Clinging to the dry, lonely mountains of Bolivia, way above 6000', intrepid explorers found this singular cactus. First described in 1907 by E Heese, named after cactus man Leopold Strauss, and now in our Shop. The Silver Torch cactus grows in narrow columns up to 10' ( ! ) but is slow in getting there. Groups of those columns in the wild are something to see! Anyway, he makes a fine houseplant in a bright spot in your place. The columns are covered head to toe with teeny, pure white spines in rows, marching from top to bottom, like hairs so closely placed that the spines touch each other. Rare flowers are something to see too; bright, magenta cerise tubes poke out a couple of inches out, absolutely horizontally all around the columns. They don't open much, a characteristic of the Cleistocacti, but they don't need to, they're so pretty. After the flowers, you are rewarded with small, rounded, red fruits (which are edible!) Put him in a windowsill or near a brightly lit window and watch him grow and wait for those flowers.
- Drought Tolerant
- Pet Friendly
- Low Maintenance
Quick Care Guide:
- Water - Low (1): Needs very little water to survive. Wait until the plant is completely dry then fully soak. Drought tolerant by nature.
- High - (5): Plant needs a lot of light; direct is even better. These plants do best when placed on a window sill or next to a bright window. Avoid concentrated, hot light from window which may cause burning (magnifying glass effect).
- Difficulty - Low (1): These plants need barely any attention to thrive. Set it and forget it.