Pereskia grandifolia (Rose Cactus)

Scientific Name

Pereskia grandifolia Haw.

Common Names

Rose Cactus

Synonyms

Cactus rosa, Cactus grandifolius, Pereskia grandiflora, Pereskia grandifolia subsp. grandifolia, Pereskia grandifolia var. grandifolia, Pereskia ochnocarpa, Pereskia rosea, Pereskia tampicana, Rhodocactus grandifolius, Rhodocactus tampicanus

Scientific Classification

Family: Cactaceae
Subfamily: Pereskioideae
Genus: Pereskia

Description

Pereskia grandifolia is a cactus by classification. It takes the form of a shrub or small tree, up to 16.4 feet (5 m) tall, with a grayish-brown trunk up to 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter. The areolees are rounded, cushion-shaped and grayish or brownish in color. The new twigs can have spineless areoles, while the trunk areoles may have up to 90 black to brown spines, each up to 2.6 inches (6.5 cm) long. The leaves are up to 9 inches (23 cm) long, entire, with shapes, ranging from elliptic to ovate and obovate-lanceolate. Flowering is during warm months. The dense inflorescence develops at the ends of stems. The flowers are showy and rose-like, usually pink or purplish (but also white or tan) and up to 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter.

How to Grow and Care

As with many cacti, Pereskias can be almost ignored and still flourish. One of the major advantages that succulents pose as houseplants is their ease, and overwatering or overfeeding them is a bigger danger than neglecting them because it can damage their roots. If you repot them, remember to leave them alone for a brief period so as to avoid overstressing them, and make sure to keep an eye out for common houseplant pests. Many of these cacti can’t really be grown as houseplants anyway due to their shrubby growth habit, and others are very rare, but when you do find out Pereskias can be good in cultivation…. – See more at: How to Grow and Care for Pereskia.