Echinopsis subdenudata

Echinopsis subdenudata is a species of hedgehog cactus forming a small round body, flattened at the top with rounded ribs, punctuated along their length with curious white felted areoles. In late spring, this cactus flowers in large white trumpets of about 10 cm (4in) in diameter, highly fragrant and borne on long erect green stems. These nocturnal flowers last only one night but are quickly replaced by new flower buds. It is a frost-sensitive species that prefers heat and drought: full sun and a coarse, well-draining substrate are essential for its proper development. In less favourable situations it is best to plant it in a pot to bring indoors as the climate cools down.

Echinopsis subdenudata belongs to the family of cacti. It is native to the high mountains of Paraguay and Argentina. Echinopsis are called hedgehog cacti because of their resemblance to a hedgehog or sea urchin! This is a perennial species with a rounded body, flattened at the top, with few or no spines. It is a plant adapted to heat and drought conditions, but it can tolerate moisture in the soil as long as the roots do not sit in water. Give it a warm location in full sun in well-drained soil, preferably sandy to rocky and neutral to acidic.

Echinopsis subdenudata has rather slow growth and will only reach a maximum diameter of 20 cm (8in). It has a small solitary shiny-green cushion-like body, slightly flattened at the top. Its round body has 8 to 12 rounded ribs with curious, decorative white felted areoles and sometimes a few dark, short spines. Generous flowering occurs throughout the month of May. Enormous white funnel-shaped flowers with a long floral tube emerge from dark grey to black woolly buds, averaging 10 cm (4in) in diameter and 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8in) long, with the scent of lily of the valley! They are borne on upright flower stalks that bend with the weight of the flowers. They are nocturnal and only last one night but are quickly replaced by emerging buds. This plant readily produces offshoots and after many years, forms a large clump of fleshy, sparsely spined and highly floriferous cushions.

Plant Echinopsis subdenudata in a rockery or on a well-drained slope if your garden has no frost, alongside Cape Aster Felicia amelloides, Delosperma, and purslanes that appreciate the same conditions. Elsewhere, you can plant it in a nice pot, alone or in combination with other succulent plants like sempervivums, for example.