Species · genus Mammillaria · Cactaceae
Feather Cactus
Mammillaria plumosa F.A.C.Weber
Cultivars of M. plumosa
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under M. plumosa yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.
Guide
The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.
The Feather Cactus
Mammillaria plumosa, commonly called the feather cactus, is a small clustering cactus that forms a low mound of rounded stems. It carries an RHS Award of Garden Merit and is grown as a container or greenhouse succulent.
Source: RHS
A Mexican Native
This species comes from the northeast of Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. There it grows as a succulent subshrub in desert and dry shrubland, and it was first described by F.A.C. Weber in 1898.
Source: Kew
Light, Water, Rest
Give this cactus full sun and bright, filtered light under glass, with low humidity around it. Water moderately while it is actively growing, feeding every two to three weeks with a balanced liquid feed, then let it rest almost dry through winter. It suits a standard cactus compost of loam and sand that drains freely.
Source: RHS
Seed or Offsets
Propagate feather cactus from seed sown at 19-24°C in early spring, or more simply by removing and rooting the offsets it produces as it clusters.
Source: RHS
Spines Like Down
What sets this one apart is the dense covering of white radial spines, soft and feathery enough to hide the globose stems beneath, each stem reaching only about 6cm across. The plant clusters into a mound as it matures, and in late summer it produces small funnel-shaped flowers, 1.5cm long, in creamy-white or a dull pink.
Source: RHS
Watch for Mealybugs
Mealybugs are the pest most likely to trouble this plant, worth checking for among the dense spines. Beyond that it is generally free of disease.
Source: RHS
Little Upkeep Needed
This is an undemanding plant to keep: no pruning is required, and it is well suited to life in a patio container. Its slow habit means it takes some five to ten years to reach maturity, staying under 10cm tall.
Source: RHS
Care recipe
The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.
Care notes are early — not yet verified
- Light
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Water
- ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Direct sun
≈ every 30 days
Low — average room
10–32 °C
Extra-gritty, fast-draining cactus mix
Offsets separated and rooted after callusing
Dilute low-nitrogen cactus feed sparingly in summer
Slow
Small pale cream flowers in autumn
Not yet documented
This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.
Reference images
Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.
PrimarySources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-30d) · ai:claude-fable-5
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Feather Cactus yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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