Ariocarpus Species, Living Stone Cactus

I got one of these as a dinky little plant (1" in diameter) on a small 1/2" stalk... coolest little cactus I ever owned. Pretty forgivin...Read Moreg, too, for a plant that is known to rot easily... VERY slow growing, though. Great since its' spineless, hardy and can be put in the smallest containers. Eventually grows to 4" across, or suckers. Minimal 'fur' compared to most other Ariocarpus.

Now 3 years later and I frankly cannot tell if it's any bigger or not. But it sure has survived multiple hardiness tests, from beign dropped multiple times as it's pot kept getting knocked over, being totally dessicated from forgetting to water it even once for a several months, from having a cat sit on it daily once it was finally planted in the ground, to being buried by gravel and dug up a few times... looks the same as ever. But SLOW!

From what I understand they live in mud flats that seasonally become inundated, sometimes living up to 2 weeks underwater.... then no more water the entire rest of the year. That may explain this plant's toleration of being so wet in So Cal winters and doing well.

This slow growing succulent is a subtle beauty. When young, the leaves lie flat over the surface of the earth. The variegation of the l...Read Moreeaves is an off-white stripe of hair down the middle. When blooming, the variegation draws the eye to the 1 inch flowers in the center of the plant. Be careful to avoid over watering as this succulent is prone to root rot.