Gymnocalycium mihanovichii grafted - with red graft
An exciting story:
The Japanese cactus friend Eiji Watanabe sown some 10,000 seeds of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii in 1941. To his surprise, there were some non-green plants in his seed boxes, so-called color mutations. Mr. Watanabe knew that these would not survive long, after all, due to the lack of green leaves, they cannot photosynthesize. And so he resorted to an old gardening tool: refinement.
He took a Hylocereus, cut it to a point, removed the root from the little red Gymno and grafted them onto one another. After about 6-8 weeks the two plants were connected and the green Hylocereus supplied the red head witheverything he needed.
It''s still done in a similar way today. However, there are now many different color types.
Sometimes, however, the Hylocereus thinks: "I''m not stupid and take care of him up there" and begins to drive a branch himself. This should be removed quickly, otherwise the gym will no longer be supplied and will die.
German name: Strawberry Cactus, Little Red Riding Hood
Botanical name: Gymnocalycium mihanovichii friedrichii "Rubra"
Home: Central America or Japan
Age: approx. 2 years
Pot size: 5.5cm
Total height: about 8-10cm
Location: bright, warm window seat
Watering: in summer a maximum of 1x per week
Only then pour again, wwhen the earth is completely dry
Pour significantly less during the rest phase in winter
do not overwinter as cool as other cacti (at least 10-12 ° C)
Fertilization: every 3-4 weeks in summer
do not fertilize in winter
