Maihuenia patagonica, a very pretty cactus

Maihuenia in habitat

Image - Cactusinhabitat.org

Cacti are succulents known above all for their thorns, and it is precisely this characteristic that makes the Patagonian Maihuenia be one of those plants with which you have to be very careful. Even so, if you are a cactus lover you will surely like to meet her.

And it is that, to this day it is still not well known, but I hope that from now on it will be a little more so. 🙂

Origin and characteristics

Maihuenia patagonica flowers

La Patagonian Maihuenia is an endemic cactus from Argentina and Chile that is cushion-shaped up to 30 centimeters high. It has leaves well protected by spines up to 3 centimeters in average, greenish-yellow, white, gray or reddish in color. They produce large, bell-shaped flowers that are white, yellow or pink in color. Once they are fertilized, the fruit begins to mature, which will acquire a globose shape, will measure about 2 centimeters in diameter and will be green-yellowish.

Its growth rate is quite slow, but precisely for this reason it can be kept in pots for many, many years.

What are the cares?

Specimen of Maihuenia patagonica

If you want to have a copy, we recommend that you provide it with the following care:

  • Location: outside, in full sun. It does not grow well in semi-shade or indoors.
  • Soil or substrate: it must have very good drainage, since it does not tolerate waterlogging. Ideally, it should grow in sandy-type soil, such as pumice or other volcanic or river sand.
  • Irrigation: very scarce: no more than 2 times a week in summer and every 20 days the rest of the year.
  • Subscriber: from the beginning of spring to the end of summer, it must be paid with liquid fertilizers for cacti following the indications specified on the product packaging.
  • Planting or transplanting time: in spring, when the risk of frost has passed.
  • Rusticity: supports frosts down to -4ºC.

Have you ever seen a cactus like this?


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