Monkey's tail cactus - 10 seeds

Cleistocactus winteri subs. colademononis, sometimes listed under its old name of Hildewintera colademononis, is a fantastic plant with very long white and soft, hairlike spines. The common name “monkey's tail” refers to the appearance of the hairy stems. It is free-flowering and the outsize bright red blooms are particularly decorative.

HOW TO GROW?

Cleistocactus winteri subs. colademononis is of easy culture, which makes it a good cactus for beginners. It suited to hanging baskets as well as pots. SUse a loose well drained cactus mix. Since they are rapid growers need plenty of space for their roots, repotting with fresh potting-mix should be done every other year or when the plant has outgrown its pot. However, repotting doesn't necessarily mean they'll need larger containers. Sun Exposure: Require filtered bright light, partial sun or light shade, but not in full sun that will sunscald it. They require moderately watering through the growing season. This can be done weekly or more frequently during the summertime, if the weather is sunny enough, but allow to dry fully before watering again. Kept this way, plants will show a healthy growth. Keep rather dry as soon as the temperature starts dropping in October and keep it dry in winter. The plant survives outside without protection in winter (cold hardy to -2° ) but is then somewhat prone to rot, too. Give an occasional high potassium liquid feed during the active growing period. Winter care presents no problems at temperatures from 5 to 15 degrees centigrade with plenty of light, but frost hardy to -2°C for short periods if very dry. This plant needs a period of cool rest in winter to produce flowers abundantly. It flowers freely indoors too if conditions suit it. Surface sowing is the best; seeds germinate in 14-28 days at 20° C, remembering that seedlings dislike strong light and dry conditions.