PlantFiles: Old Lady Cactus
Mammillaria hahniana

Harry Johnson developed cultivars of m. hahniana and sold them by mail order in the early-to-mid 1900's.

When Harry's nursery was sold after his death in the late 1980s some of the specimens of m. hahniana that he used to develop the cultivars were made available. I submitted a picture of one of the ancestors to the present long-haired cultivars of m. hahniana. This specimen came directly from his nursery to our gardens.

It is grown here in container, which I find is the most successful way to grow clustering mams here. We have lost many mams to rot even in fast draining mounds growing out of pots. They seem to do much better in fast draining pots.

Of course, greenhousing is best, but that was in a different life. lol

bob
:>)

The differences between the subspecies are:
--ssp. hahniana; has only 1 central spine and 20-30 radial spines per areole. Flowers are purplish-red.
--ssp. bravoae; has 2 central spines and 28-30 radial spines per areole. Flowers are dark pink.
--ssp. mendeliana; has 2-4 central spines and under-developed or zero radial spines. Flowers are pale pink.
--ssp. woodsii; has 2 central spines and 25-30 radial spines per areole. Flowers are pink.

Beautiful globular cactus is covered with white spines and dense white hair. Rings of vivid carmine flowers in Summer create dramatic contrast with white hairs. It is a native of Mexico. Bright light. Porous cactus soil. Water thoroughly when soil is dry to the touch. Protect from frost.

Contrary to the hardiness detail above, this cactus can survive to 25F. It is easy to grow, but rot prone if root is wet in winter. Flowers in late winter to mid spring depending on what zone it is in. The ring of pink flowers is pretty and can last for weeks, but each individual flowers last for only a few days.

This little cactus is very easy to grow. The round body has silky hairs and tiny white "cotton balls' all over it. The little pink flowers keep coming all winter in my south window.