Melocactus Violaceus Cactus

Adult Melocactus are among the most fascinating of cactus in appearance. When young, the plants are quite plain, they have globule, green stems with multiple ribs. THESE PLANTS DO NOT YET HAVE CEPHALIUM. The spines are stout and usually feature a distinct central spine surrounded by radial spines. At maturity,Melocactus begin to develop a cephalium, which is a dense mass of areoles that form a bristly "cap" directly on top of the stem. The melocactus you are getting does not have the cephallium like the one pictured.

Once this cap is formed, the stem no longer grows, but the cephalium will continue to grow until the plant dies. Most cephaliums are white underneath and orange on top, but may be completely white. It is in this mass of areoles that the flowers are formed. The flowers themselves are quite small, typically pink and come out of the top of the cephalium sporadically or in rings. The fruits are much more conspicuous than the flowers and are red or pink waxy-looking short tubes that many have likened to candles on top of a birthday cake. This illusion is further enhanced by the dried flower remains persisting and looking like the wick of these "candles".

Order Processing: Upon receipt of your payment, your order will be processed and usually shipped within 3-7 business days. If you want us to postpone shipping for a future date, just make a notation with your payment.

Shipping: We ship our plant year round via USPS or UPS, depending upon the nature of the order. Large orders containing many plants may ship in multiple cartons and may ship on different days. We may delay shipping in severe weather.