Some cacti grow big, have huge, colourful petals and sometimes some fragrance too.
Some stay tiny and have small, simple flowers. But they are just so irresistibly adorable!
I have been showing this one every year (I think) since I got it and every year it looks better and better with more flowers too.
Rebutia Albiflora
Some time ago I read that they do not produce seeds an the only way to propagate them is through cuttings. Which is quite fine as they grow pretty fast with multiple new shoots every year. But why the flowers then?
Besides that they are very pretty of course with delicate, almost see through petals and some pink hits here and there.
They do not last long, just a couple of days and have no fragrance.
The largest of the little balls is the size of a chickpea. So you can imagine how small they all are. The whole point is to let them grow and spread and eventually create a pillow of little chickpea balls. Like here for example - this is something I am really looking forward too.
The mass in the pot is actually three plants. I got 4 or 5 single little balls some years ago and this what what I have now. Two died in the meantime. Three are doing just fine.
The photos I took a couple of weeks ago. I waited until the stop blooming an decided o repot it (no photos of the process again..). You can see on the photos how close they are to the edges already. The smallest stems are completely squashed and had no more room to grow. This was about 10 cm pot.
The two largest clumps I put together in a bigger pot and the smallest one I potted separately in a small 5 cm pot. I hope it is enough room for them for at least a year, though in this case I wouldn't mind repotting them again next spring. It would only mean they grew fast enough and are asking for more room.
Besides the spines are super soft, like stiff brush bristles and do not hurt. Pure pleasure to work with this one.
Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
