I've had many cacti, but this one has by far the most evil spines of any, without doubt. If one gets into your skin or clothing (includin...Read Moreg seemingly impenetrable gloves), your instinct will be to roll your wrist to dislodge it. This ensures that 10 or more spines will instantly grab into you. I had to physically cut myself free from this plant. I found the best thing to do is to simply cut off all the hooked tips on the lower half of the plant, so that you can repot it. The flowers are big and red, unusual for a Mammillaria. Unfortunately, mine had its entire root system break off while I was wrestling myself free from its spines. So I set it aside for a few months to wait for new roots to grow back, which happens quickly with most Mammillarias. But none grew back, and the bottom half of the trunk rotted into a wet pulp, so I had to discard the plant. (The top of it looked as healthy as the day I bought it, in March.)
Overall, this plant is only for cactus experts and/or masochists. But cut off the spine hooks like I said and it becomes much more manageable.
I've had many cacti, but this one has by far the most evil spines of any, without doubt. If one gets into your skin or clothing (includin...Read More
ornamental plant with small but deadly sharp, hooked spines. Huge showy red flowers (huge for a Mammillaria).