Care of the cacti Echinopsis bruchii or Golden Barrel of the Andes |
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The genus Echinopsis, family Cactaceae, comprises 150 species of cactus native to South America. Some species are: Echinopsis bruchii, Echinopsis aurea, Echinopsis atacamensis, Echinopsis ancistrophora, Echinopsis oxygona, Echinopsis chiloensis, Echinopsis candicans, Echinopsis subdenudata, Echinopsis chamaecereus, Echinopsis schickendantzii, Echinopsis mamillosa, Echinopsis tarijensis, Echinopsis schieliana, Echinopsis spachiana, Echinopsis pachanoi, Echinopsis rhodotricha, Echinopsis huascha, Echinopsis peruviana. Common name: Golden Barrel of the Andes. This species is native to Northern Argentina. They are cacti with a light green color and a globose body (they can produce suckers) that reach 50 cm (19.68") in height. On the ribs they have woolly areoles with 9-14 yellowish radial spines and 1-4 dark central spines. The showy flowers are deep red. Even young specimens blooms. These cacti are ideal for use in rockery in Mediterranean gardens and in pots for greenhouses, terraces, patios and balconies. Echinopsis bruchii can be grown in full sun or light shade exposure. They resist frost down to -7 ºC (19.4 ºF). The soil can be a mixture of 60% leaf mulch or heather soil and 40% coarse sand. Planting or transplanting is done at the beginning of spring. In winter you don't have to water; the rest of the year water moderately always waiting for the substrate to have completely dried. Fertilize once with mineral cactus fertilizer in mid-spring. Pruning is not necessary. They are plants that are sensitive to excess moisture that causes rot in tissues. They propagate by seeds sown in the seedbed in spring; seedling growth is slow but easy. They can reproduce from suckers but the mother plant produces them at an advanced age. |
Images of the cacti Echinopsis bruchii or Golden Barrel of the Andes |
 Echinopsis bruchii  Echinopsis bruchii |