Mammillaria: what kind of flower is it, a photo of the Mammillaria cactus, as well as reproduction, home care and possible diseases

One of the most unpretentious plants in the care for indoor breeding are cacti. Mammillaria is the largest species of this plant. Mammillaria has 185 species and is one of the three most numerous genera among cacti.

This beautiful plant will decorate any garden or home interior. The article will consider all its types
and their botanical features. We will analyze the rules for caring for him and the methods of reproduction.

Botanical Description

Mammillaria - what is it? The plant is a spherical or short-cylindrical cactus. Most of the mammalian species live in Mexico, and some of them grow in the USA, Colombia, Venezuela and the West Indies. The stem of this plant is covered with papillae, which are the overgrown base of the leaves.

It is thanks to these papillae that the plant got its name - in Latin, the nipples are called mammilla. At the top of each papilla is the areola - a modified kidney with a bunch of thorns and hairs. The flowers are small, similar to a wreath on top of the stem. Fruits in the form of berries ripen in the second year of cultivation.

About how mammillaria looks in the video:

//youtu.be/HWe7yZzIKYA

The main types and varieties of Mammillaria, their photo

Extra Long (Elongata)

A plant with a thin long stalk and golden spines, collected in a rosette. Blossoms in white small flowers.

Wilda (Wildii)

Cactus with a thick stem up to 5 cm in diameter. Papillae elongated with spikes of gold color. The central spine in the process of growth is bent by a hook. It blooms also with small white flowers and very quickly forms children, which continue to grow without falling.

Nascent (Prolifera)

A plant with an elongated or spherical stem, heavily branched from below. The cactus papillae are rounded and soft. They have a small edge and white bristles. The spines in this mammillaria are shiny, yellow.

Zeilmanniana

The cactus has a short cylindrical stem. The thorns are thick, bent by hooks. This plant blooms bright pink, sometimes white flowers.

Boscan (Bocasana)

It has a thick elongated stem up to 5 cm in diameter. Like Vilda, this cactus has a central spine bent by a hook. It grows easily at room conditions and blooms with small white flowers; when flowering, it has an excellent decorative appearance.

Slender (Gracilis)

Low cactus, forming large groups, due to good branching. Has small white flowersappearing on large papillae.

Mix

Florists who have not yet decided on the type of cactus to grow can buy a mix of mammillaria in the store - a mixture of several decorative varieties, which includes many of the cacti listed above.

Read more about the types of mammillaria in this material.

Rules for home care

Like other cacti, this species is extremely unpretentious to grow at home. To get kids and regular flowering plants, it is enough to follow some simple rules:

Lighting. The plant is accustomed to the arid climate of the semi-desert, so a cactus needs a lot of light. Mammillaria not only tolerates direct sunlight, but also requires them.
Temperature. Here the cactus requires moderation. In winter, during the period of rest, the air temperature should not exceed + 15 ° С. In summer, the plant needs fresh air, so it is better to take it to the balcony or to the garden.
Air humidity. The flower perfectly transfers the dry air of a city apartment, even in the heating season.
Watering. In winter, you don’t need to water the cactus. It is enough to moisten the topsoil once a month. From May to July, depending on air temperature, watering is carried out sparingly or abundantly, gradually limiting it by October.
The soil. For mammillaria, loose and low-nutrient soil rich in limestone is well suited. It is ideal to use special soil for cacti, in which you should add ground egg shells and slightly increase the proportion of sand. The pot should be selected wide and low, with a drainage layer at the bottom.

Learn more about caring for mammillaria here.

Breeding

Mammillaria propagates as lateral shoots and seeds.

Seeds

Before planting, carefully inspect the seeds. They should be the same size, without visible damage and have a color from light red to dark brown. Mammillaria seeds germinate at a soil temperature of + 20-25 ° C.

In a shallow bowl with a drain for water, pour drainage. Germination land should be loose and 50% sand.
Cactus seeds need to be evenly distributed over the surface of the soil without deepening, and moisten with water from a spray bottle.
After this, the bowl should be covered with glass and put in a bright, warm place, without direct sunlight.

Important! Open the greenhouse every day and ventilate the crops. The soil should be slightly moist.

In the video presented, you can learn how to get mammillaria seeds in order to grow a new flower:

Side shoots

This is the easiest way to propagate cactus at home.. It is better to spend it in the spring, in March-April. The sprout should be smooth, without visible damage.

Children need to be cut off from the mother plant with a sharpened knife and dried for a week.
After that, they are placed on the surface of the substrate, slightly pressed into the ground. For stability, children are better tied to pegs.

For this type of breeding, you need to pick up flat pots and fill them with a mixture of turf soil and sand in equal proportions. The pot must be shaded from direct sunlight, but the place must be well warmed up. Rooting occurs in 15-20 days.

Bloom

Nature is designed so that many plants begin to breed only in extreme conditions bordering on survival. Therefore, if the cactus does not bloom, it means that it has been spoiled. With good watering, sufficient top dressing and in a spacious pot, mammillaria will not bloom, turning into a selfish plant. To stimulate flowering, it is enough to reduce watering and wait for the children to appear on the mother plant - the cactus will certainly bloom.

Important! Permanent rearrangement of the cactus can also cause a lack of flowering.

Diseases and Pests

Among the most common diseases of this houseplant are the following:

Spider mite and scab. With a poor appearance of the cactus, you need to get it out of the pot and inspect the roots for the presence of scale insects. If there are pests, the plant is transplanted into fresh soil by rubbing the affected roots with alcohol.
Red tick. This pest is exposed mainly to undescended mammals. To avoid mite multiplication, the plant is wiped with a brush dipped in alcohol.
Nematodes. On the roots of the cactus, peculiar swellings appear. For treatment, the infected parts of the root are cut off, after which the plant is placed in a basin with hot water (40-50 ° C). After “bathing”, the roots of the plant should be sprinkled with charcoal.

Flowers similar to this plant

Most of all, some types of succulents are similar to mammillaria. These are plants with fleshy stems and bright large flowers:

Parody. Miniature cactus from Paraguay. A plant with a rounded stem and pronounced spiral ribs. The flowers of this cactus are multi-petal, funnel-shaped and located on the top.
Cleistocactus. A plant from South America, from Uruguay. It differs from other cacti in thin columnar shoots, branching at the base. On the surface of the stem, a large number of areoles covering the plant with spikes of white-yellow color.

Mammillaria are quite easy to care for, so the plant is ideal for beginner growers. Subject to the simple rules of care and attention to the appearance of the flower, this houseplant will become an adornment of any room, thanks to its abundant flowering.