Lobivia backebergii
| Light | Bright light with some protection from the harshest summer sun |
|---|---|
| Water | Regularly in the growing season once the soil dries; keep dry and cool in winter |
| Soil | Gritty, fast-draining mineral mix (see Soil and potting mix) |
| Temperature | Frost-hardy to about −10 °C (14 °F) if kept bone dry; roughly USDA zone 8b |
| Propagation | Seed (primary); offsets and, occasionally, grafting |
| Toxicity | Non-toxic to cats and dogs |
Lobivia backebergii is a small, globular to shortly cylindrical cactus from the Andes of Bolivia and southern Peru, treasured by collectors for its vivid carmine- to crimson-red flowers, which frequently show a bluish sheen and a contrasting white throat. Like most of its genus it is an easy-going, cold-tolerant free-flowering plant, and it is sometimes listed under the synonym Echinopsis backebergii following the merging of Lobivia into the broader Echinopsis.
Description
Lobivia backebergii forms a small, pale green to greyish-green body, solitary at first but often clustering with age into low clumps. The stem is typically only a few centimetres across, ribbed and notched into distinct tubercles, each bearing an areole with a handful of short, stiff, somewhat curved or hooked spines that range from pale amber to reddish-brown, greying with age.
The flowers are the plant's chief attraction: broad, funnel-shaped blooms of intense carmine- to blood-red, often carrying a bluish sheen and a paler white to bluish-white throat that gives them a jewel-like glow. They open by day in late spring and summer and last only a couple of days each, but a healthy plant produces them in a generous succession. As with many Lobivia, flower colour and spination vary considerably between individual plants and collected forms.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to the high Andes of Bolivia (chiefly the La Paz and Cochabamba departments) and southern Peru (the Ayacucho, Cusco and Huancavelica regions), where it grows in montane puna grassland and on rocky slopes at roughly 3,200–3,900 m. Plants there endure strong sun, sharp drainage, a pronounced summer rainy season and cold, dry winters — conditions that account for the species' toughness and its readiness to flower in cultivation.
Cultivation
Lobivia backebergii is an excellent beginner's cactus: hardy, quick to flower and forgiving of a range of conditions. Grow it in a gritty, mostly mineral mix in a pot that drains freely, and give it as much bright light as you can, with only light shading from the fiercest midday sun in a hot greenhouse. During the warm months water thoroughly whenever the soil has dried, then allow it to dry again; the plant is a thirstier grower than many desert cacti while in active growth. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
The key to abundant flowering — and to the plant's frost resistance — is a cold, completely dry winter rest. Kept bone-dry, mature plants tolerate temperatures well below freezing and set flower buds far more freely the following spring. Wet roots in winter, by contrast, are the quickest route to rot.
Propagation
Seed is the usual and most rewarding method, giving fresh variation in flower colour and spination; sow onto a warm, gritty surface kept humid until germination. Clumping plants can also be divided, and individual offsets removed and rooted once callused — see Propagation — offsets and Propagation — seed. Slow or troublesome seedlings are occasionally grafted to speed them along, though the species grows well enough on its own roots that this is rarely necessary.
Common problems
- Rot — almost always from watering during the cold winter rest or from a slow-draining mix; the base softens and discolours.
- Shy flowering — usually the result of too little light or a warm, watered winter; a genuine cold, dry dormancy fixes this.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff in the areoles and on the roots) and red spider mites (fine webbing, bronzed skin) are the common offenders. See Pests and diseases.
See also
- Lobivia — the genus overview
- Grafting · Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — seed · Propagation — offsets