Rebutia sp.

Imagine a colony of miniature spiky small projections covered with a carpet of huge pink, yellow, purple, orange or red flowers! Rebutia is a cactus native to South America, appreciated for its ease of cultivation and its large, abundant and brightly colored flowers in spring. This species forms small clumps with globular stems, featuring rhomboidal tubercles with small and fine, sometimes bristly, sometimes pressed prickles. Tolerating drought well, this cactus appreciates freshness throughout the year, essential for obtaining a beautiful flowering and should be cultivated in a pot to be stored in winter and protected from high temperatures in summer.

Rebutia encompasses around forty species of cacti native to Paraguay and Bolivia, belonging to the immense family of cacti. It is a plant that withstands drought well and can resist short freezes, especially if the soil is perfectly drained and dry. Unlike other common succulent plants, these species prefer coolness in both summer and winter. Grow them in a pot, in full sun or partial shade in a well-draining substrate, preferably sandy, composed of equal parts of soil, sand and compost. Outdoor cultivation in regions with mild winters is possible as long as they are protected from scorching temperatures and rain.

Rebutia species are very easy to cultivate as long as they are not exposed to extreme temperatures, cold or hot. They are succulent perennials with a globular habit, often cespitose. Small in size and slow-growing, they reach about 10 cm (4in) in all directions. Each stem is spherical to cylindrical, depressed at its apex and composed of spirals of rhomboidal or hatchet-shaped tubercles. Each tubercle bears acute radial and central pricks, thin and short or pressed like comb teeth against the cactus epidermis. From a young age, these plants flower in spring, offering surprisingly large flowers, often larger than the stems, in orange, red, pink, purple, white, yellow, appearing at different heights depending on the species.

Rebutia sp. should be planted in a pot that will be stored when the first cold weather arrives and watering should be stopped until the vegetation resumes in spring. It can be associated with other cacti such as echinocactus, ferocactus, astrophytum and mammillaries to create miniature desert gardens or it can be placed alone in a pot to decorate a windowsill or a corner of a veranda.