Mammillaria elongata

Mammillaria elongata

For post number 7, I have the magnificent Mammillaria elongata, commonly called the ‘Ladyfinger cactus’.

This is a truly beautiful cactus, with tons of character (and spikes!).

Mammillaria derives from the word nipple or teat! Carl Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 after the tubercles (round like nodules) sometimes found on these cacti. Carl was somewhat of an expert on naming things and is often called the ‘father of modern taxonomy’ (it was him who grouped humans with apes), so I begrudgingly accept his nipple naming of this un-nipple like plant.

The name Mammillaria elongata makes slightly more sense knowing that ‘elongata’ means ‘longer’ or ‘elongated’. Mammillaria elongata, will forever be called the elongated nipple to me.

The Mammillaria genus contains around 200 species of cactus, varying greatly from single stems to clumps, balls to columns, with stiff to hairy spines.

I picked my Mammillaria elongata from my local garden centre for £4. I was attracted to the jazzy geometric patterns of the spines.

Mine is pretty small (~5cm tall), but dense. Mammillaria elongata can grow up to 20cm tall.

Care instructions: Mammillaria elongata is very spikey, with no place to hold without getting a spine I recommend wearing planting gloves when handling. I re-potted my Mammillaria elongata in a terracotta pot, with cactus potting mixture and a thick layer of grit at the base to prevent root rot.

Mammillaria elongata like the sunshine, favouring a solid 6 hours per day. Care should be given in summer not to scorch them, and light shade might be required.

Mammillaria elongata can tolerate a range of temperatures from 5°C to 30°C, but are happiest in +10°C.

Mammillaria elongata like dry soil in between watering. Do not water in winter but mist occasionally.

Fertiliser can be used at half strength, roughly once a month, during spring and summer.

Mammillaria elongata are most likely to flower if they have a dormant (and are not watered) period in winter. If they are going to flower, they will do so in spring. The flowers are small and pale yellow or pink tinged.

To propagate you take offsets. This means they will grow a ‘baby’ plant alongside it that can be removed and potted separately. Often it is required to keep offsets dry, warm and in shade for ~2 weeks to allow their ends to callus over and roots to begin to form before they are potted into soil.

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EDIT: Today (29/3/20) I noticed my beautiful Mammillaria elongata has started to flower! I am very happy to see these beautiful blooms in such a hard time. Here is a photo:

Mammillaria elongata flower

Any questions/corrections- please comment below 😁

Mammillaria elongata