Mammillaria plumosa - First "Plant of the week"

I thought about posting a plant from my collection each day, but I'm not sure I have the stamina to do that. Instead, I will start by trying to post one each week and I'll see how it goes from there.


Mammillaria plumosa



I got this M. plumosa from Manny about four years ago at the JHS Annual Flower Show. It was just a single head in a 2" pot, and I was so afraid that I would kill it that I think I held it back without realising it, by not watering and feeding as I could. Despite all that, it has steadily grown and is now in a 6" pot and is putting on more heads as it goes along. I've tried to not disturb it too much in all that time, so I only have one offset grown from a tubercule, and another that I separated from the mother when I last potted it up.

So far this year, it has been flowering well, with two and three blooms open at a time, so I'm feeling good about it right now. The two offsets are also flowering, as is the yellow-flowered one. Must have something to do with the improved treatment they have been getting in the past year. I'll try to keep it up.