Consulta Plantas

Care of the cactus Mammillaria hahniana or Old Lady Pincushion

The genus Mammillaria, family Cactaceae, includes more than 350 species of cactus native to Mexico mostly. Some species are: Mammillaria hahniana, Mammillaria longimamma, Mammillaria haageana, Mammillaria geminispina, Mammillaria discolor, Mammillaria crinita, Mammillaria compressa, Mammillaria carmenae, Mammillaria candida, Mammillaria bombycina, Mammillaria backebergiana, Mammillaria karwinskiana, Mammillaria marksiana, Mammillaria parkinsonii, Mammillaria lenta, Mammillaria laui, Mammillaria magnimamma, Mammillaria pringlei, Mammillaria spinosissima, Mammillaria vetula, Mammillaria petterssonii, Mammillaria magnifica, Mammillaria matudae.

Common names: Old Lady Pincushion, Birthday Cake Cactus. Scientific synonyms: Neomammillaria hahniana, Mammillaria saetigera. This species is native to Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, and Queretaro, Mexico.

They are small green cacti with a globular body that can form colonies. They are covered with white hairs and have conical-cylindrical tubers arranged in a spiral. In the armpits they have numerous white bristles, 30 radial spines and 2 central spines of which one points downwards and the other upwards. They produce crowns of small purple flowers on the top of the cactus. They bloom from winter to mid-spring; young specimens may flourish.

Old Lady Pincushion is used in pots, in rockeries and in cactus and succulent gardens.

Mammillaria hahniana prefers full sun exposure but can grow in semi-shade. In winter do not expose it to less than 5 ºC (41 ºF).

The soil can be a commercial cactus substrate or a mixture of 50% leaf mulch and 50% coarse siliceous sand.

Always water moderately, waiting for the substrate to dry. In winter it's important not to water.

Fertilize once with mineral fertilizer for cacti and succulents in early spring.

Pruning is not necessary.

Mammillaria hahniana is very sensitive to excess moisture.

Birthday Cake Cactus propagates from seeds sown in spring in a slightly humid sandy substrate.

Images of the cactus Mammillaria hahniana or Old Lady Pincushion