Care of Lophophora Species (Northern Europe):

Watering:

• Water once every two weeks in the summer.
• Stop watering completely from September onwards.
• Start watering again in spring water sparingly from spring onwards. 

Position:

• Place in a sunny south facing window.

Feeding:

• Use cacti fertiliser at half strength during summer growing period.

•   Lophophora is self pollinating and will produce flowers from approximately year five onwards.

Habitat:

• Lophophora is an extremely slow growing form of spineless cactus found in the denuded soils of Mexico and the southern states of North America such as Texas. This amazing plant can withstand searing heat if acclimatised in the summer months and in winter, if kept bone dry, can survive temperatures well below zero. Of course neither of these extremes are recommended. Grown in an unheated greenhouse in the UK without artificial light, use of grafting or excessive fertilisation it takes about four to five years for peyote plants to reach flowering age from seed.

Warning: Excessive sunlight can burn your cacti! Sudden movement of plants into the outdoors or brighter sunlit place should be gradual. If your plants do get burnt put them into a shadier place, give little water and allow them to rest. Bad sunburn can take years to grow out. 

Lophophora Williamsii blossom with seed pod to the right. The paint brush handle is 3mm in diameter

A mature plant that produces multiple blooms over the summer season and even more than one flower at a time is typically over ten years old. As plants mature they produce multiple blooms simultaneously. Some two to three months after flowering reddish seed pods emerge from the base of the now dried flower. Given time to mature and dry while attached to the plant, these seeds pods can be harvested and provide a ready supply of viable and easy to propagate peyote seeds.

Lophophora Williamsii are self fertile so even if you have only one plant you too can soon have your own little cacti colony.There is some excellent material on the propagation, care and nurturing of peyote cacti on the web so we are not going to try and compete with the excellent sites into which enthusiasts have place so much time and effort.  More information, history and cultivation tips on peyote cultivation will be uploaded in the coming months.

Peyote for Sale: Buy Lophophora Williamsii here.

Information on grafting