"Snowy" Cacti In The Interior. Mammillaria. Home Care. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Cacti are familiar to everyone. These plants, which we consider to be an invariable attribute and a kind of "accessory" to computer technology, can be found literally in every office or home. Large and small, cacti are remarkably similar and easily recognizable. But this does not mean at all that the representatives of this family do not have original varieties. After all, each cactus is really special. For some, flowering comes to the fore, which is perceived as nothing less than a miracle, for others, forms or thorns attract all attention. The latter are represented in the greatest variety by the legendary genus of cacti - Mammillaria, a separate group of which among amateur flower growers is better known as “snow cacti”.

Content:

• Decorative talents of snow cacti
• How to advantageously present snow cacti in the interior
• Caring for white cacti at home

Decorative talents of snow cacti

Hardy and amazingly persistent, able to put up with even harsh drought conditions, cacti often surprise with absolutely amazing flowers, the beauty of which can outshine even the famous interior stars. Bright colors, exquisite shapes and an amazing contrast with the thorny "little body" of plants turn each flower into a small miracle. But despite all the amazing beauty of flowering, cacti remain the most thorny indoor plants for a much longer period of time.

It is simply impossible to imagine dense storing shoots of these plants without a thorny "shell". However, the thorns of cacti are very different. For some, they are long, powerful and rarely located, they seem to be a kind of daggers. For others, they are densely and patterned, they create peculiar ornaments on the surface of the cactus. And in some cacti, the thorns even resemble “feathers” that envelop the balls and form “cotton” lumps, covering the shoots of these amazing plants with a fluffy blanket and thin lace.

Mammillaria snow cactuses have a distinctive feature just the unusual effects and textures of those very thorns. This is the most peculiar collection of cacti in terms of the type and size of thorns. Spines in representatives of the genus mammillaria (mammillaria) can be either straight or hook-shaped, curved, woven into bundles, feathery, radiant, star-shaped, acicular, short, not to mention the fact that in different representatives of this genus of cacti the spines are not necessarily rigid rather soft.

Not all mammillaria are "snow" cacti, but most of the prickly stars with snow-white edges come from this genus. Among mammillaria, there are also plants with beautiful yellowish, bluish edges, which do not create the effect of pubescence with thorns, as well as absolutely amazing varieties, in which the thorns, collected in peculiar "bumps", form spheres similar to rice balls or beads.

Snow cacti are precisely those Mammillaria whose needles create the feeling of a snow-white robe, a thin veil or a fluffy veil - the most famous Mammillaria of the so-called "white group", which seem to be sprinkled with shining snow.

The group of snow, or white cacti combines plants from a variety of subspecies of this genus. In all cacti of this group, the thorns, regardless of shape, are so densely and in such a large number that they almost completely hide the actual tissue of the shoots and the cactus seems white, covered with a fluffy blanket. Even long, hair-like and needle-like spines accentuate this effect.

The color of the thorns themselves is favorably emphasized by young densely fluffy areoles, which create the effect of a snow or woolen covering on cacti. The flowering of white cacti cannot be called the most spectacular, but it surprisingly gracefully complements the texture of the edges of the plants themselves. Colors similar to miniature stars and reminiscent of Christmas trees are usually quite bright: mammillaria flowers are painted in different shades of yellow and pink, occasionally red.

The best species with a white edge are actually mammillaria, mammylopsis, extreme, dolichotele, echinopsis. Mammilaria has several decorative forms. So the Bakasan Mammillaria seems like an ideal fluffy ball of wool. Gracilis develops in the form of a colony of spherical or slightly elongated colonies covered with snow laces, on which star-shaped flowers bloom.

In Mammillaria perbella, large balls of shoots with a fine patterned texture of miniature thorns are unevenly covered with the edge and it seems as if this cactus was really covered with snow. And the prolifera combines large and powerful spines, collected in bunches with a slight edge under them.

How to advantageously present snow cacti in the interior

Distinctive features of white cacti are completely unique very light needles and felt formations, which create the effect of a surface covered with fluffy snow-white lace or snow. Despite the fact that all cacti from this group of the genus mammillaria have a different effect of snow cover, it seems either almost furry, or like a dense cobweb, or as if hundreds of miniature dandelion seeds have landed on cacti, or even the entire surface is hidden under a thorny woolen blanket, all without exceptions snowy mammillaria in interiors play a very special role.

White cacti have a unique radiance effect, as if they illuminate the space and attract sunlight to themselves. These are tiny, but very important plants that can be equated with the crowning composition in the interior decor. The restriction on the use of these types of cacti in the design imposes the need to provide them with the brightest and sunniest locations. That is why white mammillaria are always displayed on window sills, mainly in the southern direction. But even in such a location, this cactus can become an important touch in the decoration of the room as a whole.

In order to maximize the advantageous presentation of mammillaria in a room setting and to emphasize the special status of this cactus, special attention must be paid to the selection of capacity. She should not argue with the color of the edge of the cactus itself in shades, so it is better to choose pots of similar colors with a cold shade or give preference to a white palette and light pastel colors.

Glossy surfaces of the pot emphasize the beauty of these cacti better than matte ones. The shape of the container, its size should reveal as much as possible not the beauty of the texture and needles of the snowy mammillaria, but the features of the silhouette, it is advantageous to emphasize the shape of the stem and lines of the plant.

Snowy mammillaria are not similar not only to their congeners, but also to cacti from other genera. Despite the fact that these cacti contrast perfectly with any greenery, they should not be placed next to other cacti or houseplants closer than 30-40 cm between containers. The thing is that in other cacti mammillaria can emphasize, "highlight" all the imperfections, and against the background of the shining edge of the snow cacti they will look plain and slightly neglected.

As for other indoor plants of any size, from groundcover to large woody, from decorative deciduous to flowering crops, their company will negatively affect the perception of the mammillaria itself, will lead to the fact that the effect of the snow cover will be completely lost, as well as lace with fluffiness, and snow cacti will look like completely standard and unremarkable representatives of their kind.

But the additional decor will only benefit such cacti. It should be selected according to the concept and style of interior decoration, from a number of materials and accessories typical for the room in which the mammillaria is located. A small scattering of decorative stones or crystals, a string of beads, sisal, ceramic sculptures and figurines, souvenirs brought from travel, if they go well with the furnishings of the rooms, can emphasize the special status of the snow cactus and further enhance its aesthetic appeal.

Caring for white cacti at home

In order for snowy mammillaria to become really bright stars of the interior, they only need to provide comfortable conditions, because without sufficient access to light and other parameters, that very snow-like edge on cacti simply does not form, and needles and areolas will not bloom in sufficient quantities.

Such cacti will need the brightest lighting in the house, they prefer to grow in sunny locations without any shading and are not so colorful even in diffused bright lighting. You should not be afraid of direct rays of the sun, because with good development of thorns, they will independently provide protection from an excessively bright sun. The more scarce the lighting, the weaker the thorns will be and the more rare and sparsely located the pubescence will be, the tissues of the cactus itself will peep through it.

But not only the loss of decorativeness is threatened by the wrong choice of location: in the absence of direct sunlight, mammillaria is stretched out and its development worsens.

You will have to take care not only of lighting. For white-fringed cacti, the most important care component is to minimize the chances of waterlogging. Such cacti are surprisingly sensitive to the slightest stagnation of moisture and overflows, even a slight waterlogging can lead to serious problems with root decay and even plant death, always reflected in the decorativeness of the mammillaria and its vitality.

Watering for snow cacti should be literally minimal, while the water is drained from the pallets immediately after the procedure, without leaving even for one minute. Watering snow cacti must be very careful, not allowing even the slightest drops of moisture to get on the stems. As a result of wetting, the pubescence will stray into peculiar lumps, and an attractive white color with a shining effect will be covered with ugly and unhealthy stains.

Otherwise, the care for such cacti is minimal. Mammillaria do not need to clean the stems, this plant itself regulates the density of its snow-white blanket and its purity, does not suffer from dust and always looks neat and amazingly flawless.

When planting white cacti, it must be borne in mind that for such plants it is necessary to create a lower and upper drainage layer, use an exclusively suitable soil for cacti and try to plant all plants in the minimum volume of containers. Mammillaria are transplanted quite rarely, because snow cacti are not afraid of depositing calcium salts in the soil, but, on the contrary, welcome the addition of ground eggshells to the soil to increase from reserves.