Matucana polzii - Cactus

Matucana polzii is a small Peruvian cactus sought after by enthusiasts for its cushion-like habit, flattened silhouette and beautiful orange-red flowering. This indoor collector's cactus is still uncommon; it naturally finds its place on a very bright windowsill, in a bright conservatory or a room that is barely heated in winter. It is charming for its modest size and unusual appearance, somewhere between a classic globular cactus and an arid mountain plant.

Belonging to the Cactaceae family, it is currently generally associated with Matucana aurantiaca subsp. polzii, the name Matucana polzii is still widely used in horticulture. This plant is native to northern Peru, where it grows on the steep slopes of the Andes, at around 2,000 to 2,300 m altitude, in the region of the Marañón River sources.
Its main body adopts a globose to flattened habit, and its stump produces many offshoots from a young age. Each 'head' reaches 4 to 6 cm in height and 8 to 10 cm in diameter, but the whole can eventually form a cushion 30 to 40 cm wide. The glossy green to meadow green skin has 9 to 16 ribs marked with transverse furrows. The small oval areoles bear a slight white to greyish down and small spines which are short, fine, well-ordered, comb-like, spaced, whitish to yellowish, sometimes browned at the tip. 
Well-established specimens will produce flowers near the top of the 'head': the funnel-shaped, slightly curved flowers measure up to 6-7 cm long and about 5 cm in diameter; their colour ranges from carmine red to orange-red, around a lighter centre. Oval, purplish-brown fruits may follow, if the plant is placed outside in summer.

Indoors, this cactus requires very bright light, rather dry air (40 to 60% humidity), and temperatures between 18 and 26 °C during the growing period. A dry winter rest between 8 and 12 °C is essential; it will suffer below 6 to 7 °C. Matucana polzii is not difficult to succeed with if you respect its winter rest and its sensitivity to excess moisture. It can be grown in a bright conservatory, near a well-exposed window or in a bright room that is barely heated in winter.

Matucana polzii enjoys a period outdoors in summer, in full sun and under shelter to avoid excess moisture. Before the first cold spells, place it in a very bright, dry and cool location, kept frost-free, with a winter rest at around 8 to 12 °C.

Matucana polzii can be used as a solitary specimen, in a terracotta pot wider than it is tall, allowing it to spread into a colony. To make a collection of indoor cacti, combine it, for example, with Mammillaria compressa, woollier and mat-forming, Astrophytum myriostigma, more geometric and spineless, Mammillaria elongata 'Cristata', with tight crests, and Cleistocactus winteri f. cristata, more undulated. Together, these cacti make a beautiful display in a conservatory, on a very bright shelf or in a collection of small specimens.