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Family:
Cactaceae
(Cactus
Family)
Scientific name: Mammillaria
geminispina
var. nobilis forma cristata
Origin:
Garden origin (Nursery
produced cultivar)
Conservation status: Listed in
CITES appendix 2.
Common English Names include: Crested White Cactus,
Crested Twin Spined
Cactus.
Synonyms:
- Mammillaria geminispina
Hawort 1824
- Cactus geminispinus
- Neomammillaria geminispina
- Mammillaria elegans
A.P. De candolle 1828
-
Cactus elegans
-
Neomammillaria elegans
- Neomammillaria neo-elegans
- Mammillaria leucocentra Berg 1840
- Mammillaria geminispina subsp. leucocentra (Berg) D.R. Hunt
1997
- Mammillaria albata Reppenhagen
1987
Cultivation:
It is a fairly easy plant to grow, don't requires
any special treatment, but need as much light as possible without
burning the plant to encourage the heaviest spine formation, if
kept too dark it may become overly lush and greener and could be prone
to rotting due to over watering.
During the summer it is best to keep the plants outside where the
temperature can rise to over 30 C with no harm to the plant. Furnish
good drainage and use a an open and free draining mineral compost that
allows therefore roots to breath. They like only a short winter's rest
and should be kept almost completely dry during the winter months, If
the soil is allowed to be dry for too long root loss could follow but
equally the same result would occur if the plants are both wet and cold.
From March onwards the plant will begin to grow and watering should be
increased gradually until late May when the plant should be in full
growth.
Water regularly during the summer so long as the plant pot is allowed to
drain and not sit in a tray of water. During hot weather you may need to
water the plants more frequently so long as the plant is actively
growing. From late September watering should be reduced to force the
plant to go in to a state of semi dormancy, by October you should be
back in to the winter watering regime.
Feeding may not be necessary at all if the compost is fresh then, feed
in summer only if the plant hasn't been repotted recently. Do not feed
the plants from September onwards as this can cause lush growth which
can be fatal during the darker cold months. Grown
specimens resist to -4°C for a short time, but it is best to keep above
0° C to avoid ugly spots on the plant epidermis.
Propagation: By stem cuttings from adult plants
in spring or summer or by grafting.
Pieces of crest must be dried out for at least 3
weeks before planting in coarse river sand. This is quite an easy
alternative and success is almost always guaranteed.
Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of
Mammillaria geminispina.
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