Family: Parodia
Habitat: South America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay)
Cultivation: As the great majority of cacti, it enjoys full sun or partial shade, regular watering in summer (every 3-4 days), and monthly fertilisation. Conversely, it doesn’t like temperatures below 6-8°C.
Curiosity: The genus Parodia has been named after the Argentinian botanist Lorenzo Raimundo Parodi.

KEY FEATURES

Parodia genus comprehends a wide variety of cacti: Notocactus, Eriocactus, a few Brasilicactus, Echinocactus and others.

For this reason, you can find both globular and columnar Parodia cacti.

All of them feature brightly colored, funnel-shaped flowers usually quite large in size.

VARIETY AND TYPES

Since the ‘80s many other species become part of this genus. In particular: Malacocarpus, Notocactus and Eriocactus.

• P. alacriportana
• P. allosiphon
• P. arnostiana
• P. aureicentra
• P. aureispina
  
• P. ayopayana
  
• P. buiningii
• P. carambeiensis
• P. catamarcensis
• P. chrysacanthion
• P. claviceps
• P. columnaris
• P. comarapana
• P. commutans
• P. concinna
• P. crassigibba
• P. curvispina
• P. erinacea
• P. erubescens
• P. formosa
• P. fusca
• P. graessneri
• P. gummifera
• P. haselbergii
• P. hausteiniana
• P. herteri
• P. horstii
• P. langsdorfii
• P. laui
• P. leninghausii
• P. linkii
• P. maassii
• P. magnifica
• P. mairanana
• P. malyana
• P. mammulosa
• P. meonacantha
• P. microsperma
• P. minuta
• P. mueller-melchersii
• P. muricata
• P. mutabilis
• P. neoarechavaletae
• P. neohorstii
• P. nigrispina
• P. nivosa
• P. nothominuscula
• P. nothorauschii
• P. ocampoi
• P. ottonis
• P. oxycostata
• P. penicillata
• P. permutata
• P. procera
• P. punae
• P. rechensis
• P. ritteri
• P. roseolutea
• P. rubellihamata
• P. rudibueneckeri
• P. rutilans
• P. saint-pieana
• P. sanguiniflora
• P. schlosseri
• P. schumanniana
• P. schwebsiana
• P. scopa
• P. sellowii
• P. stockingeri
• P. stuemeri
• P. submammulosa
• P. subterranea
• P. sucrensis
• P. suprema
• P. tabularis
• P. taratensis
• P. tenuicylindrica
• P. tilcarensis
• P. tuberculata
• P. turbinata
• P. turecekiana
• P. uebelmanniana
• P. warasii
• P. werdermanniana
• P. werneri

TIPS FOR GROWING

Due to the wide variety within the species, it is diffult to give general tips on how to grow Parodia. However, we can refer to the general tips for growing cacti:

• They enjoy partial shade or full sun exposure (however, be mindful that they aren’t getting too much sunlight).
• They do well when kept in temperatures between 20 ° C and 30 ° C. However, as long as they are dry, cacti can withstand low temperatures for brief periods of time.
• In summer they should be watered every 3-4 days, allowing excess water to drain away and the soil to dry out before watering again. Reduce watering in autumn and stop watering in winter.
• The best cactus soil is a sand and peat-based blend that provides a good drainage.
• Dilute a liquid fertilizer with water once a month.
• Depending on the variety of the plant, you may need to repot more or less often. In the case of globular cacti, we advise repotting once a year.
• Parodia are propagated through seeds (in particular, the globular types) which are usually slow-growing.