Species library › Melocactus › Melocactus nagyi
Succulents Well documented

Melocactus nagyi

A small Turk's-cap cactus from the dry south coast of eastern Cuba, growing in full sun on coastal limestone terraces. It needs heat all year, strong light and a drier winter, and never likes to be cold and wet.

Melocactus nagyi
Photo: amantedarmanin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets 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

Coastal xeric scrub on limestone terraces and rocky ground along the south coast of Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba, the driest part of Cuba.

Recorded at 17–177 m, median 45 m: a near-coastal lowland plant.

Cuba

🔒 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 Melocactus nagyi? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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 4.0 licence, unmodified.