Mammillaria of the Month

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Mammillaria blossfeldiana

Photo: Copyright of Chris Davies 2009

Mammillaria blossflediana is one of the larger flowered Mammillarias, in the Ancistracanthae, and sports some fo the more beautiful flowers, even within this splendid flowered series.

Typically small growing, usually single in habitat although offsetting in cultivation, it comes from that treasure trove of large flowered Mammillarias, the Mexican state of Baja California del Sur.

As with many of the plants from this area, there is quite a bit of variability in form, although generally it has a brighter green body than most and dark brown central spines which contrast above the plant body with the straw to white radial spines.

As can be seen from the photograph above, which is in a 7cm (2 3/4 ") pot, it will flower when quite small, and is very happy in the sunnier part of the greenhouse. Watering, as with all these Baja plants, should be lightly done, and the compost should be more porous that for many others of this genus.

Given this, and a cool winter temperature (5-8C is fine), you should be rewarded by several periods of flowering through late spring and summer here in the UK.