Synonyms:

Rebutia tiraquensis
Rebutia steinbachii subsp. tiraquensis
Rebutia tiraquensis var. longiseta
Sulcorebutia mariana
Sulcorebutia mariana var. laui
Sulcorebutia mariana var. prantneri
Sulcorebutia steinbachii var. australis
Sulcorebutia tiraquensis
Sulcorebutia vizcarrae var. laui
Weingartia aglaia
Weingartia mariana
Weingartia tiraquensis var. aguilarii

Habitat:

Sulcorebutia tiraquensis var. aguillarii is native to Bolivia where the plant on a flat, dry, stony area and can spread up to 3900 m of altitude.

Description:

Sulcorebutia tiraquensis var. aguillarii is a small succulent belonging to the Cactaceae botanical family. The plant forms a clustering mound of tiny heads and can reach up to 5 cm in diameter. The stem is short, globular to spherical, apically depressed, dark green in color. The areoles are long, white to yellowish in color and bear the spines. The 15-40 spines are numerous, short, erect or radiating, thin, bristle-like, reddish in color covering all the surface and hide the steam. The roots are small and fibrous. Blooming occurs from the spring to the early summer and blossoms are borne near the base of the stem in a ring, forming a crown of flowers. The flowers are funnel-shaped, made of many petals, shiny pink to bright magenta and sometimes red. The stamens are yellow and are located at the center of the flower. The flowering lasts for 5 days.

Cultivation:

The plant has a slow growth rate but it easy to cultivate. The best sun-exposure is in bright place but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light in the hottest periods. The minimum temperatures that the plant can withstand are 0° C, below this temperature it begins to suffer so it needs to be placed indoors in the coldest periods. The perfect soil is a well-drained soil that let the water to drain away and avoid root rot. To achieve this feature, you can mix the pumice soil, clay and soil. Using a perforating pot, you can drain excess water. Watering is very important for this species and should be done well: 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. About fertilization, for this plant is sufficient to fertilize moderately during the growing season with the specific fertilizers for succulents and stop fertilizing during the winter. You should repot the plant every 2 years 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:

Propagation can be done by cutting or by seed. By cutting you can make the cut during the spring and then let the cutting dry; after a few days the cut surface will dry and a callus will form, then place the cutting in a mixture of sand, soil and pumice. To increase the success of propagation you can make two or more cuttings at the same time. For cuttings it is recommended temperatures around 20 °C. 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:

Sulcorebutia, along with other types of Cactaceae, has recently been aggregated into the Rebutia genus. The genus was named after Pierre Rebut (1828–1902), a French cactus nurseryman.

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www.giromagi.com

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www.giromagicactus.com

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