Ariocarpus fissuratus - 10 seeds
Ariocarpus fissuratus is a geophyte plant that produces a star-shaped rosette of fleshy, deltoid to hemispheric tubercles, which have no spines and lie almost flat on the soil surface. The tubercles, about as long as wide, are closely packed and form a coarse mosaic. Exposed faces of tubercles, deeply fissured on either side of the central areolar groove, are coarsely rugose, and are often sharply angled apically; and with a lateral longitudinal furrow on each side of the tubercle, along the edge. The areoles are up to 0.1 inches (3 mm) wide, sometimes confined to middle of tubercle faces instead of extending to tips. They are usually solitary, rarely giving rise to side shoots from old areoles, they grow extremely slowly, to 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter.
Each plant has a large turnip-like taproot, which lies below the soil surface and serves for water storage.
HOW TO GROW?
Seedlings dislike strong light and dry conditions, and need to be repotted frequently. Eventually, as they become mature, they reach a maximum size of 25 to 27 cm. However, old plants become senile and have a tendency to succumb to disease and a weak root system. At this stage, as is well known, they die suddenly. So, after they reach 20 cm in diameter grow them slowly, and adopt a new repotting period, using intervals of every 2 - 3 years. Additionally grow them under drier conditions or with stronger sunlight. Plants are often grafted to accelerate growth, as they would generally take at least a decade to reach maturity on their own. But the grafted plants are typically rather tall- growing, compared with plants on their own roots, that are usually flatter to the ground. A. fissuratus starts blooming at the age of 8-12 years.