Cactus Mammillaria Elongata

I present you with one of the most famous and popular cacti that I’m sure every cactus and succulent collector has. This is Mammillaria Elongata or also with the vulgar names of a golden star (you will soon know why it is known by one of these names), golden king, fingers of queen or elongated snag. It comes from the Mexican deserts, specifically the regions of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and Querétaro.

In its growth, it almost never rises above fifteen centimeters in height, as it is rather a cactus that prefers to run off the ground in groups of dozens of plantations. However, it grows slowly and all is said, it has no bloom that we are very striking, because it makes small flowers no more than one centimeter in diameter and that the color can vary from pale yellow to pink to light pink as well as strong pink depending on the variety.

They typically bloom from late winter to spring. It is a variety considered immortal because it can hold long seasons without having any irrigation, although we should avoid this the longer it is possible, so we will try to irrigate as follows: once every fortnight in the spring and summer (if you live in an area where insolation is very pronounced, only in the summer season can we afford to irrigate it once a week), in autumn once a month and in winter, stop providing water.

Above all, we must ensure that the substrate is completely dry. If we water it when the earth is still very wet, we can cause the roots to rot and we can take the plant to death. The best way to keep this cactus in the best condition is to keep it humid, but it is neither too pier nor entangled. If we have any doubts, it is always better to wait a week, as I said before, it can withstand drought without any problems.

We can both have it located in full sun and at high temperatures and indoors next to a well-lit window where it has at least three or four hours of direct sunshine if you cannot have it directly outside. It is better not to expose it to temperatures below three positive degrees.

His most common harm is undoubtedly fungi. If you see the cactus wrinkled and withered is a tragic sign that you have a fungus on the plant and unfortunately nothing can be done to recover it, so it is very important to watch with irrigation.

Now I tell you why one of their common names is a golden star. This Mammillaria is characterized by the shape of its spines: it has twenty-eight curved radial spines forming a small (usually yellow) star and between zero and three central spines.