Mammillaria polythele care

The Mammillaria polythele is a small cactus

Image - Wikimedia / Peter A. Mansfeld

La Mammillaria polythele it is a cactus that you can have in a pot throughout its life, but also in rockeries with other succulent plants. It is not very difficult to take care of, although of course you do have to know some things so as not to lose it before time.

So if you want to know how it is watered, when it is planted in the ground or how to change its pot, then we will explain all this and more.

Origin and characteristics of Mammillaria polythele

The Mammillaria polythele is a cylindrical cactus

Image – Wikimedia/Dave Pape

La Mammillaria polythele It is a cactus endemic to Mexico, specifically it can be found in Hidalgo, Querétaro and Guanajuato. It has a cylindrical shape, and can reach a height of 60 centimeters and a maximum width of 15 centimeters.. Its body has very marked ribs and contains milky sap. Over the years, it tends to grow in clumps that reach 60 centimeters wide.

Thorns sprout from the areoles that vary in number from when the plant is young until it finishes maturing. Only two sprout at first, later becoming three or more light brown or dark reddish brown. A kind of white wool also emerges from the top of the cactus.

The flowers are pink, measure 1 centimeter long and appear in spring. When pollinated, the fruits ripen, which are red and contain dark brown seeds.

How do you take care of Mammillaria polythele?

It is a slow-growing cactus that produces its beautiful flowers from a very young age. For this reason, we want you to know how to take care of it and thus ensure that it remains in good condition:

Where to put the cactus?

La Mammillaria polythele It is a cactus typical of the Mexican desert, which grows exposed to direct sunlight. However, if we buy it in a nursery where they had it protected, we will have to gradually get it used to sun exposure so it doesn't burn. How do you do this?

With a lot of patience, and following these steps:

  1. First week: we will leave it in a sunny place early in the morning, no more than one hour every day. Then we put it back in a protected area.
  2. Second week: we leave it in the sun for between an hour and a half and two hours daily. Then we protect it.
  3. Third week and following: we increase the sun exposure time between 30 and 60 minutes per week.
Ferocactus with sunburn on one side
Related article:
Sunburns on cacti and other succulents: what to do to recover them?

Start in spring or fall, since it is when the solar radiation is less intense. If it is done in summer, even if we have the cactus exposed for only one hour, it will burn for sure.

What soil or substrate do you need?

The wool of Mammillaria polythele is white.

Image – Wikimedia/Dragonglow

It will depend on where we have it:

  • Flower pot: we can mix peat and perlite in equal parts, or plant it with quality cactus substrate, such as the Flower brand that is obtained from here.
  • Garden: Grows in sandy, well-drained soils. If the soil in our garden is very heavy, as clay soils tend to be, we will make a hole of about 50 x 50 centimeters and fill it with substrate for cacti.

When and how to water Mammillaria polythele?

To cacti, and actually to practically all succulent plants, you have to water them when the soil is completely dry. They can spend time without receiving a single drop of water, but on the other hand they will not bear having their roots waterlogged. For this reason, we recommend watering rather little to your mammillaria.

The frequency will vary depending on temperatures and rainfall, but Assuming that the climate is warm and it rains little or not at all, it will be watered an average of 2 times a week during the summer, and every 15 or 20 days the rest of the year. In any case, I insist, you only have to water when you see that the land is dry.

In case of doubt, if it is in a pot you can weigh it as soon as you water it, and again after a few days. Since dry soil weighs less than wet soil, this difference in weight will help guide you when to water again. In the event that you have it on the ground, introduce a thin wooden stick about 30 or 40 centimeters, and if when extracting it comes out with a lot of adhering soil, do not water it because it will mean that it is still wet.

How to water? Always pouring the water onto the land, and if possible at sunset when the sun no longer shines. The cactus can be wet from time to time, for example once a month, but it is important that at that time it is not exposed to the light of the king star, otherwise it would burn.

Does it have to be paid?

It is highly recommended to pay from spring to summer. To do this, specific fertilizers or fertilizers for cacti will be used, and the instructions specified on the container will be followed in order to achieve good results (and incidentally, also to avoid burning their roots, something that would happen if more than the indicated). For example, you can use Flower's liquid fertilizer, which if you are interested you just have to do click here to buy it.

When to transplant it?

The Mammillaria polythele is a cactus

Image - Wikimedia / Amante Darmanin

It has to be done in spring, when the frosts have passed, and provided that it has rooted well in the pot. If we want to plant it in a larger container, we will do it every 3 or 4 years following these steps:

  1. First, we will take a pot that is about 4 or 5 centimeters wider and taller than the one it already has.
  2. Then, we will fill it a little with cactus substrate, taking into account the height of the old pot to prevent the plant from being too high or low.
  3. Then, we remove the cactus from the pot and put it in the new one.
  4. Finally, we finish filling.

And if we intend to plant it in the ground, we will make a hole of about 50 x 50 centimeters, fill it with cactus substrate, and introduce it into it once we have removed it from the pot. Later, we put more earth to finish filling the hole, and we watered.

Does it resist frost?

Only the weak ones, down to -1ºC. If you live in an area where the winter is colder, you will need to protect it indoors or in a greenhouse.

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