Blooming cactus - Mammillaria gracilis

This cactus hardly grows! Maybe I don't feed or water it enough, but it seems that it looks the same all the time. I would love to see it looking like this, which might take many years with his speed. If I, or the cactus is still alive.

But it blooms almost all year round. Maybe that's why it grows so slow, puts too much energy into flowers...
I took those photos this morning (they are still arm). It is mid December and she is blooming.
Cause why the hell not?

Mammillaria gracilis Arizona Snowcap

This is not a cactus that you will find anywhere in nature. It is a cultivar of a Mammillaria Gracilis which is similar in overall shape and size, but the spines are different.

It looks all cute and nice, but it is tough little one. It can handle and likes lots of sun and I keep it in a quite sunny spot all year round. In winter it can also withstand temperatures below 0 degrees. It must be kept completely dry though, other wise it will rot and die, like any other cactus.

Propagation is super easy though cuttings. With time (and I hope my one will do it soon) they will produce multiple little offshoots that can be easily detached and planted separately. This is how I got my one.

There is one more bud on my one to go. The other thing on the left side of the bud is a spent flower.
I never got any seed pods on this one...

The spines are completely harmless. They might look sharp, but they are super short and dense and cant do any damage.

That fluff on top is as soft as it looks :)

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Now lastly a little warning and a request.
This cactus is quite popular and it looks very attractive with its pure white spines. But some nurseries (assholes) like to colour those spines turning them into some neon fest. Please do not buy those. If less people buy it - they will have no more reason to do it.
Also, they will not grow like that. All the spines will grow normally, so it is not like you will have the cactus in this colour forever.

_{Source of the image that pains me}

My other blooming cacti:

_{Click on the image to view full post.}

Chamaecereus hybrid	Sulcorebutia Canigueralii	Mammillaria camptotricha	Mammillaria Glassii
Gymnocalycium baldianum	Mediolobivia mudanensis	Lobivia Arachnacantha	Rebutia hybrid
Mammillaria Bombycina	Mammillaria Gracilis Snowcap	Mammillaria haageana	Mammillaria backebergiana
Chamaecereus silvestrii	Mammillaria prolifera	Rebutia Fabrisii var. Aureiflora	Lobivia Wrightiana
Aylostera Flavistyla FR756	Parodia concinna	Mammillaria Copper King	Gymnocalycium Bruchii
Mammillaria backebergiana	Gymnocalycium damsii	Echinopsis subdenudata	Rhipsalis pilocarpa
Mammillaria Prolifera	Lobivia arachnacantha v. vallegrandensis	Mediolobivia atrovirens	Mammillaria magnimamma
Sulcorebutia langerii	Sulcorebutia frankiana	Chamaelobivia no ID	Rebutia Albiflora
Mediolobivia atrovirens var. ritteri	Gymnocalycium damsii var. tucavocense	Notocactus Ottonis	Gymnocalycium Friedrichii
Turbinicarpus Viereckii	Rebutia neocumingii	Notocactus Rubrigemmatus	Lobivia no ID
Sulcorebutia albissima	Lobivia arachnacantha II	Notocactus mueller-melchersii	Mammillaria Prolifera
Aylostera heliosa var. condorensis	Frailea pumila	Lobivia arachnacantha	Lobivia no ID

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_{Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.}