How to care for a cactus so that it pleases you with its blooms

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Houseplants Published: February 20, 2019Last edits: January 11, 2021

Cactus (lat. Cactaceae) belongs to the Cactaceae family, represented by perennial flowering plants. The family is divided into four subfamilies. The word "cactus" is of Greek origin. Carl Linnaeus introduced this name in 1737 as an abbreviation for "melocactus" (thistle) due to the spines with which representatives of the Cactaceae are covered. It is suggested that cacti evolved evolutionarily about 30-40 million years ago, and, despite the fact that fossil cacti have not yet been found anywhere, it is believed that the homeland of cacti is South America, and they spread to the northern continent not so long ago - no more than 5-10 million years ago. Thus, we can consider cacti to be plants of the New World. And today the habitat of the cactus in nature is South and North America and the islands of the West Indies. In addition to the American continent, the cactus plant can be found in natural conditions in Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka - they claim that cactus seeds were brought there by birds.

Planting and caring for cacti

• Flowering: depends on the species.
• Lighting: bright sunlight (south window sills).
• Temperature: in spring and summer - normal for residential premises; in winter, cooler conditions are desirable - 6-14 ˚C with regular ventilation and absence of drafts.
• Watering: moderate, as soon as the substrate dries. In cold or rainy weather, watering is not carried out even in summer. In winter, many types of cacti are watered once a month or not at all. In the spring, at the first signs of growth, spray the cacti with water, and when they begin to grow, carry out 2-3 lower waterings with water at a temperature of 28˚C to saturate the substrate with moisture. However, keep in mind: such baths are harmful to hairy and woolly species.
• Air humidity: low.
• Feeding: once a week during the period of active growth on pre-moistened soil with a weak solution of a mineral complex for cacti (Kadatsky mixture). In winter and during annual transplants into fresh substrate, cacti do not need feeding.
• Dormant period: from November to March or after flowering.
• Replanting: as needed, in spring, at the beginning of active growth. Young cacti are replanted annually.
• Reproduction: usually by children, but also by seeds.
• Pests: mealy root and mealy stembugs (hairy aphids).
• Diseases: dry and black rot, late blight, rhizoctonia, helminthosporosis, fusarium, spotting and viral diseases.

Read more about growing cacti below.

Flowers cacti and succulents: growing and care all year round

As a summary and at the same time as a kind of working calendar, the care of cactus flowers throughout the year is described below. The indicated seasons may vary slightly depending on whether the cacti grower lives in a mild or harsh climate, and whether the cacti are kept in warm and sunny or cooler conditions.

Growing and caring for cacti should be based on agricultural techniques that ensure stable growth and development of plants all year round.

Early spring (mid-February - late March).

This is the most favorable time to, while caring for succulent flowers, transplant them from dry to dry substrate.

On spring-blooming species, buds appear. The first flowers appear on Notocactus haselbergii and early flowering mammillaria such as Marnmillaria bombyciana or M. microhelia. It is necessary to gradually accustom cacti to more humid conditions, for which at first the plants are only sprayed with water, and then very carefully, as they begin to grow, watering begins. Caution is required during the first unusually warm and sunny days of spring. If necessary, especially sensitive plants are shaded with thin tissue paper from direct sunlight during hot afternoon hours.

In areas with a milder climate, at the end of March, strong and hardy cacti, such as Echinocereus, which can withstand light frosts in a dry state, can be transferred to greenhouses. On a warm window in the room, especially if it is possible to heat the soil from below, you can start sowing cactus seeds.

Look at the proper care of succulents in the photo, which shows healthy and beautiful plants:

Spring (April mid-June).

For many cacti, spring is the peak of flowering. Most cacti of the genera Aporocactus, Echinocereus, and Echinofossulocactus bloom. Lobivia, Marnmillaria. Rebutia and Sulcorebutia, as well as phyllocacti. Now the plants are watered more abundantly, and starting in May, cacti can be fed with fertilizers. A favorable time for sowing seeds, cutting and rooting cuttings. Cacti that do not resume growth are likely to be diseased, so they should be removed from their pots and the root system checked.

From mid-May, you can move suitable cacti to external window sills or outside into the garden. In the first days after moving cacti into fresh air, special care is necessary, since the plants are not yet accustomed to bright sunlight outside.

Summer (mid-June - mid-August).

The peak of flowering of summer-blooming cacti from the genera Gymnocalycium, Notocactus, Parodia, Coryphantha, many species and hybrids of Astrophytum and Echinopsis is coming.

Spring-blooming species and hybrids have finished blooming and enter a short summer dormant period during hot weeks. During this time, they should be watered less frequently. Constant and careful monitoring of crops and, if possible, hardening them off as early as possible are necessary.

Autumn (mid-August - mid-November).

Autumn-flowering species such as Marnmillaria gracilis and M. rhodantha or Neoporteria proper bloom, as well as plants with a longer flowering period, such as some astrophytums, coryphanthus, telocactus or Ferocactus setispinus. For many cacti, the growth period is gradually coming to an end. Therefore, cacti are no longer fed, or, if necessary, final feeding is carried out with a weakly concentrated solution of potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. For better ripening of shoots and the formation of beautiful powerful spines, cacti need to be provided with a lot of fresh air and, if possible, direct sunlight, that is, under suitable weather conditions, open the greenhouse frames wide. From mid-September to October, watering of cacti is gradually reduced, and from October to November it is completely or almost completely stopped. Starting from about mid-October, cacti located in the summer on external window sills and in greenhouses must be moved back into the house.

Winter (mid-November - mid-February).

Only very few types of common cacti bloom. It's time for some types of rhipsalis or "Christmas" cacti to bloom. In accordance with their cultural needs, these naturally epiphytic plants are kept in slightly warmer and more humid conditions. The remaining cacti are kept in dry and cool conditions in their winter quarters. Winter is a good time to expand your knowledge by reading specialized literature, studying your notes, observations and transparencies made during the past growing season, and planning for the next growing season.

Botanical description

Many cacti and succulents have taken root in indoor culture and have been growing on our windowsills for hundreds of years. However, succulents and cacti are not the same thing: if all cacti are succulents, then not all succulents are cacti. We will tell you what the difference between them is, how to plant a cactus, how to grow a cactus, how to water a cactus correctly, how to care for a cactus at home and what methods are used to propagate cacti.

The cactus plant differs from succulents in the presence of an areola, a special organ that is a modified axillary bud with scales transformed into spines or hairs, although many varieties have both. Another difference between cacti and succulents is the structure of their flowers and fruits - part of the flower and fruit of a cactus is also part of its stem. There are up to a dozen other differences that are of interest only to scientists, and we will not write about them.

It is very difficult to give a general description for all cacti, but we will dwell in detail on their varieties in a special section. Let's just say that the indoor cactus plant attracts with its exotic appearance and ease of care, which even a beginner can do. The common features of all cacti are pronounced periods of growth, flowering and dormancy, and the root of the cactus is not able to absorb large amounts of nutrients, so the annual growth of plants of this family is very modest.

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Distinctive features of cacti

The variety of cacti species is very large, depending on the area of ​​their origin, they require certain conditions for normal growth, development and flowering. Cacti of different species are very different from each other in appearance. Among them there are giants - reaching 18-20 meters in height, there are babies - only one and a half centimeters high and three wide. There are cacti that are round and covered with spines, and there are spreading cacti with real leaves.

But they all share signs of family resemblance. To be called a cactus, a plant must have the following botanical characteristics:

• be a perennial succulent - a plant capable of storing moisture in its tissues;
• belong to dicotyledonous plants, their seeds and shoots have two cotyledons;
• the presence of an areola is mandatory - the active zone where the rudiments of spines and flowers and new growth are located;
• the ovary of the fruit should be lower - the fruit develops under the flower;
• fruit - berry.

Caring for cacti at home

Growing conditions

The home cactus is unpretentious and hardy, but if you want to see your “spines” in better shape, create conditions for caring for cacti that are close to natural.

Since we are talking about one of the most light-loving plants, you need to know that cacti at home often lack lighting, so the best place for them is a southern windowsill. In summer they feel good in the fresh air - on a lit balcony, terrace and just in the garden, but in winter they don’t need light, so cacti that have entered a dormant period can be moved into the shade. If they spend the winter in the same room as the summer, provide them with good lighting. Lack of light can cause the plants to become painfully stretched and the top of the cactus to turn a pale green color.

Since cacti are hardy plants, they practically do not react to sudden temperature changes and tolerate cool weather normally, although they are heat-loving plants. In spring and summer, indoor cactus feels good in the temperature conditions typical for apartments and gardens, and in winter the optimal temperature for it is from 6 to 14 ºC, provided that the room with regular ventilation is free of drafts and air-drying heating devices.

Watering

The frequency of watering and the amount of water spent on the plant depends on its type, time of year, room temperature and lighting. Water the cactus moderately as the soil dries. In cold and rainy weather, it is better not to water cacti, even if it is summer. In winter, soil moisture in pots with cacti is noticeably reduced, and in some cases stopped altogether.

As soon as the cacti show signs of growth in the spring (the top turns green and young spines appear), begin to generously spray the plants daily with settled water at room temperature, and when active growth begins, moisten them 2-3 times with bottom watering, placing the pots with cacti for a quarter of an hour into bowls with water at a temperature of 28 ºC. The exception is woolly or densely pubescent species - such baths are contraindicated for them.

In spring and autumn, watering is carried out in the morning, and in the summer in the evening. Water for irrigation and spraying should be soft - boiled and settled. Once a month, you need to add citric or oxalic acid to the water - half a gram or one tenth of a gram, respectively, per liter of water. You can infuse water for irrigation on peat for a day - 200 g of peat per three liters of water.

Cacti with thick and powerful spines are good to spray with hot water from a spray bottle in the mornings and evenings.

Fertilizer

Cacti should be fed with great care, and when replanting plants annually, you don’t have to feed them at all. Fertilizers are applied in the form of solutions no more than once a week during the period of active growth in already moistened soil to avoid burning the roots.

The most common fertilizer for cacti is the Kadatsky mixture, consisting of potassium nitrate, monosubstituted potassium phosphate, twenty percent superphosphate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate and potassium chloride. To prepare a nutrient solution, one gram of Kadatsky’s mixture is dissolved in one liter of water.

Cactus pots

Cactus pots can be ceramic or plastic. The size of the pot is determined by the dimensions of the plant, and the height of the pot should exceed the length of the cactus root system by 15-20%, and the width of the pot by one and a half times. In other words, the container for the cactus should be narrow and deep enough - the cactus will feel more stable in it, and the plant will have to be watered less often than when grown in a flat pot.

In addition, for medium and small sized cacti, plastic pots are preferable, because porous ceramics contribute to high water evaporation, alkalization and salinization of the substrate.

Soil selection

Cacti need a substrate that is loose, porous, water- and air-permeable, slightly acidic - pH 6.0. You can purchase ready-made soil for cacti at a flower shop, or you can make it yourself from equal parts of leaf soil, coarse and well-washed river sand and turf soil with the addition of a small amount of brick chips or charcoal. For old and columnar cacti, as well as for plants with turnip roots, add low-fat clay to the soil.

Epiphytic cacti need the addition of humus soil or peat - up to 1/3 of the volume. It is advisable to add a little lime in the form of pieces of gypsum or old plaster into the soil for cacti with white thorns. If you make the soil incorrectly, the plant may well experience root rot.

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How to transplant

The cactus is transplanted in the spring, at the very beginning of active growth. Place a drainage layer of fine expanded clay, brick chips, coarse river sand or old shards on the bottom of the pot with holes, fill the pot to a third of its height with sterile substrate, lower the roots of the plant into the pot and fill the container evenly on all sides with moist soil. To do this, it is better to use a teaspoon or a small rubber spatula.

There is no need to compact the substrate too much, and the area with the root collar should be sprinkled with coarse river sand. Do not water the cactus after transplanting for a week until the injuries to the root system heal.

Replanting a cactus

The ideal time for transplantation is the end of March - May. Young cacti growing in small and cramped containers should be replanted annually. Replant large plants after 2-3 years, but regularly replace the top layer of old soil with fresh soil without damaging the roots. Replanting is necessary for cacti, since shaking the soil provides air flow to the roots and has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant. The pot for replanting the cactus must match the structure and size of the root system.

Do not take dishes that are too large, as this will delay the development of the plant; the soil undeveloped by the roots will turn sour. A pot is considered suitable if the previous one fits freely into it.

3-5 days before replanting, stop watering the plant so that the soil dries out and the roots can be easily separated from the old soil. The soil mixture for cacti is selected based on the biological characteristics of the root systems.

The soil should be loose, easily allowing moisture and air to pass through to the roots, rich in minerals, but not containing organic fertilizers. For most types of cacti, a mixture of leaf, clay-turf, peat soil, coarse sand in equal proportions with small pieces of charcoal is suitable. Sprinkle the prepared soil with granulated superphosphate and mix well. Most cacti prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH of no more than 6-6.5.

The individual characteristics of some species require additions to the standard mixture: plants with strong spines and abundant fluff need more lime, epiphytic cacti and echinopsis need a little rotted cow manure, columnar cereus need more turf soil and crushed stone.

To create the effect of calcareous rocks, i.e., as lime, crushed limestone or marble is added to the soil mixture. The most accessible lime material is old chipped plaster. Fresh lime cannot be added to the soil!

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Cacti with tap and turnip roots naturally grow on clay soil. In indoor conditions, the soil for them should be dense, but water should not be allowed to stagnate in the pot. Therefore, weathered or frozen clay is added to the earthen mixture, which crumbles in the hands when squeezed. You can collect such clay from the ruins of old buildings or in nature, on mountain slopes.

The soil is watered in advance; it should not be very wet before transplanting. It is convenient to carry out the transplant as follows. Cover the holes for water drainage in the pot with shards, lay on top a layer of broken crushed stone, pieces of charcoal, coarse sand in a layer of 2-3 cm, and then an earthen mixture in a layer of 2-2.5 cm or more, in accordance with the characteristics of the root system. Place the plant prepared for replanting on a hillock of soil in the center of the pot and straighten the roots.

Gradually fill the gaps between the walls of the pot and the roots with soil, shaking the pot. This promotes even distribution of soil between the roots. Then, if the pot is small, press the soil with your fingers; if it is large, compact it with a flat wooden spatula. Add soil to the level of the root collar so that the entire green part of the stem is above the surface of the ground. Sprinkle sand or small gravel over the entire surface of the pot in a layer of 1-1.5 cm, which will prevent the stem from rotting.

Cover the transplanted cacti with a glass jar or plastic cap and water for 3-4 days. Cacti cannot be replanted during the period of budding and flowering.

The buds will fall off or degenerate. To avoid frequent transplants, which are poorly tolerated by some types of cacti, fertilizing with an infusion of superphosphate or a special store-bought liquid fertilizer for cacti will help. Feed in a dark place no more than twice a month. Before doing this, water the plant with water. Do not feed cacti that you are going to transplant or newly transplanted plants.

Special treatment method

(or root bath) for cacti with damaged root systems, used during replanting. It happens that a cactus is apparently healthy, but grows very poorly, and the roots turn out to be poorly developed and weak when transplanted. Then you can try the following procedure. After the cactus is removed from the pot, shake off the old soil; you can even wash the roots in warm water, but carefully so that there are no breaks. Then hot water is poured into a cup or glass, at a temperature of about 50-55 °C. For this you will need a thermometer. A dense material is taken and fixed to a glass above the water.

A hole is made in the middle and a cactus is placed there, while the roots up to the root collar should be in hot water, but neither the stem nor the root collar should touch the water. The cactus is kept in this hot water for up to 15 minutes. It is important that the water does not cool down, but is at the same temperature all the time; you can wrap the glass in a woolen shawl, or add hot water, monitoring the temperature with a thermometer, but under no circumstances should you cover the glass with the cactus. This procedure stimulates root formation in cacti. After this, the cactus roots must be dried for 12-24 hours, and then planted according to all the rules.

Blooming cacti

Care during flowering

The flowering of a cactus largely depends on how well its wintering is organized: in desert, mountain and steppe species, young shoots ripen and flower buds form during this period. If the cactus remained on the southern windowsill in winter and its growth did not stop, it is unlikely to bloom in the next season. With properly organized wintering, the plant rests and accumulates strength, and it is likely that next year you will be lucky enough to see a cactus flower.

Although in fairness it must be said that species such as nonocactus, melocactus, parody, rhipsalis, gymnocalycium and aporocactus can bloom even after wintering in a warm room.

If your cactus has bloomed, do not move or rotate it under any circumstances - the disturbed plant will drop all its flowers and buds. Direct sunlight during the flowering period is contraindicated for cacti, and you should protect the plant from it with translucent cloth or paper.

During the flowering period, it is necessary to ventilate the room daily, but even the slightest drafts should not be allowed. Fertilizers are also not applied at this time, otherwise the plant will shed both flowers and buds, or they will transform into cactus babies. During the first flowering, the flowers are usually smaller, but every year they become larger, and their number may increase. The flowering of a cactus is not just a beautiful sight, it helps to establish that your plant belongs to a particular genus and species, which makes care much easier.

Cacti after flowering, wintering

After your cactus has faded, you need to reduce the water consumption when watering it to a minimum, and reduce the frequency of moistening the substrate to once a month - literally so that the cacti do not wrinkle from dehydration. Feeding must be stopped completely. It is very important that the plant is not exposed to hot air from heating devices, and even better, place the cactus on a windowsill under which there is no radiator, or in an unheated room where the temperature does not rise above 15 ºC and does not fall below 8-6 ºC.

If you suddenly find that the cactus has begun to wrinkle, do not increase watering, but simply lightly spray the plant with warm water - just a little, otherwise at low temperatures the roots may rot. The dormant period for cacti should last from November to March, which means that it is necessary to reduce watering and stop feeding in October.

An exception to the rule common to all cacti is Schlumbergera - it is watered once a week all winter.

At the beginning of March, you need to help the cacti come out of hibernation. To do this, transfer the plant to a southern windowsill, begin to spray it, then gradually increase the water consumption, while simultaneously reducing the intervals between waterings. Feeding of the cactus is also resumed.

Wintering a cactus

In winter, succulents need coolness (optimal temperature is 5-12 °C) and rest. During this period, the plant stops growing and prepares for future expenditure of energy on flowering and reproduction. The dormant period lasts 2-3 months, after which spring growth begins.

Rules for preparing for wintering:

1. Before the rest period, it is necessary to reduce watering of the plant. They begin to do this in the fall, reducing the amount of water as the temperature and light intensity naturally decrease.
2. When the plants are on the windowsill, they need to be protected from the heat of the radiators using plexiglass or other heat-insulating material. If this is not possible, the pots will have to be moved to a more suitable location.
3. Do not let the temperature drop too much. Cacti do not tolerate frosts and drafts well, so if necessary, it is worth insulating the window frame with a layer of thick fabric or polystyrene foam.

A hibernating cactus should not show any signs of growth, including tilting towards the light. If the plant breaks dormancy, you need to return it to a room with a high temperature and resume watering, otherwise it will dry out and shrivel.

Cactus propagation

Growing from seeds

Cacti reproduce by seed and vegetative methods, namely by children or cuttings.

Growing cacti from seeds has its own difficulties: you will need to pre-sterilize store-bought seeds - they are soaked in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. It is also necessary to sterilize the substrate - steam it or fry it in the oven at a temperature of 110-130 ºC. The moist substrate is poured into a container in a layer of about 1 cm, the prepared seeds are laid out on it, after which the crops are covered with film or glass.

The soil is kept slightly moist at all times, and the crops are ventilated twice a day. It will take from several days to several months for cactus seeds to germinate. When the first thorns appear on the seedlings, they are transplanted into a more nutritious substrate, and at the age of several months they begin to be cared for like adult plants, but protected from too sudden temperature changes and watered more often.

It is better to sow seeds so that seedlings appear in early spring.

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Reproduction by children

It is easier to propagate cacti vegetatively: many plants produce babies with rudiments of roots. The children are easily separated, after which they are placed on a moist substrate into which their roots grow, forming a root system over time. Select a larger baby, separate it with a sterile instrument, dry the cut site for 3-4 days and root the cutting in a moist substrate.

How to choose a healthy cactus when purchasing

Buying a healthy plant at the very beginning provides a huge percentage of success in further growing a cactus. We must not forget that despite their apparent familiarity, cacti come from Latin America, where the climate, to put it mildly, differs from the conditions of a Russian apartment both in summer and winter.

So, in order to make your acquaintance with the world of prickly overseas plants pleasant and exciting, you need to take into account several important principles when purchasing them .

• Cactus cannot be bought in a store!

Very often you can see small cacti as accompanying products in hypermarkets or chain grocery stores. The fact is that in such places, even with a strong desire, it is impossible to create all the conditions, including temperature, that are necessary for the normal development and health of the cactus, especially if it is winter.

In winter, the cactus needs rest, which is also reflected in the air temperature not exceeding 10 degrees. During transportation, in the warehouse and on the sales floor, these indicators are not taken into account, so when purchasing exotic plants in such places, you almost always receive a deliberately diseased plant.

• The cactus must be purchased from a greenhouse or from a person who has been breeding them with love for more than one year.

By turning to professionals or enthusiastic amateurs, you are guaranteed to buy a plant that you really took care of, and this will provide you with the opportunity to admire its development, including flowering.

• You need to know the exact name of the cactus.

There are a huge number of species and subspecies of cacti. Without understanding all this diversity, you need to at least know the name of the one and only one that will grow with you. This will help provide the best conditions for it or help the plant in case of illness.

• You should carefully study the appearance of the plant before purchasing.

When trusting the seller, however, you must carefully examine the plant. Any stains, scratches, or discharge that may indicate parasites or other diseases should prevent you from purchasing. In addition, the cactus should be dense, rich green in color, because “stretch marks” of a pale green color indicate that the plant did not have enough light, and therefore it has already acquired an irregular shape. Of course, it is best to buy a small cactus that can quickly adapt to the microclimate of your apartment.

Diseases and pests

Why do cacti turn yellow?

This is the question readers ask most often. The reasons for this phenomenon may be a deficiency of nutrients in the substrate, a violation of the watering regime, or the harmful activity of spider mites. In the first case, you need to fertilize, in the second, you need to adjust the frequency of watering and the rate of water consumption, and in the third, you need to treat the cactus with some kind of acaricide - Actellik, for example.

Why do they rot?

Most often, cactus rots from excess moisture in the soil. Of course, it needs to be watered, but given that it is better to forget to water a succulent plant than to water it twice. When the substrate is chronically waterlogged, the cactus begins to rot. To save the plant from death, you need to remove it from the soil, cut off all rotten areas and roots, treat the cuts with crushed coal and transplant the cactus into a new sterile substrate. If your plant is not too damaged, it is quite possible that you will be able to revive it.

Why doesn't the cactus grow?

This problem can also have several reasons: an incorrectly composed substrate, a cramped pot, disease, sunburn, rejection of the roots or their damage by pests.

If you made the soil from the wrong components or did not maintain the right proportions, the soil may be too acidic or, conversely, too alkaline. The soil also deteriorates from watering with unsettled and unboiled water with a high lime content. Monitor the quality and temperature of water for irrigation, compose the soil in accordance with the requirements of the crop, and if you do not know how to do this, use a purchased substrate specially prepared for cacti by specialists. Replant the cacti in a larger pot in time.

To avoid sunburn, try to protect the plant from direct sunlight during the midday hours. And rotate non-flowering cacti around their axis so that they are illuminated and warmed up evenly.

Due to a sharp temperature change, severe hypothermia, or, conversely, overheating, the roots of a cactus can die off, while the plant itself remains healthy and capable of rooting. The danger lies in the fact that you, not suspecting that the cactus has shed its roots, will continue to fully moisturize and feed it, and this can lead to the death of the plant - it will simply rot.

Check the cactus as often as possible, and if you determine that it has lost its roots, place it on top of light but nutritious, almost dry soil, cover it with pebbles for stability, protect it from direct sunlight, and spray it with water for the first time after three days. Watering a cactus without roots is dangerous; it only needs to be misted from time to time until it takes root.

Pests and their control

Of the pests, cacti are damaged by mealy root and mealy stembugs.

Root bugs are dangerous because they are invisible, but when examining the roots, you can find small insects that leave behind tiny white “cotton” lumps. More often than other cacti, Echinopsis suffers from root scale insects.

To get rid of pests, the easiest way is to treat the plant leaf by leaf and water the soil in the pot with a solution of a systemic insecticide - Aktary or Aktellika, and then re-treat it two weeks later. If you do not want to use chemicals, remove the plant from the soil and wash the entire cactus along with the roots under a strong stream of water, then keep the plant for 10-15 minutes in water at a temperature of 50-60 ºC. Then the cactus is dried for several days and planted in disinfected soil.

The stem bug, or hairy aphid, is a close relative of the root bug. The pest makes punctures in plant stems and feeds on their sap. It is also dangerous because fungal infections penetrate through these punctures, causing the cactus to rot. These pests can be difficult to see, especially those species that are covered with felt-like hairs.

To avoid troubles with stembugs, and at the same time protect the cactus from other pests, it is advisable to treat the plant and soil in the pot with an insecticide, for example, Actellik or Aktara, twice a year as a preventive measure.

Red mites and spider mites can also parasitize cacti, and you can get rid of them using the same means as scale insects.

Diseases and their treatment

Cacti are also affected by diseases - dry and black rot, late blight, rhizoctonia, helminthosporosis, fusarium, spotting and viral diseases.

Late blight, or black (red) root stipe, causes rotting of the base of the stem and roots of cacti. To combat the disease, seedlings at an early stage of the disease are treated with Benlat several times at intervals of 3-4 hours. In adult specimens, damaged parts are removed, and the sections are sprayed with a fungicide solution.

Fusarium, or fusarium rot, affects cacti in conditions of high soil and indoor air humidity. As a result of the development of the disease, the root collar and roots rot, the stem of the cactus turns yellow, wrinkles and falls. It is necessary to remove all damaged parts of the stem and roots, treat the wounds with crushed coal, sulfur or brilliant green. To avoid damage to the cactus by fusarium, do not allow mechanical damage to the plant and water the cactus with Fundazol solution from time to time.

Helminthosporosis, or wet rot, looks like watery dark spots covered with mycelium threads. The pathogens enter the soil along with the seeds.

Rhizoctonia is also a wet rot, from which the stems of cacti darken, and the blackness rises up the vessels. Rhizoctoniosis develops in conditions of high humidity. The disease can be avoided by disinfecting the soil mixture for cacti and treating the seeds before sowing.

Dry rot, or phomosis, is incurable: the cactus simply dries out from the inside, and nothing can be done. As a preventative measure, plants are sometimes sprayed with a fungicide solution.

Gray soft rot affects the grafting sites or lateral parts of the stem. The plant tissues liquefy and turn into a mushy mass covered with a dark gray coating of mycelium. The infection is activated by chronic waterlogging of the substrate. At an early stage of the disease, the cactus can be saved by cutting out the affected areas and treating the wounds with sulfur, crushed charcoal or Nystatin.

Black rot, or Alternaria blight, appears externally as shiny dark brown or black spots in the form of streaks. It is necessary to cut out all these spots to healthy tissue and treat the cactus with a fungicide solution.

Spots (anthracnose, or brown spot, and rust) are fungal in nature, so treatment is carried out with fungicide solutions, but before spraying, the affected areas on the cacti should be removed.

A symptom of viral diseases are light spots on the trunk of the plant. To treat cacti against viral infections, dissolve one Remantadine tablet in a liter of water, but do not pin your hopes on treatment, since the virus is very difficult to defeat.

Pests of home cacti

Types of succulent pests and ways to combat them:

1. Spider mite (cobwebs and dark spots appear on the plant. Treatment with acaricides).
2. Mealybug (a white coating appears, and the pests look like white lumps. Treatment with insecticides. Before treatment, the plaque and insects should be removed with a brush.
3. Hairy aphids pierce the stems, feed on the sap of the succulent and infect the cactus with fungal infections. To prevent rotting, treat the soil in the pot with the insecticide Aktara 2-3 times a year.
4. Scale (looks like small long scales on the surface of the flower). Regular treatment with insecticides will help cope with it.
5. Aphids (colonies of small insects settle on the stem, to combat which insecticides are used).
6. Root worm (no external manifestations are visible, but the succulent grows slowly. The soil is damaged, in which small inclusions of white color are visible. Transplanting into a clean substrate will help. Before this, the roots are thoroughly washed and diseased shoots are removed.
7. Rot (brown spots of different sizes are visible. In case of severe damage, diseased areas are cut out and treated with antifungal agents - fungicides.)

Types and varieties

The Cactaceae family includes four subfamilies, each of which has fundamental differences in physiology and structure - the subfamilies Pereskiaceae, Opuntiaceae, Mauchienaceae and Cactaceae, which includes 80% of all cacti.

The Cactus subfamily is represented by plants that lack leaves and glochidia. Among them there are both epiphytes and xerophytes of various shapes - columnar, spherical, creeping or forming turf. There are many plants with edible fruits - ferocactus, echinocereus, mammillaria, myrtillocactus, peniocereus and others. We offer you a brief description of genera, species and varieties, as well as the names of cacti, which are most often grown indoors.

Astrophytum

A plant with a powerful spherical stem, on which the ribs are clearly visible. Over time, cacti of this genus acquire a columnar shape. A special feature of astrophytum are tufts of light hairs on the surface of the stem that collect moisture. At the age of 8-10 years, astrophytums begin to bloom with large funnel-shaped flowers of light shades of yellow, opening at the top of the stem.

The name of the plant consists of two parts: “astro” - star (the cactus, when viewed from above, has the shape of a regular star) and “phytum”, which means “plant”. Astrophytums goat-horned, speckled, four-ribed, star-shaped and others are grown at home.

Aporocactus flagelliformis

Or “rat tail” - a Mexican epiphyte with long, reaching one meter, and thin (only about 2 cm in diameter) shoots of light green color with vaguely defined ribbing. At first the shoots grow vertically, but then they droop and hang out of the pot. Aporocactus wattle is grown as a hanging plant. This species blooms at the end of April with large tubular crimson flowers up to 7 cm long, which look very impressive against the background of greenery.

Mammillaria

One of the most numerous genera of the subfamily, which according to various sources includes from 150 to 500 species, sometimes completely different from each other. Common to all mammillaria are qualities such as small size and unpretentiousness. They are also easy to propagate and bloom quickly. Indoor mammillaria are small cylindrical or spherical plants that lack ribs. Cacti are covered with cone-shaped papillae, their spines are usually light, similar to hairs and bristles, and some species are covered with thick hairy pubescence - white or yellowish.

Mammillaria flowers are funnel-shaped, small, yellow, white, pink, red or greenish in color, often with a dark center.

Most often grown at home:

• Mammillaria elongata is a plant with a thin long stem, low papillae and golden spines, collected in a neat rosette. This species blooms with small white flowers;
• spiny mammillaria - a species with a spherical stem and white or brown thin and sharp spines. The flowers are bright pink;
• Mammillaria Bocassi is a cactus with a thick elongated stem up to 4-5 cm in girth, with long thin papillae. The central spine is hooked and brown; around it are several needle-shaped spines and several long, white hair-like spines. This species develops easily and blooms at home with medium-sized white flowers.

Gymnocalycium

A genus of spherical cacti that was one of the first to appear in indoor floriculture. Representatives of this genus vary in color and size, they have strong curved spines and large white, light yellow or pink flowers with characteristic tubes. There are many species in the genus, all of which grow in South America. Both large species of the genus and miniature ones are grown in indoor culture. Chlorophyll-free forms with yellow, pink, purple or red stems are in great demand - they are grafted onto green cuttings.

Most often cultivated at home:

• Gymnocalycium gibbosum is a large plant with a greenish-blue stem in the shape of a ball, which eventually becomes cylindrical, and cream-colored flowers. The cactus can reach 50 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter. The areola consists of a central spine and a dozen not so long radial spines. Gymnocalycium humpback has a variety with a stem and spines of almost black color;
• small-flowered gymnocalycium (Gymnocalycium leptanthum) - a ribbed cactus up to 7 cm in diameter with radial spines pressed to the stem and white flowers with a reddish base of the petals;
• tiny gymnocalycium (Gymnocalycium parvulum) is the smallest of the species, only up to 3 cm in diameter. The stem of this cactus is spherical, with low ribs, and a dusty brown-green hue. The areoles are large, without central spines, and the radial ones are curved and pressed against the stem. The flowers are white, apical, up to 6 cm long;
• Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is a cactus with a flattened stem of grayish-green color and wavy, unevenly convex ribs, which makes them seem to be located both vertically and horizontally. Light spines are only radial. The flowers have a greenish-pink hue, although there are varieties with pink, white and yellow flowers.

Cereus

A genus of tree cacti with 46 species and many varieties. These are succulent trees and shrubs, which are divided into two groups: tropical forest cacti and cereus.

Forest cacti, in turn, are divided into three subgroups:

• Rhipsalis - epiphytes with a variety of stems (ribbed, cylindrical or flat) and small flowers or fruits. There are 12 species in this genus;
• phyllocactus - 10 epiphytic species with spineless flat stems and large flowers and fruits;
• Hylocereus - 9 epiphytic species of climbing and climbing plants with ribbed, spiny stems and large flowers and fruits.

Cereuses, or candle cacti, are divided into two subgroups:

• northern cereus, growing in North America in Canada and Mexico, as well as in South America - Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. These spherical plants lack spines and bristles on fruits and flowers;
• southern cereus, growing in South America - Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, and the Galapagos Islands. The flowers and fruits of this subgroup of cacti have spines and bristles.

Most often grown indoors:

• Peruvian cereus is a plant that in nature reaches 12 m in height, forming shoots with a diameter of up to 10-12 cm with 6-8 roughly dissected flat ribs. At home, the cactus grows only up to 4 m. Young plants are light green, adults are gray-green. The areoles are equipped with a central spine up to 2 cm long and 4-6 radial spines up to 1.5 cm long. The spines are needle-shaped, red-brown in color;
• the monstrous form of Peruvian Cereus, or rocky Cereus , is an anomalous species common in culture, formed as a result of impaired growth and deformation. This is an unpretentious fast-growing cactus, reaching only 1.5 m at home, although in nature it can grow up to 5-6 m in height and up to 5 m in diameter. Light green with a bluish tint, the stems of the cereus, growing fancifully, form unique shapes in the form of tubercles, fragments of ribs and other outgrowths, on which areoles with brown needle-like and thorn-like spines are located. This cereus is often used as a rootstock.

Echinopsis (Echinopsis)

More often than other cacti it is used for breeding hybrids. In nature, Echinopsis grow in Peru - it is cool there, it rains often, but there is almost no frost. This is why Echinopsis adapts perfectly to home conditions.

The following types of echinopsis are grown in indoor culture:

• Echinopsis hookate is a green, spherical, slightly flattened cactus up to 8 cm in diameter with tubercles on the ribs. The light areoles contain from three to ten flexible and spreading radial spines bent back, up to 1.5 cm long. The central hook-shaped spine, up to 2 cm long, is usually one. White, red or pink flowers up to 15 cm long open on the sides of the stem;
• Echinopsis golden is dark green, spherical when young, and when mature, the cylindrical cactus up to 10 cm high and 4-6 cm in diameter produces many basal processes. The ribbed stem is covered with areoles with brown pubescence, central spines up to 3 cm long, surrounded by 10 radial spines up to 1 cm long. Numerous yellow-orange flowers with a diameter of about 8 cm are bell-shaped.

Opuntia cactus

One of the largest genera of cacti, numbering about 190 species. You can learn more about these plants from the article, which is already posted on our website.

In indoor culture the following are most often grown:

• prickly pear is a plant up to 30 cm high with small hooked spines, which, depending on the variety, can be white or red.

Growing prickly pear at home

In addition to the described genera, species and varieties, cacti such as Chamecereus Silvestri, Cleistocactus Strauss, Echinocereus crested, Nonocactus Otto, Rebutia tiny, Trichocereus alba, Schlumbergera, Echinocactus iridescent and many, many others are grown in culture.

The diverse world of flowers

Many varieties of cacti have been classified, which differ in the pace of development, shape, shades of the trunk, as well as the size and length of the needles.

Basically, all cacti are divided into 2 large groups:

• Group 1 - desert plants. They need sunlight and warm temperatures almost all year round. These are everyone’s favorite Aporocactus wattle, Opuntia, Mammillaria, Cereus, etc. By the way, desert Mammillaria is considered an excellent cactus for beginning gardeners;
• Group 2 - forest succulents. During the hot season, it is better to hide representatives of forest thorny pets from direct sunlight. They are distinguished by various leaf-shaped stems. Another characteristic feature of prickly beauties is their unusual flowering. Among forest cacti, the most common are Rhipsalis, Epiphyllum, Yubelmania, etc.

The care and maintenance of different types of plants is slightly different, so before purchasing a cactus you need to accurately determine its group and type in order to provide it with the right living conditions.

How to propagate a cactus

Reproduction of cacti is possible by seeds and branches from the base - children.

Children

Propagation by children is the easiest and fastest way to obtain new plants that quickly begin to grow.

After separating the shoots from the mother plant, it is recommended to dry them for several days. This way the sprouts will quickly develop their own root system.

It should be planted in the ground only after the place where the baby is detached from the mother plant has healed.

Planting is carried out in dry soil, without deepening it to a great distance.

Important! It is better to separate a baby from an adult specimen by unscrewing rather than cutting. This way the sprout will take root faster.

The stem of a cactus can be cut crosswise into several parts, this is especially true for milkweed. However, it is important to remember where the bottom is and where the top is, since the plant will not be able to grow upside down. The top planted in this way will quickly rot.

How cacti reproduce by babies

When taking cuttings, it is not advisable to allow the mother plant to remain bare and unattractive. Only those children that grow asymmetrically need to be separated.

Flower growers often encounter such a problem when replanting as root rot. The disease develops as a result of insufficient drying of the baby's cut. It becomes infected and the specimen dies.

To avoid rot, you need to follow 2 simple rules.

• Firstly, under no circumstances should a separated baby be immediately placed in a permanent place. Mandatory drying is required.
• Before planting, you can dip the cut in garden sulfur and cut only with a sharp knife.

Planted children need to be watered with caution.

Features of keeping cacti in winter

The ideal place would be a glazed balcony with a temperature of +5...+10 °C or a frost-free garage. As a last resort, the fruit compartment in the refrigerator is suitable - you just need to prevent condensation from getting on the plants. If cacti overwinter on a windowsill, you need to place them as close to the window glass as possible and separate them with plexiglass from the flow of warm air from the radiator. Plants will remain dormant for about 6 months. Temperatures above +10 °C are very dangerous in low light conditions - it will provoke elongation of shoots, the appearance of the cactus will inevitably be spoiled, a weakened plant will become easy prey for diseases and pests, and flower buds will not form under such conditions.

What soil do cacti need?

Suitable soil for the plant is another very important rule for successfully growing cacti . Let's figure out what exactly our flowers expect from the soil. Firstly, the soil must be well drained, so universal soils will not suit us. It is worth purchasing soil for cacti at a flower shop.

But you can also assemble it yourself at home using universal soil - we put everything in a 1:1 ratio - 1 part perlite and pumice to one part standard soil. If the soil is too dense and retains too much water, our cactus may begin to rot.

Substrate for cacti

Must contain a minimum of organic matter. Some experienced collectors use gravel and rounded quartz sand (1:1), to which they add forest loamy soil (no more than 1/5 of the total volume). It is convenient to grow cacti in clean brick chips or in thermally treated and granulated clay (Akadama or Seramis). A slow-release granular fertilizer (such as Greenwold) can be added to the planting mixture. Nutrients are released from such fertilizers slowly and only when the granules are wet, so there is no need to worry about excess nutrition during the dormant period, when the substrate is completely dry. An excellent choice is ready-made mineral soil LECHUZA-PON, which does not contain organic matter. Contains mineral components (pumice, zeolite, lava), long-acting fertilizers have already been added to it. All mineral soils dry out quickly, which eliminates the possibility of water stagnation at the roots.