Cactus Stetsonia Coryne

I present you with a cactus that when I knew what his scientific name was, I was speechless, as I had never heard such a name before. This is Stetsonia Coryne, from Argentina, more specifically to the north, which we know as the common name cactus toothpick, referring to the very thin and long spines it has.

It is a tree port plant, which can reach eight meters in height. The base is not very large, it can be at most forty centimeters in diameter and then branches off with arms about sixty centimeters long. If you look at it, you can also see that it has eight ribs where the radial spines, which have between seven and nine, are about three centimeters in length and thicker at the base than at the tip. It has a single central spine, much longer, straight and robust than the others. It can be up to eight centimeters in length and it is the same as the common name I mentioned earlier.

The flowering occurs between spring and summer and offers us some green flowers on the outside with the white interior, about fifteen centimeters in length and are usually born on the sides of the cactus, touching on the top. Adult specimens require direct sunlight, but those that are small thank before they have not a considerable size, a little shade, so they avoid burns. Direct sunlight also helps them flourish.

The irrigation is not a secret: once every fortnight in the spring, once a week in the summer, in the autumn, at the latest in October, irrigation only once. We will then stop providing water completely until the minimum temperatures exceed ten degrees (which in this case, this species is at the temperature that begins to winter).

Finally, it doesn’t have many pest or disease problems, just make sure that before irrigating the substrate it is completely dry so that it doesn’t have too much moisture and as a result rots.