Sea urchin cactus

Seeds: 40  / Botanical name: Echinopsis mirabilis

For night owls only - A dreamy bloom at midnight

The botanical name "mirabilis" already hints at it – the appearance of the flower, enormous in relation to the cactus's size, is simply "wonderful." This columnar cactus, initially spherical and later becoming slender, is one of the easiest cacti to care for. It is small, and its cylindrical, sparsely spined stems reach a height of just 12 centimeters with a diameter of approximately two centimeters. Even on three-year-old plants, flower stalks emerge from the shoot tips in summer and are also 12 centimeters long. At their tips, the large, white, and pleasantly fragrant flowers slowly unfold during the night hours, giving the cactus its name, Flor de adoracion (Flower of Adoration), in the Andes. The cactus only blooms for one night at a time, but new flowers appear continuously throughout the summer. Tip: If you place your sea urchin cactus in a dark spot two hours before dusk, the flowers will open before nightfall.

Natural habitat: The cactus is primarily found in the Argentine provinces of Santiago del Estero, La Rioja and Mendoza.