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Oreocereus pseudofossulatus

Cultivation Key

� Full sun ��Normal water�� Large pot for faster ��

�� growth.

Hardy to 32F / 0C if dry.

Can tolerate short periods of colder temps.

(General guidelines)

Note: The common names Old Man of the Andes & Old Man of the Mountains are associated with the whole Oreocereus group, not necessarily any actual species. They can refer to several different species within Oreocereus.

Plant of the Month

February 2010

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Old Man of the Mountains,

Old Man of the Andes

Oreocereus pseudofossulatus D.R. Hunt 1991

Cactaceae (Cactus Family)

Synonyms: Cleistocactus fossulatus Mottram 1985

Form: The habitat of Oreocereus pseudofossulatus is South America, in the high Andes mountains of Bolivia. This high elevation species grows tall slender stems covered in a medium density white to grey hair. Hiding beneath and protruding through are long stout straw-yellow spines. Branching from the base to eventually form a large cluster. Living at high mountain elevations, the hair protects from both the intense sunlight and the cold temperatures.

Size: Stems typically growing to around 3-4inches in diameter and up to 8-10feet tall. Clusters can be several feet wide.

Flowers/Fruit: The flowers of Oreocereus pseudofossulatus are rather unique in shape. The tubular flowers reach 3-4� long but only open to about 1-1.5inches. Brown/cream in color with lighter tones mixed with pink on the inner petals with a bright, almost neon green stigma. Flowers grow from the newer areoles near the top of the stem. For us, this plant flowers off and on during the summer, but it has also begun to flower now in the winter, starting back in early January. It can take this specie 10-15 years from seed before blooming. Fruit are round, apple like with random areoles bearing small tufts of hair. Greenish yellow in color, turning to a full yellow when ripe.

Sun/Water: Oreocereus pseudofossulatus can take full sun and does not require much water once established. In cultivation, watering can be moderate during the summer, but not excessive. A light watering in winter if the temps are warm (70F+) if it�s been kept dry in prior months. Coming from the high mountains, this specie would prefer maximum sunlight, yet cool temperatures with good and constant airflow. It may need some heat protection in Southwest USA, although here in Corona it�s taken all the heat and sun it can get. 90-110F during the day / 70-80F at night, all summer long. During the winter it may get as low as 32F/0C for very short periods, but generally 40-50F are normal lows. Our rainy season is winter and does not usually net very much. This plant has survived both cold and wet conditions for a few days at a time.

Propagation: Seed and stem cuttings. Easy to grow from seed, although somewhat slow.

Books/Websites: Only basic information is available about this plant online. Some info is scattered within non�specific books. All info provided in this article is from our own observations. More websites can be found on our Reference Links page.

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Oreocereus pseudofossulatus var. rubrospinus �????

Old Man of the Mountains

We came across this plant a few years ago (unlabeled) and have been searching a name ever since. Off and on I�d poke around but never could nail it down. During those searches I came across a photo of a plant on columnar-cacti.org under the name Oreocereus fossulatus var/form rubrospinus. It was almost an exact match, but I still held back on the label. So while doing this article it triggered my ongoing search.

Can�t seem to find anything on this var/form other than the columnar-cacti website. I did find it in text on a few websites, but nothing else to really go on. Which lead me to think it may just be named without having been formally described?? The plant has not bloomed for us yet, the tallest of the 3 stems stands about 1 meter (3feet) tall. Fingers crossed again this year that it blooms so it can reveal more of its identity.

Oreocereus pseudofossulatus var. rubrospinus?

These next photos were taken at the Huntington Botanical Gardens, January 2010. It clearly shows red spines and slightly thinner stems than those plants seen with yellow spines. HBG has these plants labeled as Borzicactus fossulatus

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Oreocereus pseudofossulatus D.R. Hunt 1991

Old Man of the Mountains

Pictured below is our cultivated plant. It�s been growing outside in the garden for 2 years. As you can see it�s quite happy where it is showing a lot of new growth. We were growing it in a pot prior to planting it out. It grew some, but not very much and did not bloom. It�s been blooming each year since being in the ground.