Ariocarpus lloydii Living Rock Cactus
Lot ARIO-FISS-LLOY-B345 1 of 1 the exact plant pictured
$330.00
- Plant: Ariocarpus fissuratus subsp. lloydii (Ariocarpus lloydii)
- Cultivation: seed grown, with a strong root system
- Size: 3.24 in (8.2 cm) across
- Sown: 2019
- Listing: one-of-a-kind, the exact plant in the photographs
- Grown: cultivated in our greenhouse
In stock
- Flat $12 shipping anywhere in the United States, for one plant or several.
- Ships within 1 to 3 business days and usually arrives 2 to 5 business days later.
- All sales are final. If a plant arrives dead, email photos of the plant and packaging within a couple of days. Shipping and returns
- 237 plants sold
- Grown in Orange County, California
- Artificially propagated, never wild-collected
Description
Type: Seed grown, sown in 2019 · Size: 3.24 in (8.2 cm) across · One-of-a-kind specimen
Ariocarpus lloydii is the southern living rock cactus of Coahuila, and this seed grown plant for sale was sown in 2019 and now measures 3.24 in (8.2 cm) across on the caliper. The plant in the photographs is the exact one you will receive. At rarecactus.com we grow our Ariocarpus from seed in pumice, lava and other mineral grit, and this one has filled out into a low, rounded dome with a clean white crown of wool.
What makes Ariocarpus lloydii different
Where the Texan living rock has flat, deeply fissured tubercles, Ariocarpus lloydii grows them plump and rounded. On this plant each tubercle is a smooth, swollen cushion of grey-green, its upper face traced with a fine, map-like pattern of shallow grooves instead of deep furrows. White wool sits in a cross at the centre and in neat tufts on the younger tubercles.
The profile photographs show the tubercles bulging outward in two loose tiers, which gives the plant a soft, sculpted outline quite unlike a fissuratus.
The name
Joseph Nelson Rose described it as a species, Ariocarpus lloydii, in 1911, from plants growing near Parras de la Fuente in southern Coahuila. Later fieldwork showed that the southern plants grade into the Texan ones through a broad band of intermediates in central Coahuila, so it is now usually treated as a subspecies, Ariocarpus fissuratus subsp. lloydii. Kew’s Plants of the World Online files it under Ariocarpus fissuratus.
Growers, seed lists and nurseries still use the name Ariocarpus lloydii, which is why this listing does too. Our Ariocarpus fissuratus subsp. lloydii specimen page sets out the history, the range and the forms.
Grown from seed in 2019
This plant was grown from seed sown in 2019, which makes it about six years old. That is young for a living rock: the genus adds width and new tubercles by millimetres a year and keeps going for decades. At 3.24 in it is well past the delicate seedling stage, settled into its adult form, and at flowering size, with pink to magenta blooms opening from the woolly centre in autumn.
How we grow it
We grow this Ariocarpus lloydii in a square pot of pumice, lava and other mineral grit, top dressed with the same coarse stone, in full sun with light shade cloth through the hottest weeks. It gets a thorough soak only once the mix is completely dry through the warm months and stays dry through winter.
That bright, dry regime is what keeps the tubercles firm and the dome low. Too much water or feed makes a living rock soft and puffy, and wet roots in cold weather are the classic way to lose one. Our Ariocarpus care guide covers the substrate, the watering calendar and the winter rest.
Choosing this plant
The body is clean and unmarked, the dome is even, and the wool is bright, all visible in the photographs. Because the listing is for the exact plant pictured for sale, there is no guesswork about its shape or condition. It is seed grown, with a strong root system, never grafted to force size and never taken from the wild.
When your plant arrives
Your plant ships bare-root and dry. On arrival, pot it into a sharply draining mineral mix in a pot sized to its roots, set it in bright indirect light, and withhold water for about 14 days while it settles in before the first careful soak. After that, bring it gradually into brighter light and water only on the soak-and-dry cycle through the growing season, keeping it dry and frost-free in winter.
Provenance and legality
Seed grown and cultivated in our greenhouse, never wild collected. Ariocarpus sits on CITES Appendix I, the strictest tier of international wildlife trade protection, and artificially propagated plants like this one are the lawful way to own one. We ship to US addresses only. Browse the rest of the genus on the Ariocarpus encyclopedia hub.
Questions before you buy
What exactly arrives?
This plant. One-of-a-kind listings show the exact plant and sell once; the lot number under the title is its record, and the listing states its measured size.
How does it ship?
From our greenhouse in Orange County, California, within 1 to 3 business days, for a flat $12 anywhere in the United States. It usually arrives 2 to 5 business days later.
Is it legal to own?
Yes. Every plant we sell is artificially propagated, seed grown, with no wild collection at any stage. CITES rules apply to international trade, and we sell within the United States only, so no export permit is involved.
What if it arrives dead?
All sales are final, because each plant is a living one of a kind. If it arrives dead, take clear photos of the plant and the packaging within a couple of days of delivery and tell us. If anything else about the order is not right, say so and we will help where we can.
Growing Ariocarpus
Ariocarpus grow from a swollen taproot, and nearly every care decision protects it: strong light, a fast mineral mix, water only through the warm growing season, and a completely dry winter rest.
- Sun exposure
- Full sun
- Give it full sun or your brightest position. Shade cloth at 30 to 40 per cent through the hottest summer weeks stops bronzing on growth that has not hardened.
- Watering
- April to October only
- Soak, then let the mix dry out completely before watering again, April to October, with growth peaking in late summer. From November to March keep the plant bone dry.
- Soil
- 95% mineral
- About 95 per cent mineral (pumice, lava, granite grit, zeolite, limestone chip) plus 5 per cent worm castings. Hard tap water already supplies calcium; rainwater growers rely on the limestone.
- Cold tolerance
- Dry rest at 5–10°C
- Kept completely dry, plants ride out brief frost to about −5°C, but cold with wet soil rots the taproot. A dry 5 to 10°C winter rest is safest.
- Container
- Deep pot
- Use a deep pot for the fleshy taproot; unglazed terracotta helps in humid climates. Repot in spring, no more than every two to three years.
- Growth rate
- 10+ years to flower
- Very slow. Seedlings need two to three years to reach thumbnail width, and most species take ten years or more to flower from seed.
Shipping & Returns
Shipping
Flat $12 shipping anywhere in the United States, for one plant or several. Orders ship within 1 to 3 business days and usually arrive 2 to 5 business days later. Every plant is packed by hand to travel safely.
Returns
Every plant we sell is alive, so all sales are final and we do not accept returns or exchanges. If a plant arrives dead, take clear photos of the plant and the packaging within a couple of days of delivery and email support@rarecactus.com. If anything else about your order is not right, tell us and we will help where we can.
