Synonyms:

Ferocactus horridus f. brevispinus
Echinocactus peninsulae
Echinocactus peninsulae

Habitat:

F. horridus is native to Mexico Northwest where the plant grows in grit on the hill-sides

Description:

F. horridus is a globose succulent belonging to the Cactaceae botanical family. The plant is solitary and can reach up to 1 m tall and 40 cm in diameter. The stem is barrel-shaped in young and columnar in age and it is arranged in many ribs. The ribs can reach the number of 40 and they are well-marked and slightly wavy. The stem is green to bluish in color and ribs, made of tubercles bear large round areoles. From areoles emerge 7-10 radial spines curved inwards, of a creamy white color and one central spine short and strong brownish-red colored. The flowers are funnel-shaped, borne at the apical part of the plant, of a wonderful bright yellow color with red-veined ends. The fruit is yellow and the seeds are black.

Cultivation:

This is a slow growing plant, easy to cultivate. The plant needs a full light sun exposure but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light in the hottest periods. The plant does not like temperatures below 6°C so it needs to be placed indoors in the coldest periods. The soil should be mixed with pumice, clay and loam to allow the drainage and prevent the root rot, the plant is prone to it indeed. Remember to use a perforating pot to drain excess water. Watering can be done regularly in Spring and Summer: during the vegetative period you can water the plant (every 7 days), checking that the soil is completely dry before watering again; in winter you should stop the watering to allow the plant to enter dormancy. If you want a faster and lush growth you can fertilize the plant once a month during the growing season with the specific fertilizers for cacti; stop fertilizing throughout the winter. If the pot starts to be too small for the plant you can repot the plant in a pot 2 cm wider. Repotting should be done early in the growing season with fresh new potting soil. Be careful to red spiders and mealy bugs.

Propagation:

The propagation can be done by seed. By seed it is very simple to propagate the plant, it is enough to sow the seed in a sandy loam soil and keep it with a high level of humidity and at temperature of 14 C°.

Curiosity:

The name comes from the Latin “ferox”, that is fierce, given by the presence of colorful, strong numerous and menacing thorns along the ribs of the stem. The name “brevispinus” refers to the shorter spines than the other species of the same genus.

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

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