Cleistocactus sucrensis

Family

cactaceae

Native

Bolivia

Description

Cleistocactus buchtienii  is a attractive cactus with very long brown spines. It is a vigorous, epilithic (growing on rocks) cactus, branching at the base. At first upright, then pendent and up to 8.2' long. Its wand-like stems are several feet long, dark olive-green in color, with dense brown spines. The flowers are tubular and pinkish-red.

This plant is a heavy bloomer and  mature cactus's, over 50 cm tall,  will profusely produce  pinkish-red.  tubular, slightly curved flowers. The blooms are 6 to 9 cm long and protrude horizontally from the stem on the sides near the tips. In common with other cacti in the genus Cleistocactus, the flowers hardly open, with only the style and stamens protruding. Floral tube with silky hairs.

Environment

Cleistocactus require filtered bright light, but not in full sun that will sun scald it. It need a well drained soil mix. Water regularly in summer but allow to dry fully before watering again. During the winter months they should be rather kept dry. Since they are rapid growers need plenty of space for their roots, repotting should be done every other year or when the plant has outgrown its pot.  A slow-release fertilizer applied in the spring will be sufficient for the whole year.

Landscape Uses