Hi,nice plant,here is the cultivation tips from cactus art :-
Cultivation: It is a rapid growing species . Water regularly in summer, but do not overwater (Rot prone) It will need a pot with sufficient depth to allow the tap root. with good drainage and a very porous potting media, keep dry in winter. Feed with a high potassium fertilizer in summer. It is quite frost resistant if kept dry (hardy to -5° C) Outside full sun or afternoon shade, inside needs bright light, and some direct sun.
Sylv wrote:Hi,nice plant,here is the cultivation tips from cactus art :-
Cultivation: It is a rapid growing species . Water regularly in summer, but do not overwater (Rot prone) It will need a pot with sufficient depth to allow the tap root. with good drainage and a very porous potting media, keep dry in winter. Feed with a high potassium fertilizer in summer. It is quite frost resistant if kept dry (hardy to -5° C) Outside full sun or afternoon shade, inside needs bright light, and some direct sun.
Sylv.
Thanks for this. There is conflicting information on growth rate, some other sources I found said it is really slow growing... I am wondering if it needs to go in pure mineral mix like pumice and cat litter or just a highly gritty mix.
Tony Roberts included M aureilanata in his recent article on small Mammillarias in the December issue of the Essex Succulent Review. Available to download from http://www.essexsucculentreview.org.uk I note that your Branch is shown as Dartford so I expect you know Tony of course.
The form that gave M. aureilanata (= golden wool) it's name which was around in the 1960's-70's now seems to have dissapeared from general cultivation, with the white form alba usually only available in the trade.
I grew the form with white wool for many years. I've just checked my records - when I bought it in 1992 it was in a 3" pot; last year, when it departed for that great greenhouse in the sky, it was in a 4" pot, so certainly not a fast grower! It's a pretty plant, my advice would be to use a very gritty compost and be very cautious with watering.
Croydon Branch member, growing mainly cacti and Echeverias
Thanks Sheena the article was very helpful! Some of the tips mentioned such as removal of the older outer growth were particularly helpful. I am an ESR reader as well thanks to your promotion on this forum, great magazine!
Sharing some additional pictures of the plant along with my hand for scale.
This was one of the earliest cacti I had and was the golden form. Despite my novice ways then I did keep it for a few years. It certainly was not a fast grower.
The root gives a clue that it doesn't need too much water.
