Does well inside and in the South also. Flowers with deep red throats appear after about five years. In winter, when dry and dormant, the saucer like body shrinks to a flat disk. So called because of it's wiry, gray to brown spines that twist around this small cactus. A very good pot cactus with a small dark green body, sometimes flecked with white.
Flowers often have a wine-red throat.
Good container plant for inside. It requires a warm climate if grown outside. Cleistocactus strausii A fast growing branching columnar cactus from South America, that is covered with eye-catching silvery spines when older. Starts out solitary when young, but branches out and creates it's own clumps as it matures. Can grow to 6 ft. tall.