Propagation
Take stem cuttings of non-flowering shoots from late spring to early summer.

Divide the tubers during spring and treat wounds with fungicide.

Desert cactus that are woolly or spiny use a potting mix of equal parts of sterilised loam, shredded sphagnum peat and gritty washed sand with the addition of one part limestone gravel all chips to assist in strong spine formation. (Never use powdered lime or chalk)

Botanic information
Leaf: The leaves are not normally produced on the plant photosynthesis is carried out by the stems. It has small sharp brownish thorns.

Flower: The tiny flowers are composed of a female flower with a single pistil and several male flowers each with a single stamen. Both are enclosed in an involucre (cyathium) that is inconspicuous and appear during mid-spring.

Fruit: The 3-valve capsule is an explosive schizocarp and contains the numerous seeds that are viable but the plant is commonly reproduced vegetatively to maintain true to type.