Mammillaria plumosa

The feather cactus is a clustering Mammillaria from northeastern Mexico, completely covered in soft, feathery white spines. It wants strong light, a dry winter and careful watering that keeps its spines dry.

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 on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Rocky limestone terrain in the Sierra Madre Oriental foothills of Coahuila and Nuevo León, often on rock faces and in crevices. The dense plumose spines shade the plant body from sun.

Recorded elevations are 620–1976 m, with a median of 1024 m.

Nuevo LeónCoahuilaTamaulipasMexico

🔒 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

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More Mammillaria

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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.