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Copiapoa cinerea is a globular to columnar desert cactus from northern Chile, known for its white waxy, grey-looking skin and yellow spring flowers. It is slow growing and grows best in bright sun with very well drained soil and a dry winter rest.
Copiapoa cinerea is a species of plant in the genus Copiapoa in the family Cactaceae. The epithet cinerea comes from the Latin word for ash, by reference to the color of the epidermis.
Copiapoa cinerea is slow growing and hard to keep, because of the risk of rotting. Grafting is a solution. It rarely flowers in cultivation. Before all, it needs well drained soils and to be planted in a sunny place, but protection against excessive sun in summer. In summer, it needs light and regular watering, but the soil needs to dry between two waterings. In winter, it has to be kept warm (no less than 8 °C) and absolutely dry.
It comes from the region of Antofagasta and the coastal zones of northern Chile. The area is very arid. However, there are dense fogs, due to cold streams of the Pacific Ocean. These fogs are frequent, in early morning or late afternoon at an altitude between 500 and 850 m (1,640 and 2,790 ft).
Copiapoa atacamensis · Copiapoa coquimbana · Copiapoa echinoides · Copiapoa gigantea · Copiapoa hypogaea · Copiapoa marginata · Copiapoa megarhiza · Copiapoa
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Copiapoa cinerea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
