Cacti, Care tips, How to sow
Epithelantha micromeris (“Button Cactus”)- Step Up Your Rock Garden Game
Nov
Epithelantha micromeris aka “Button Cactus” is a perfect addition for your rock garden or to plant is some cute hanging baskets. This unusual looking succulent will fit in any arrangment you can possibly think of and it doesn’t require too much care.
Look Can Be Deceiving
“Button Cactus” is a small, Madagascar-native cactus. It only grows up to 2 inches (5 cm) tall and up to 1.6 inches (4 cm) in diameter. Its characteristic look is marked by white-gray spines growing on a globular shaped stem. Those white spines are growing so densely that it’s almost impossible to see any of the green stems underneath that. Because of that, it`s common misconception this cactus is white-grayish.
When “Button Cactus” blooms, it produces small, pink-white flowers which are considered to be some of the smallest of the cacti. The flowers are also bearing cylindrical. bright-red fruit with few black seeds. Fun fact: the flowers of “Button Cactus” are edible.
Grow and Care Tips
“Button cactus” has typical watering needs for succulent. However, if you want to encourage flowering, you should let the plant enjoy a cooling period in the winter months and cut the watering. Like any other cactus use its ribs as water storage, “Button cactus” uses raised tubercles from which spines emerge. When you’re watering, those tubercles expend to allow increased water storage. The flowers bloom from the axils of tubercles on the previous year`s growth. “Button cactus” is extremely sensitive to overwatering and root rot. You need to be very careful not to leave it to sit in water. You should also give your plant some mild fertilizer during the growing season.
“Button Cactus” is not cold hardy, so if you live in a zone that gets colder than 20° F (-6.7° C), it’s best to plant this succulent in a container that can be brought indoors. It does well in full to partial sun. If you’re planting your cactus outdoor, choose a place that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. If you’re planting “Button cactus” indoors, place somewhere it can get a lot of sunlight, such as near a southern-facing window.
Propagation
“Button cactus” can be propagated from seeds or stem cuttings. If you choose to propagate from cuttings, just remove an offset from the main plant with a sterile and sharp knife. You`ll need to let the cuttings callus for a day or two before placing them on fresh soil. If you want to propagate this cactus from the seeds, do it indoor by placing seeds in fresh soil and use some grow lights and seed mat.