Cactus Ferocactus Histrix

Here is Ferocactus Histrix, also known by the common name Bisnaga Electracantha. It usually comes from eastern Mexico and is widely distributed in different states. This species is one of the curious because as young they are light green and as they grow, they become bluish or grey. They are slow growing, although with age they can reach seventy centimeters in height by thirty in diameter.

They have about twenty-five very marked ribs and the spines are oval and woolly at the base (the areoles that are called). It has between seven and twelve slightly curved radial spines about four centimeters long and between one and four completely straight and thicker central spines. Flowering occurs during the summer and they offer us yellow flowers with red spots and the shape of a funnel. Then the seeds that we’ll have to use to create new specimens in the next spring float. It sometimes produces a little baby, which we can of course take root as well.

This Ferocactus can both live in a place where it receives direct sunlight and light shade. It is a cactus that is really resistant to winter, because without any problems we can expose it to minimum temperatures of up to nine degrees below zero, a barbarity in the case of a desert plant! However, it is also very resistant to drought, so it is better not to overrun with water. The most suitable period irrigation and the one I recommend you to do is: once a week in summer, once every fortnight in spring, once a month in autumn and no longer irrigate until the good weather returns, or when the minimum temperatures are equal to or above seven positive degrees. Between irrigation and irrigation, you must ensure that the substrate is completely dry.

Finally, it is also pest-resistant, and we will not have much trouble other than the cottony mealybug.