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Species library › Cephalocereus › Cephalocereus columna-trajani
Succulents Well documented

Cephalocereus columna-trajani

A tall, unbranched columnar cactus endemic to the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley of Puebla and Oaxaca, where adults develop a woolly lateral cephalium on the sun-facing side. It is very slow in cultivation and wants strong sun, a dry mild winter and a warm, moderately watered summer.

Cephalocereus columna-trajani
Photo: Amante Darmanin from Malta, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Semi-arid scrub on rocky slopes and alluvial fans in an intermontane rain-shadow valley, often forming dense stands among other columnar cacti. Built from the measured records plus general knowledge of the valley.

Recorded at 635–1926 m, most records around 1,400–1,600 m in the Tehuacán area.

Mexico CentralMexico Southwest

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Cephalocereus columna-trajani? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.