Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Gold Mammillaria
Gold Mammillaria is a small barrel-shaped pincushion wrapped in golden-yellow spines that seem to glow in low sun. Small, deep red flowers ring the top over a long season, mostly from early spring through late summer. It usually stays a single head about 6 to 10 inches tall and slowly divides with age. It suits pots and small cactus beds.
Best for: patio pots, dish gardens and small cactus beds, where the golden spines catch the light.
It stays a single head about 6 to 10 inches tall and 5 to 6 inches wide for years. That size fits a small pot or dish garden.
Small, deep red flowers ring the top over a long season, mostly from early spring through late summer. Flowers can show up in almost any month.
Long golden central spines over white bristles make the whole plant look yellow. Pair it with white or blue-green cacti for contrast.
It can be damaged below about 25°F, and wet winter soil rots it. Give it light shade in the Phoenix summer.
Wait about a week after planting before the first water. Then water moderately in the warm months when the soil is dry. Keep it dry in winter.
Give it light shade in the Valley summer. Full sun is fine the rest of the year.
It can be damaged below about 25°F. On frost nights, cover it with frost cloth or a sheet that reaches the ground, not plastic, and take it off in the morning. Move pots under a patio roof.
Plant it with the side that faced the sun still facing south. A newly planted cactus can sunburn in 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.
Why is it called gold mammillaria?
Long golden-yellow central spines cover the plant, over shorter white bristles, so the whole head looks gold.
How big does it get?
It usually stays a single head about 6 to 10 inches tall and 5 to 6 inches wide. With age it can slowly split into two heads.
When does it bloom?
Small, deep red flowers ring the top over a long season, mostly from early spring through late summer. It can bloom in almost any month.
Does it need shade in Phoenix?
Give it light shade in summer. It takes full sun the rest of the year.
How often should I water it?
Water moderately in the warm months when the soil has dried out, and keep it dry through winter.
How cold can it take?
It is rated to about 25°F. Cover it with frost cloth on frost nights, and move pots under a patio roof.
What name will I see for it?
It is often sold as Mammillaria pringlei, and many references now list it as a form of Mammillaria rhodantha. Both names describe this plant.
How do I handle it?
Wear gloves and wrap it in folded newspaper to lift it. The golden spines are stiff and sharp.
Gold Mammillaria for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Gold Mammillaria (Mammillaria pringlei, now grouped under M. rhodantha) is a golden-spined pincushion from central Mexico. This page covers its size, long bloom, sun, water and cold in the Valley.
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 gold mammillaria?
It is Mammillaria pringlei, a golden-spined pincushion from central Mexico, now often listed under Mammillaria rhodantha.
How big does Mammillaria pringlei get?
It stays a single head about 6 to 10 inches tall and 5 to 6 inches wide, slowly dividing with age.
Mammillaria pringlei flowers
Small, deep red flowers ring the top over a long season, mostly early spring through late summer.
Growing it in Phoenix
Give it light shade in summer and fast-draining soil, and keep it dry in winter.
Is gold mammillaria cold hardy?
It is rated to about 25°F. Cover it on frost nights.
Gold mammillaria in a pot
Use a gritty cactus mix and a pot with a drainage hole, and water when the mix is dry.
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