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Old Man of Andes Oreocereus Doelzianus Sericatus Cactus
1x very well-rooted ~12cm Old Man of the Andes cactus!
This super furry fella is a real favourite of mine and the fleshy succulent nature of the stem and root reminds me more of Stapelia, Orbia or Huernia than most common cactus. Makes handling it a breeze.
It grows quick and produces lots of pups, and it’s super hardy.
I’m told it can handle low temperatures all the way down to -12°C in it’s natural range in the Andes mountains in Peru.
Here in sunny hot Queensland Australia it wasn’t bothered at all by the 40°C+ days we had, and as soon as I cut a bit off to propagate and root, it throws a whole heap of new pups from all around the base.
The harsher you treat it, the woollier and fluffier it gets which I reckon it looks super cool!
In the past I grafted to Dragonfruit and Apple cactus and both were a success with Dragonfruit giving the biggest bump in growth. That said I don’t bother these days cos it’s already quite fast compared to many other species.
I’m told it gets an edible fruit with a red, yellow or green skin and with any luck I will be able to try them out this year in the coming heat. Bloody king parrots snapping of the buds as soon as they appear is the reason why I have missed out on the last couple flushes of flower.
The flowers are brightly coloured and pollinated by birds in their natural habitat, but I guess the ones in South America aren’t as cheeky and destructive as the naughty little bastards I have here at home….
Botanically known as Oreocereus doelzianus var sericatus, Borzicactus sericatus, Morawetzia sericata, Borzicactus doelzianus, Morawetzia doelziana, Morawetzia doelziana var sericata, and I’ve also seen it called Old man cactus, Old man of the Andes, even Troll or Trolli cactus despite that’s actually a different fella.
Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!
