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Thelocactus macdowellii

Thelocactus macdowellii
Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0

Thelocactus macdowellii, the Chihuahuan snowball, is a small, spherical cactus from northeastern Mexico that has earned the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Grow it in very bright light with sharp drainage and water sparingly.

Family
Cactaceae (Cactus family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly during the growing season and let the soil dry out fully between waterings; keep it nearly dry in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining cactus or mineral mix with added grit or pumice.
Temperature
15–35 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León)
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

Thelocactus macdowellii, called the Chihuahuan snowball, is a species of cactus native to northeastern Mexico. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Where it grows

Endemic to the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and the Chihuahuan Desert, Thelocactus macdowellii grows on scrubland and limestone hills in a very restricted area at an altitude of 1500 meters.

Other Thelocactus plants

Glory of Texas

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thelocactus macdowellii 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.

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