Gymnocalycium mihanovichii grafted
An exciting story:The Japanese cacti friend Eiji Watanabe sowed in 1941 some 10,000 grain seeds of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii. To his surprise, some non-green plantlets were found in their seed boxes, so-called color mutations. Mr. Watanabe knew that they would not survive for long, because they could not do photosynthesis because of the lack of leaf green. And so he took an old horticulture: the refinement.
He took a hylocereus, cut it sharply, removed the root from the little red Gymno, and grafted it on each other. After about 6-8 weeks the two plants were connected and the green Hylocereus fed the red head with everything it needed.
This is still similar today. However, there are now many different color types.
Sometimes, however, the Hylocereus thinks: "I'm not stupid, and I'll take care of him up there," and starts to drive a branch. This should be removed quickly, otherwise the Gymno is no longer supplied and dies.
English name: Strawberry, Red Riding Hood
Botanical name: Gymnocalycium mihanovichii
Home: Central America and Japan
Age: about 2 years
Pot size: 5.5cm
Total height: approx. 10-12cm
Location: bright, warm window
Watering: in the summer a maximum of 1x times a week
Do not pour again until the earth is completely dried out
In the resting phase in winter significantly less
Not quite as cool as other cactuses (at least 10-12 ° C)
Fertilization: in summer every 3-4 weeks, in winter not