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Ferocactus fordii (subspecies: borealis)

Ferocactus fordii (subspecies: borealis).
Post number 3, and the 1st cacti entry: Ferocactus fordii.

The genus Ferocactus contains roughly 30 species of barrel shaped cacti.
A cool fact about the Ferocactus genus is that the inner pulp has traditionally been eaten and even used to make ‘barrel cactus candy’ (though I do not recommend or condone eating these cuties).

Cactus is a derivative of the Greek word ‘Kaktos’, which loosely means ‘spiny plant’.
‘Fero’ derives from ‘ferox’ which means ‘fierce’. Therefore, the genus name ‘Ferocactus’ means ‘fierce spiny plant’, which is obviously awesome!

I think technically my plant is the subspecies variation borealis, which means northern, most likely a reference to where it was found. It has smaller spines than the true species. The common name is Ford barrel cactus, but I prefer my version: fierce spiny northern barrel!

Ferocactus fordii is a desert dweller found in South United States and Mexico. It has long red spines, with curved fishhook-style ends, which nest in beds of shorter white spines. They have a lovely round, ribbed, green body.

I picked up my Ferocactus fordii online for £3 and it miraculously arrived in the post unscathed. It came unlabelled and was a lucky dip, but they are commonly available. It is very spiky, so I had to wear gloves when re-potting, which I did into cactus potting mixture.

Care instructions: My Ferocactus fordii is pretty small (~4cm tall), but they can grow up to 45cm in height.

As you would expect, Ferocactus fordii love sun. They are most happy in temperatures 10-30°C but can tolerate low temperatures in winter.

Ferocactus fordii should be watered spring to autumn. You only want to soak the top couple of cm of the soil when watering (it has very shallow roots) and you should allow the soil to dry out well in between watering. Dry soil should stick to your finger when you press it, wet soil will not do this. In winter Ferocactus fordii should be kept almost dry. They also prefer a dry environment.

If kept in a well-lit area, and provided with enough fertiliser, the Ferocactus fordii might bloom in summer, with cute looking red/pink flowers. Fertilising can be done roughly once a month (spring to autumn), with ½ strength fertiliser.  My Ferocactus fordii has not bloomed yet, but I am hoping it will in summer.

Ferocactus fordii is the perfect example of an unassuming cactus, which when you look closer, is really special. Its spines give it a distinctive and fierce appearance, and the colours ‘pop’ in combination with each other.

Any questions/corrections- please comment below 😁

Ferocactus fordii (subspecies: borealis).

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