Parodia magnifica

Ball Cactus, Balloon Cactus, Green Ball Cactus, Blue Ball Cactus
Size
ex 2L pots
Availability: In stock
£12.99
Quick Overview
  • Glaucous blue-green body with deeply defined ribs
  • Continuous margin of woolly aureolae with straw-yellow bristle-like spines
  • Large yellow flowers in summer
  • Becoming stout and columnar with age
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Parodia magnifica is one of those cacti that makes an impression: a large, well-established plant is a cactus that once seen is never forgotten. It is also a cactus that just gets better the bigger it gets. While one may overlook a small-sized plant as just another globular spiny ball, there is no overlooking a specimen-size plant: as Parodia magnifica grows it truly starts to live up to its name. The deep blue-green body with its the strongly defined ribs with their almost continuous line of woolly aureoles sporting straw-yellow spines begins to elongate and become more columnar over time creating a stout presence. Its yellow flowers appear in mid to late summer from a relatively early age.

In the wild, Parodia magnifica is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List with large numbers having been stripped indiscriminately from their habitat by unethical collecting. The remaining populations are fragmented and found on steep inaccessible, often vertical basalt cliffs surrounded by humid subtropical forest and growing in crevices between the rocks. As it grows it forms offsets around the base creating a dense clump. A population of mature clumping Parodia magnifica can form a dense colony and if - as is usually the case - they are growing on a cliff perched above a river they can appear to defy gravity, their ancient elongated bodies curving out and upward towards the sky.


Additional Information

Order Caryophyllales
Family Cactaceae
Sub-Family Cactoideae
Synonyms Eriocactus magnificus, Eriocephala magnifica, Notocactus magnificus
Geographical Origin Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul
Cultivation Full sun. Gritty, well-drained mineral-based mix. Water in the growing season. No water between October and early March
Eventual Height 50-60cm
Eventual Spread 40-50cm
Hardiness Not hardy. Cold tolerant but not one for outdoors in the UK. Glasshouse or indoors only. In a cool glasshouse, be ready to fleece it if the weather goes seriously south
Parodia magnifica
Ball Cactus, Balloon Cactus, Green Ball Cactus, Blue Ball Cactus
Size
ex 2L pots
Availability: In stock
£12.99
You could receive 20 Palm Points for writing a review for this product.
Add to My Wishlist Add to Compare Email to a Friend
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