Lophocereus marginatus, Mexican Fencepost Cactus is an attractive, tall-growing, columnar cactus with wide ribs and short spines. The aureoles merge into one another along the ribs creating a distinctive confluent margin which immediately identifies the species. This distinctive elegant and contemporary look is extremely appealing and conducive to its popularity with collectors, home-owners and interior designers alike. In warmer climates it is a popular outdoor plant for its instant architectural appeal and in its native Mexico it has been used to make living fences.
Lophocereus marginatus would possibly have been known to many previously as Marginatocereus marginatus. In 2009, its taxonomic classification was revised by Salvador Arias and Teresa Terrazas in Systematic Botany, Volume 34, Number 1, the journal of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.
Lophocereus marginatus is an easy plant in cultivation and makes a spectacular houseplant. As it matures it will branch from the base creating that classic organ pipe look. It has small greenish-white flowers that are followed by dark red edible fruits. It requires a gritty allkaline substrate, a warm sunny aspect and regular watering and feeding from March through to September. From October to late February/early March it should be kept completely dry and in a frost-free environment.
Additional Information
| Order | Caryophyllales |
|---|---|
| Family | Cactaceae |
| Sub-Family | Cactoideae |
| Synonyms | Cereus cupulatus, Cereus geminatus, Cereus gemmatus, Cereus incrustans, Cereus incrustatus, Cereus marginatus, Cereus mirbelii, Echinopsis gemmata, Lemaireocereus marginatus, Lemaireocereus marginatus var. gemmatus, Lemaireocereus marginatus var. incrustatus, Marginatocereus marginatus, Marginatocereus marginatus var. oaxacensis, Pachycereus marginatus, Pachycereus marginatus var. gemmatus, Pachycereus marginatus var. oaxacensis, Stenocereus marginatus, Stenocereus marginatus var. gemmatus |
| Geographical Origin | Mexico: Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Morelos, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero |
| Cultivation | Sunny warm aspect. Good drainage in a gritty alkaline soil. Can be put outside from late May to mid-September but watch out for snails. No water from October to March |
| Eventual Height | 2-3m - eventually more |
| Eventual Spread | 1m |
| Hardiness | Not hardy in the UK. Although it can withstand a degree or two of subzero temperatures it is hardly worth the risk. In a cool glasshouse it needs to be under several layers of fleece. Best indoors |
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