Growing Cacti

Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

Growing Cacti

Tips on Growing Cacti

Introduction

Growing and propagating cacti is relatively easy to do and can be quite rewarding. For the most part thereare three environmental variables to consider to ensure your experience with growing cacti is successful.These are:

•

Soil

•

Water

•

LightWe'll examine these three conditions in greater detail shortly, but first let's note that there are at least twodifferent groups of cacti. There are the

desert cacti

which is certainly the first type to come to mindwhenever someone hears the word "cactus". However, there are also

jungle cacti

which grow in rain forestsand other environments that most would consider the least likely habitat for a cactus plant. I'll addressgrowing conditions for the two separately beginning with the jungle cacti.

Jungle Cacti

Jungle cacti include those species in genera such as Acanthocereus,Disocactus, Epiphyllum,Hatiora, Hylocereus,Lepismium, Rhipsalis,Schlumbergera, Selenicereus,and perhaps a few others. Almost everyone has seen at least one representative from this group even if they were unaware that the plant wasactually a cactus. The most common of these are the holiday cacti, Easter Cactus-

Hatiora gaertneri

,Thanksgiving Cactus-

Schlumbergera truncata

and Christmas Cactus-

Schlumbergera x buckleyi

. These plants are all

true

cacti despite their lack of big spines and inability to withstand the harsh conditions of thedesert. (Visit theCacti or Not? page to learn more about what qualifies a plant as a cactus.) Now when we associate "cactus" with one of these, it does not seem unusual that they would require different care whengrowing than the stereotypical image that comes to mind when we think about the family cactaceae.

Soil

Most Jungle cacti are either epiphytic or lithophytic meaning they grow in trees or grow on rocksrespectively. This type of plant gets its nutrients from the air or from dead leaves and other debris that mayhave collected in crotches, cracks, or crevasses. It is important to note that there are no parasitic cacti. Thosethat grow in trees do so for support, but do not sap nutrients from their host. For best results we'll want our soil to mimic these natural conditions.Some good ingredients for creating a suitable potting mixture for Jungle Cacti include: orchid bark, pearlite, potting soil, peat, coir, pumice, and oak leaf mold. I haven't tried all of these, but have found a mix thatworks really well for my plants. I start with some coarse orchid bark (about 25%), mix in some potting soil(25%), peat (25%), and the rest mostly pearlite with maybe 5% coarse gravel. I've heard enough peoplesuggest that coir is a superior substitute for peat and have recently experimented with it, but have not used itlong enough to tell if it actually works better. The most important aspect of the mixture is good drainage.The pearlite helps create this by keeping the soil loose and "airy" and so does the orchid bark. Additionallythe orchid bark tends to hold more moisture than pearlite or gravel. Pumice can be substituted for the pearlite. Keep in mind that the orchid bark will eventually break down into soil. This will create a very richsoil that may not be as effective in keeping the roots healthy. It isn't a bad idea to re-pot these plants every 2or three years with a fresh mix. The best time to do this is shortly after your plant has finished blooming.This is when it will be ready to start growing again. You might also add some fertilizer to the new mix suchas bone-meal and/or Osmocote.

Water

It is no accident that I've listed water as the second item on the list. This is because a well drained soil is

critical for keeping the water from rotting the roots off the plant. With the proper soil, however, watering isreally quite simple. I water my Jungle Cacti about once a week. This is a good rule of thumb, but there areexceptions. During extended hot, dry periods I may water twice in one week. Conversely, when it is cooland rainy I might switch to every other week. I grow all my cacti outdoors which is a privilege afforded bymy Southern California location. Indoor plants should have less variation in watering needs. For those livingin colder regions, you may find that you have to water your indoor Jungle Cactus more in the winter than inthe summer due to the dryer air from running the heater.The easiest way to gauge whether or not it's time to water is to stick your finger in the top 1/2 inch of soil. If the soil is dry, go ahead and water. If it's not, wait! Don't let your Jungle Cactus go too long without water.If the stem segments are shriveled and the soil is dry, it is probably in need of water. Be careful! If the plantis over watered, the stems will also look shriveled, but the soil will be damp. If this is the case, do

not

give itmore water. An over-watered plant will start to turn yellowish, then get more and more mushy and dark reddish-brown like a rotten apple. This is because the cells took in so much water they broke and are nowdead and rotting. This usually happens from the ends first. This will continue even after you stop wateringtoo much, but often you will have enough plant left to start over.

Light

Jungle Cacti can survive in a wide range of light conditions. However, we'll assume the goal is not to have plants simply surviving, but thriving. For the plants to thrive the amount and intensity of light are keyingredients. In my experience the ideal condition for Jungle Cacti is full morning sun and then shade for theafternoon. All the plants I have in this ideal condition exhibit robust and healthy growth.There are three other lighting situations that are not as ideal, but often times necessary due to spaceconstraints. These are morning shade/full afternoon sun, full shade, and full sun. Let's explore theseconditions further. It may seem that shade in the morning and full-sun in the afternoon should produce thesame results as full morning sun/afternoon shade, but it doesn't. This is because the temperature is cooler inthe morning than the afternoon and for many plants the afternoon sun is a little too intense and plants willoften take on a sickly-yellow appearance and may develop spots. In full-sun these symptoms will be evenmore apparent. As with most things in nature there are exceptions and some plants actually prefer full-sunand thrive in it. In full shade the plants will don a dark-green healthy appearance, but the stems will bestretched out long and thin in an attempt to reach more light. Not only is light essential for healthy stems, it also triggers blooming in many species. In ideal conditions a particular plant may exhibit fantastic growth with many show-quality stems, but they won't bloom. In thissituation exposing the plant to longer and more intense sunlight will trigger it to bloom. Don't forget that plants can get sunburn just like people do. If you have a plant that has been mostly shaded, don't just stick itout in direct sunlight or you will certainly end up with a badly scared cactus. This is even true for desertcacti that occur naturally in extremely hot, intense sunlight.

Desert Cacti

Desert cacti hail from throughout the arid regions of the America's and surrounding islands. There are nodesert cacti native to the old world and only one jungle species that occurs inMadagascar . Despite this,many people envision cacti growing in pure Sahara Desert sands with practically no water. This commonmis-perception should not be in your mind when you are preparing an environment for your desert cacti.We'll explore the requirements for growing healthy desert cacti shortly. First let's summarize the differenttypes of desert cacti you may encounter. There are small rounded, flat, or cylindrical plants; there areshrubby, segmented, and sprawling kind; and there are the large columnar and tree-like giants. Althougheven within each of these groups growing conditions vary from one plant to another, I'll generalize as muchas possible for a successful all around growing environment.

Soil

The perception I mentioned earlier of cacti growing in pure sand is not held by any successful cacti grower.Most cacti prefer a nutrient rich, rocky soil with good drainage. To create a suitable growing median for our desert cacti we'll use some of the same ingredients that we used for jungle cacti as well as some new ones.These are pearlite, pumice, potting soil, rocks, sand, peat, coir, and gravel. After trial and error and advicefrom other growers, I have settled on an easy, well-draining mix. This mix consists of 60% pumice, 20%coir, 20% Supersoil (topsoil). The pumice can be replaced with pearlite or vermiculite and the coir replacedwith peat. I would recommend using only 10% peat, not 20% if you don't use coir and make up thedifference with more supersoil, pumice, or even sand. This is because peat tends to be rather hard to re-wetand can make your mix impenetrable to water. For larger pots or mixes directly in the ground I like to add 1to 2 inch lava rocks from anywhere between 5 and 10 percent. I've had great success with this, but it canmake digging or transplanting more difficult because you'll hit rocks with your trowel or shovel. Some people use earthworm castings for extra nutrients. I've always mixed in some Osmocote time-releasefertilizer and have also mixed bone-meal in some of the time.Remember, there is no one mix that is the perfect mix. Ultimately, you'll want to experiment with differentingredients until you find one that works for you. Just remember that cacti roots need a well-draining, airysoil that will re-wets easily. Use whatever materials are most readily available to you locally. A simpleobservation to determine if your mix is cacti-suitable can be made each time you water. The water shouldnot sit on top of the surface and eventually drain down through the mix. Instead the water should veryquickly soak down through the pot and out the drain holes at the bottom. Always make sure that your potshave good drainage holes and that no water is able to sit in the bottom of the pot.

Water

Their ability to survive in extremely hot, arid, harsh habitat is a truly fantastic attribute of cacti. However thenotion that cacti do not need water or that they actually must avoid water in order to survive isunquestionably false. The reality is water is essential for all cacti to live. Their reputation comes from their ability to survive in areas where water is available in small amounts or is delivered infrequently. Most desertcacti can sustain long periods of drought. This is because the last time water was available to them, theystored as much as possible in their tissues. Additionally cacti contain many features that enable them to keepthat moisture and not dry up in the heat of their environment.Desert cacti are made to thrive in their native environment, which is most likely not anything like theenvironment where you'll be growing them. Even so, when it comes to watering cacti, there is no reason toartificially create drought. Whether potted or in the ground, a good time to water desert cacti is whenever thesoil is dry. In hot, dry areas such as Souther California in summer, watering once a week is acceptable. Inmore humid or cooler areas, it may be three to four weeks before the soil dries enough to warrant morewater. The key then isn't to avoid watering, but rather just don't over-water. With that said, it is still better tounder-water than to over-water. Avoid watering if the soil is still moist. There are exceptions to every ruleand just like choosing the right soil, you'll need to experiment to find the best watering regime for your plants.

Light

Unlike the jungle cacti, desert cacti typically prefer a lot more light. My desert cacti, which are planted rightin the ground, get full sun all day long and love it. My potted plants, seedlings, and newly rooted cuttingsonly get sun for half a day. The sun would make short work of plants that are not established. Therefore it isnot wise to move cacti into the full sun until they have a healthy root-system. Even if potted plants areestablished, full sun should be avoided. This is because the sun will heat the roots in pots to temperaturesmuch higher than roots in the ground. This is not a natural condition and the roots are not made to survive

of 00

Leave a Comment