Mammillaria glassii subsp. ascensionis
Late winter through spring is the season many of the mammillaria cacti flower. Of course there are some that flower during the summer, but some of the really nice species in my collection produce their flowers in March through May. This includes Mammillaria glassii shown below. It is named after Charlie Glass, the long time editor of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America bimonthly journal. It is native to the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
Usually you grow a particular Mammillaria because the flowers are outstanding, or the spines are outstanding. With M. glassii subsp. ascensionis you get both. The flowers are relatively large and an attractive pink, and the spines, and axillary hairs, present the appearance of shinning hair. A most beautiful plant in and out of flowering.
The plant shown was seed grown and began life sometime in the early 1990's. I have lost the exact date the seed was sown but the plant is approximately 20 years old. It an easy plant to grow but requires a lot of direct sun for good flowering.
Lovely plant. Good that the snow is not stopping the Spring flowers.
ReplyDeleteHi Alain, hope your Spring weather is being cooperative. The mammillarias flower nicely in the over-wintering frames, the only problem is I usually can't see them do it!! M. candida and M. hahniana are both flowering now. I'll try to get a few photos tomorrow, but the forecast is for rain. We'll see.
ReplyDelete