Here we find Myrtillocactus geometrizans, originally from Mexico, and we know it with the common names of our father or “garambullo”. It is a highly valued plant because it helps control soil erosion and also helps filter rainwater. It is a candle-shaped cactus, columnar, highly branched and with stems growing together and densely.
If planted in their natural habitat, they can be up to four and a half meters high and up to five meters wide. It has a mixture of colors between blue and gray. It produces a small, sweet, edible fruit very similar to a blueberry, dark red and with a diameter of between eight and twenty millimeters.
The flowers are seen small compared to the size of the cactus. They are between two and a half centimeters and three and a half centimeters, and are usually greenish white. The flowering season is between February and April, and these last only one day, which is a pity if you are not present at home or wherever you have it. A curious note is that it will not flower until it is sixty centimeters high.
They’re semi-resistant cactuses, which means we have to make sure that the minimum temperature that this Myrtillocactus supports is four degrees negative. However, it is appropriate to check that the minimum night temperature does not fall from ten positive degrees. When that happens, you have to be given some kind of protection, like a greenhouse plastic or move it if possible, inside the house.
As for irrigation, it must be abundant and regular in summer, always letting the substrate dry before supplying the plant again. In winter, irrigation must be very limited, to prevent stems and branches from being dried. So, I recommend that you water it once a month. As it is a cactus that as it grows takes the form of a tree, therefore it will become large, they need a lot of space. We can find that if we do not give you enough space, if, by bad luck, there is a wind, there would be a danger that you would turn it around, causing it to break up partially or completely, and that would be a great misfortune, ladies and gentlemen!
As far as pests are concerned, it is a relatively resistant plant, it is very rustic; however, we must not allow ourselves to be misled by its appearance and we must now control the mother of all pests, cottony mealybug.
Finally, we have to be very clear that when we transplant Myrtillocactus we have to wait two years, or even when we see that the test has fallen short. When they are small, it is important to provide semi-shadow and when they are already adults, to give them full sun.
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