There are cacti that, although they grow very slowly, are highly coveted. Whenever they go on sale, something that doesn't happen often, it is easy for sellers to run out of available copies in a matter of hours. This is what happens to him Ariocarpus retusus.
It does not have a common shape for a cactus, but perhaps it is because of that or because of the beautiful flower it produces, it is difficult for it to be missing in any collection. Do we know it?
Ariocarpus retusus is the scientific name of a species native to Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí (Mexico) that was described by Michael Joseph François Scheidweiler and published in Bulletin de l'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles-lettres de Bruxelles 1838 the year.
It is characterized by having a somewhat strange body: has divergent tubercles huddled together with a sharp, gray-green tip, about 30cm wide by 25cm high.. The areolas are at the tips of the tubercles. The flowers are about 3-5cm in diameter and are light yellow, white, cream or, more rarely, with red stripes in the middle. The fruit is elongated and measures about 2,5cm
Ariocarpus retusus v. furfuraceus
Image from Flickr / Reggie
If we talk about its cultivation, the most important thing to know is that it should be put in full sun in a deep pot, with substrate that facilitates water drainage. For this, it is highly recommended to use 100% pumice or washed river sand, as substrates containing peat are often more harmful than beneficial to Ariocarpus retusus.
In addition, you have to water it very little, even less than the other cacti: once every 10 days in summer and every 20-30 days the rest of the year. Likewise, we must pay it with a liquid fertilizer for cactus following the indications specified on the product packaging.
Resists cold and frost up to -2ºC.