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Oreocereus celsianus

Oreocereus celsianus
Today’s post is about the beautiful Oreocereus celsianus.

Oreocereus celsianus also gets called the ‘Old man of the mountain’, which is possibly my favourite common name for a cacti every, it’s so full of character! It makes me antropomorphize my cacti and imagine it giving grumpy advice!

I picked this cactus up at my favourite garden centre pre-lockdown. It cost £6. It came unlabelled and to be honest, I had no idea what species it was. After scouring my identification book, I was still unsure, so I posted in my favourite cacti forum, and a very kind member identified it for me, which was great. I really recommend https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/ for friendly advice.

Anyway, back to Oreocereus celsianus. The Oreocereus genus is found at high altitudes in the Andes. ‘Oreo’ is from the ancient Greek word ‘oros’ which means mountain, and ‘cereus’ is derived from the Latin word for torch. I presume celsianus is reference to the botanist Jacques Martin Cels, but I’m not 100% certain.

Oreocereus celsianus has beautiful white ‘hairs’, which as well as giving it tons of character, protect the plant from the extreme cold and exposed sun in its native environment. Don’t be fooled though, under the cosy looking fuzz are long and fierce spines. My trio of Oreocereus celsianus are quite stumpy, but they can grow super long and tall.

Care instructions: Oreocereus celsianus are very tolerant plants. They prefer temperatures of 5°C to 30°C, however, can tolerate as low as -12°C! If you plan on low temperatures, make sure the soil is dry to avoid damaging the plant (as it will rot if left wet).

Oreocereus celsianus prefer lots of bright sunlight, so ideally should be kept on a south-facing window, though some shade at the hottest time of year will be needed to prevent scorching. However, I have been growing mine on a north-facing window and it looks happy enough.

Oreocereus celsianus should be watered when the top layers of soil are dry in summer, ~once a month in autumn and not at all in winter, which is important for the plants growth cycle.

Oreocereus celsianus can be fertilised in once a month (with ½ strength fertiliser), over summer but this is not essential. They are used to tough conditions.

I keep my Oreocereus celsianus in a large pot, in cacti potting mixture and a thick layer of grit at the base for extra drainage. In the future I will separate the three plants into individual pots, however right now I don’t have access to extra plant pots.

If Oreocereus celsianus flowers, they will be big pink blooms. These flowers can appear in spring, but only on mature plants.

Oreocereus celsianus is propagated by seed.

I really like my Old man of the mountain; it is unusual and full of character. I will update if I am lucky enough to get flowers this year.

Any questions/corrections- please comment below

*comments are especially appreciated at the moment 😊*

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