If you’ve ever seen an actual peyote cactus, you’ll know at a glance they are nothing alike, but to a novice’s eye the difference may be more subtle. A very notable difference is that Matucana madisoniorum will grow spines, especially if kept in very bright light, while a Lophophora (the genus that peyote belongs to) of any species never will. Lophophora also clump fairly quickly, never really getting any height – Matucana madisoniorum get a bit columnar with age, and rarely will form clumps. So before we start: nope, these are not lophophora, nor are they even all that related, but I could see how the young plants might be confusing to the untrained eye.
A Lophophora williamsii from a Thai grower’s website. It’s a paler green color, with a hint of powdery white from a mild farina. It’s already developed a second head, and while segmented, they’re soft and wavy.
One of my spineless Matucana madisoniorum as a young plant (August 2020). Deeper green coloration, and very chiseled looking segments, including horizontal divisions as well as vertical. This plant went on to produce spines within a year.
Lophophora are not commonly available in most of the US, and are very strictly regulated. I won’t link anything about the plant here, and do not grow or offer them for sale in any way. If you’re interested in them, you’ll have to return to Google. The rest of this post will be about Matucana!
My show specimen in August, 2021. If you squint, you might see that the label says “Pink” – all 3 of my Matucana madisoniorum bloom with white flowers, including this one. I’ve heard that pink/red is the more common color, and it’s a beautiful flower – but none of mine have come out that way!
Natural Habitat
Matucana madisoniorum are quite rare at their orginal type location, in a very limited area in the Amazonas region of Peru. It’s critically endangered as a result of overcollection and goats grazing, either knocking the cacti out or destroying their habitat.
Their natural habitat is a dry forest, about 1300 feet above sea level. Reading in the description from Llifle, it claims that plants from lower elevations have fewer spines in maturity, while higher altitude plants keep theirs – I can’t speak to this, as all of my plants have produced at least some spines. My own plants definitely produce more spines in higher light exposure, and having no spines to start doesn’t seem to mean it’ll never grow them.
The same specimen as my show plant above, when I first got it – February 2020
Growing Matucana madisoniorum in cultivation
Despite being so endangered in the wild, with such a limited range, these are delightfully easy to grow. If kept in bright exposure and warm enough, they’ll produce sprays of blooms again and again all through summer. In mild or warm enough climates, they’ll bloom nearly all year!
Potting and Soil
As with all cacti, they need well-draining soil, but they benefit from a mix that has more “food” in it: more organic matter than an Ariocarpus or Astrophytum would prefer. Rather than my usual 1:1:1 mix of pumice, soil, and orchid bark, I’ll skew it towards more of the soil instead.
- 50% cactus soil (or just 2 parts of whatever you’re scooping with)
- 25% pumice (1 part)
- 25% orchid bark (1 part)
May 2022
Above, two of my three Matucana madisoniorum in April 2023. The one with a flower is also slightly variegated!
At right is the variegated plant about a year and a half earlier, in August of 2021. As you can see, they’ll grow to size in their pot quite quickly.
One of the things I enjoy about the species is that even as older specimens, they stay relatively small. As such, they also do well in relatively small and cute pots!
The largest pot I have one of these in is a 5″ plastic pot, and even after several years, it’s never gotten so large as to completely fill up the pot to bursting. Even two years after the photo at left, the cactus has only plumped out a little bit.
So: to choose a pot, once the cactus itself is about 2 to 3″ across, a 4 or 5″ pot is fine. Even if the cactus is a bit small to start, it’ll cheerfully fill up the pot within a year or two given adequate light!
Water for your Matucana madisoniorum
If it’s warm (over 80F during the day), these will accept water as often as every week! With a nice, well-draining mix, they’re extremely unfussy.
But…the big caveat is warmth (and sunshine, of course). Indoors in a windowsill, these will need less water. The soil should be nice and dry before you water them again.
The challenge with these is watering just enough when they need it, when they’re actively growing, and not much or at all when they’ve slowed down for winter. If the water is too inconsistent, they can split or scar if they go from too dry to plenty of moisture. I’ve had these for several years now, and had about a dozen I sold early on, but I never experienced an issue with over-watering. I do keep them dry through the winter months (roughly November through February), only giving them a bit of a splash to prevent the roots from completely dessicating.
Cold Hardy?
Matucana madisoniorum are not particularly cold hardy, and online guidance recommends protecting them from temperatures below 50F…but mine get no special treatment. Our coldest months see drops down to the high 20s and low 30s at night, and these have been fine for me.
The caveat? Dry soil! If you have yours outdoors in colder months, make sure they don’t get rained on or get watered when nights are likely to get below 40 or 50.
From one of my earlier cactus club shows – February 2022! My little Matucana madisoniorum won first place in its category!
Sunlight for Matucana madisoniorum
Mine produced the most spines and most compact growth when kept outside of my greenhouse, with direct sunlight hitting them for several hours in the morning and shade the rest of the day.
In the greenhouse with 40% shade cloth, they have fewer spines, but a nice consistent growth. I’ve had to move them around in the greenhouse to ensure they have consistent light year-round; one of them began to etiolate slightly, but recovered quickly. I moved it around in the greenhouse a bit, and realized it was being shaded by a taller cactus for part of the day.
June 2023
Basically: Matucana madisoniorum prefer very bright light, preferably direct sun for the morning hours, and then some partial shade the rest of the day. Too much direct sun will scorch them, but not enough light and they’ll rapidly etiolate (as I discovered!).
If growing yours on a windowsill, patio, or other partially covered area, try to position them in the sunniest area possible – especially if it gets morning sunshine! If it gets hit by afternoon sun, be cautious with temperature and heat. If it’s very hot out, the afternoon sun coming in at an angle is more likely to scorch your cactus than the cooler morning sunshine.
This species grows fast enough that you’ll quickly notice if yours isn’t getting enough light.
At right is my largest Matucana, showing the early signs of etiolation. See how it’s looking a bit like an egg shape? The apical growth point (the top center) is also growing a bit crooked, facing the direction that gets more light.
There’s no spines on the top, and even though it’s making a little flower bud, all that top growth is inconsistent.
Generally: if your cactus is starting to look a bit like someone’s tried to pinch the top, or that the top is getting narrower, it’s not getting enough light.
Above are two of my Matucana madisoniorum – the same age, believe it or not! The one in the show pot (left) has a less organic mix of soil, so it’s not been as well “fed”. The notable part though is that it’s a consistent shape from top to bottom, with a nice round top that is slightly concave.
At right is the one that got a bit etiolated – see how it has a bit of a waist in the middle? The growth after that became more typical, and it’s been growing normally since, but it’s always going to be a bit funky and not a great candidate for a show plant.
You can reduce the risk of this by stressing the cactus in controlled ways: a more inorganic soil mix (less food) and/or watering it less frequently!
These are a delightful little cactus to grow, and it’s worth taking one home if you come across them! This year is the first year I’ve successfully collected seeds from mine, and I’m hoping for some seedlings of my own. While mine often bloom at the same time, it’s taken a couple years to figure out how they best like to be pollinated (you need to get into the throat of the flower). Compared to my other seeds, these have been slower to germinate – so we’ll see if I have seeds and seedlings available for sale in the future!
