About us
Mondocactus is the melting pot of multiple experiences, made following the red thread of the passion for the study and cultivation of succulent plants.
Continuous experimentation, academic studies in the naturalistic field and (few) trips to far places to see these plants in nature, are the ingredients used to make this small nursery.
Our daily work is all about producing high quality, well-cultivated and healthy plants, with a particular fondness for the rarest and most sought-after species that we obtain above all from seed.
For sustainability
Since 1950, synthetic plant protection products are used in agriculture to combat plant pests, whose active ingredients are often dangerous for animals and for the environment.
To reduce the use of dangerous substances we adopt all the agronomic techniques that can prevent the onset of phytosanitary problems, such as:
- containment of environmental humidity;
- use of mineral substrates;
- use of low nitrogen fertilizers;
- high exposure to sunlight.
Plants, legally
Globalization has seriously exposed species of plants and animals of greater commercial interest to the risk of extinction. Ivory, corals, tiger and crocodile skins, turtles, but also orchids and succulent plants are illegally collected in the wild.
To contain these biological and environmental damages, since 1975 there is a convention on international trade in endangered animals and plants (CITES), to which many countries belong, including Italy.
CITES carries out controls on the supply chain of plants offered on the market and encourages the artificial reproduction of plants in danger of extinction by specialized nurseries, which have proven to operate according to the provisions on the matter, deserving recognition of the structure authorized for reproduction. Mondocactus obtained this recognition with extended validity throughout the EU on 11 July 2012.
Plants, artistically
Mondocactus promotes the style of wild cultivation, which aims is to give plants the connotations they have in their natural habitats. In addition to enhancing their rude shapes and colors, this technique stimulates their natural immune defenses and considerably prolongs their life.
My profile
I graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Bologna. Since 1987 I am a member of the IOS (International Organization for the Study of Succulent Plants) and of the Survival of Species Commission, group for succulent plants of the IUCN (World Union for the Conservation of Nature). I am author of some manuals and articles on the cultivation of succulent plants.
Festina lente
Andrea Cattabriga