Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Crested Microdasys
Crested Microdasys is an odd, twisted form of bunny ears cactus. Instead of neat paired ears, its lime-green pads widen, fold and loop back on themselves into a dense, wavy mound dotted with golden glochids. It grows slowly and stays low, about 1 to 2 feet tall. It suits a pot or a small cactus bed where the shape can be seen up close.
Best for: pots and small cactus beds where its twisted shape shows up close.
It grows slowly and stays about 1 to 2 feet tall, so it suits a pot on a sunny patio. Use very fast-draining soil and let it dry fully between waterings.
Its folding, wavy pads stand apart from regular bunny ears. Set it at the front of a small cactus bed where the shape shows.
Outdoors it can bloom yellow in mid to late spring, and red fruit can follow. Indoors it rarely blooms at all.
It is frost tender and wet soil rots it. The golden dots are glochids that detach easily and irritate skin and eyes, so handle it with tongs.
- Tight group4 ft apart, center to center
- Looser group6 ft apart, center to center
Wait about a week after planting before the first water. Then water every other week while nights stay above 60°F. In a pot, water deeply whenever the mix is fully dry in the warm months. In winter, water only if rain does not come, and lightly.
It is hardy to only about 20 to 25°F. On freeze nights, cover it with frost cloth that reaches the ground, or move a potted plant under cover. Keep it dry through winter.
Plant it with the side that faced the sun still facing south. A newly planted cactus can sunburn its first summer, so light shade cloth helps until fall.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
What is crested microdasys?
It is a crested, or monstrose, form of bunny ears cactus. Its pads widen, twist and fold back on themselves instead of growing as neat paired ears.
How big does it get?
It grows slowly and stays low, about 1 to 2 feet tall, forming a dense, wavy mound. It fits a pot or the front of a small bed.
Does it have spines?
It has no long spines. The golden dots are glochids, tiny barbed hairs that detach easily and irritate skin and eyes, so use tongs to handle it.
How cold can it take?
It is frost tender, hardy to only about 20 to 25°F. Cover it with frost cloth on freeze nights, or move a potted plant under cover.
How often should I water it?
Water deeply, then wait until the soil is completely dry before watering again. Water less in fall and little or none in winter.
Does it need full sun?
It grows in full sun to part shade. A newly planted cactus can sunburn in its first summer, so light shade helps that first year.
Does it bloom?
Outdoors it can bloom yellow in mid to late spring, followed by red fruit. It rarely blooms when kept indoors.
What soil does it need?
Plant it in very fast-draining, gritty cactus soil. Soil that stays wet rots the roots.
Crested microdasys vs yellow bunny ears: which one?
Both are the same cactus with golden glochids. Yellow bunny ears grows neat paired pads and spreads wider. The crested form twists into a slow, low mound.
Crested Microdasys for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Crested Microdasys is the twisted, folding form of bunny ears cactus, also sold as monstrose or crazy bunny ears. People grow it for its odd shape. This page covers what to expect in a Valley pot or bed, including size, sun, water, cold, flowers and handling.
Sourced from trusted Arizona growers and delivered directly to your door, job site, or property. We deliver across the Valley and to nearby towns, and quote delivery anywhere else in Arizona.
What is a crested bunny ears cactus?
It is the monstrose, or crested, form of bunny ears. Its pads twist and fold into a wavy mound dotted with golden glochids.
How big does crested microdasys get?
It grows slowly to about 1 to 2 feet tall, in a low, dense mound. It suits pots and small beds.
How do you water crested bunny ears in Phoenix?
Water deeply, then let the soil dry out completely before watering again. Give little or none in winter.
Is crested microdasys frost hardy?
It is frost tender, hardy to about 20 to 25°F. Protect it on freeze nights with frost cloth.
Crested vs regular bunny ears
They are the same cactus. Regular bunny ears grows paired, ear-shaped pads. The crested form folds and twists into a slow, low mound.
Handling crested bunny ears
Its golden dots are glochids that detach easily and irritate skin and eyes. Handle it with tongs or folded newspaper.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.