very unusual and striking cactus. It is round and thus quite similar to other Mammillaria cacti in that respect. This cactus, however has very striking flowers which are usually white.
Mammillaria angelensis
This type of cactus comes from Baja California, in Mexico. It may also have white flowers. Interestingly, this type of cactus may be found in clumps and not necessarily in one single cactus formation.
Mammillaria backebergiana
This cactus is quite fascinating. As with so many other mammillaria cacti, it hails from Mexico (specifically from Guerrero and Michoacán). What is most interesting in this cactus is the flowers, which may come in purple or red.
Mammillaria humboldtii
This is a beautiful cactus. Its spines give it a whitish appearance throughout, and it has some impressive pink flowers. It comes from Hidalgo, Mexico.
Mammillaria lenta
This cactus comes from Coahuila de Zaragoza in Mexico. The flowers are pink and white. This cactus is quite arresting because the spines on top of it create a sort of white coloration. Most notably, this cactus can be found in very large clumps as well.
Mammillaria pectinifera
This cactus comes from Puebla, Mexico. It looks like a globe and is often adorned with pink and white flowers.
Related Questions
How do you make mammillaria bloom?
As we’ve pointed out, there are several mammillaria cacti which have flowers. In some cases, these flowers may be edible. To make sure flowers in these cacti bloom we can attempt several different things.
First of all, we must understand that only mature cacti will bloom. In some cases, it may take many years for a cactus to mature and therefore flowers will take quite a bit to show up.
In the case of indoor cacti, blooming is quite problematic. Many experts point out that indoor cacti may probably never bloom at all. The reason here is simply that they don’t receive enough sunlight, and certainly not as much as outdoors cacti do. We must provide our cacti with plenty of sunlight if we want flowers.
Finally, establishing a sort of cooling period in winter, along with suspension of watering, will encourage the flowers to bloom. Buds are generally produced during the growing season but then go dormant throughout winter, right up until spring and even early summer.
A healthy and well-kept cactus should bloom several times throughout the growing season if we let the cactus cool off (and not fertilize it) during winter.
How do you identify mammillaria?
This is quite easy. Mammillaria cacti have the typical look that we would come to expect of a cactus. More specifically though, we can say that the mammillaria cactus is essentially round. As stated previously, it may appear alone or in clumps.
Now then, there are some secondary features to remember. Arguably the most distinctive feature of this type of cactus is an areole which is split into two parts: the apex part, which has a spine and the base part which doesn’t.
How big does a mammillaria get?
In general, mammillaria cacti are quite small. They will usually be about 20 cm / 8 inches tall. They will generally have a diameter of about 15 cm / 6 inches. There are many cacti which will be smaller than this though.
Some mammillaria cacti can loom large at over 3 feet / 1 meter, though they are quite unique.
