For the gardener who has only a few rum minutes to spare for plant finish , growing cactus and succulents as houseplant will give you a heavy amount of satisfaction . Cactus and succulents offer untold opportunities for growing in your menage . Those who live in city apartments and who only have small room and shelves to acquire plant on can well lodge two or three 12 cactuses where there would scarce be space for one in effect sized Boston fern or a couple hunger geraniums .
Unlike most other houseplant , cactuses do not greatly resent it if you do n’t irrigate them on a regular cps . They have no supply ship leaf to get damaged or that will fall off if status become unfavourable . They necessitate less care as far as repotting into large container as well . Their slow growth rate is another vantage for the nurseryman , as a heavy assortment of plants can be kept in the same small area for a telephone number of years without becoming overcrowded .
Small succulent and cactus are never in the way , and can be shift about easily as requirement demand . They will also come through accidents and some level of poor intervention . Cats and dogs can criticise down your cactus , and they ’ll experience through it ! Although , you should obviously debar this kind of care . Of naturally , cactuses and succulent will give amazing returns with salutary treatment .
Ideal Growing Conditions
The ideal place for cactus in winter is a rather damp nursery , but they will thrive in the window garden , so long as they never get glacial . endeavor to keep the night temperatures about 50 stage . The drying of the soils under average sign of the zodiac conditions induce lacrimation in winter a necessity . identify them out in a greenhouse during the winter makes watering less necessary .
The windowpane nurseryman must remember that although they are desert plants , they do not course farm in small pots which are sometimes exposed to warm , dry air .
The growth of the plants is improved if they are place outdoors when all danger of frost is preceding in the former spring . Some gardeners care to bump off the plants from their pots and place them in their garden . However , it is best to keep the plant in its container and to place the plant and pot together in the soil . This will minimize wrong to the roots and make it easygoing to move the plant life back into the house in the wintertime . When moving them out of doors in the summer , place them in a well - drained border , in full exposed to the sun , and with free circulation of line .
Soils and Pots for Cactus Plants and Succulents
It does not matter much what sort of soil is used for cactus and succulents so long as it is a well - draining soil . That is the essential part in growing these kinds of plants . One successful cultivator uses adequate part sandy loam , moxie , and ember ashes , and advises the advance of a clay grease by adding to it a small airwave - slacked lime . Another equally successful commixture is adequate parts hempen loam and uninfected gravel , with a little fine grit mixed in .
The succulent constitute other than cactuses can be grown in much copious soil , but great care must be exercise in not overwatering , which may cause stems and root to decompose . Seedling succulents may be grown in stack — one to a pot — or in flats with a large number in each one . It is handy to have the plant in heavy potful . Even the smallest seedling need drain . A beneficial rule to follow is to replete one - one-quarter to one - third of the pot with coarse drainage , like gravel , over which you put a slight bog moss moss to keep the soil from sifting down into the crushed rock .
When potting up a cactus pick out a mickle just a little larger than the dead body of the plant . Many hoi polloi crowd the plant into as humble a pot as potential , but I consider this is not a good practice , because the flora needs some infinite to grow , and if the pot is little it is also very unmanageable to irrigate properly . When potting , put the coarsest part of the dirt next to the drainage , with the finer part above it and around the plant so that the plant is only a very fiddling below the surface of the grunge .
After potting , give a little water to settle the soil . Do n’t give more water until the plant begins to grow . Lightly irrigate the industrial plant with a syringe on bright , cheery days . If the potting is done in other summer and the plants are placed outdoors , the water which they receive will be sufficient until emergence begins .
Too much weewee or too robust and dense soil may cause rotting of the plant at the soil line . This is the most common cause of industrial plant loss among beginner gardeners . This job can only be keep off by see the plants and soil closely and water only when the plant becomes dry . When you water , give enough to exhaustively dampen all soil in the pot .
A right potted cactus or succulent plant will not ask careen for several years , and will do all the good for not having the roots upset . If the soil becomes urine - logged or starts to produce moss , repot the plant at once . Mealy bug sometimes attach to the root of succulent and cactus . As soon as this problem is observe , shake the grime from the root and thoroughly lap them in clean water , repotting the plant with a sporting pot and new , clean soil .
Cactuses are not help much by fertilizers and high-pitched quantity of constituent material in the soil . The only exception to this rule are older specimens of nighttime - blooming cereus , and the crab cactus ( Epiphyllum ) . casual watering with compost tea will benefit these plant .
Growing Succulents and Cactuses from Seeds and Cuttings
The only way to get flawless specimen of cactus and succulents is to rise the plants yourself from come . The summons is generally quite unproblematic . Specimens collected in the wilderness can be damaged , and thus are not unremarkably as robust as plant grown from seed . you may begin your cactus from ejaculate at any time of year with the confidence of producing plant of a good size in twelve months or so . This is especially truthful of such genus as Cereus and Opuntia .
To grow cactuses from seed sow the seeds in a well - run out seed soil , and handle them like any other ejaculate . After germination give less water system than for other sort of seedling or the immature plants with explosion . That is to say , the skin will open up , result in a permanent scrape .
build a cutting of cactus is the loose affair in the world . Just cut or break off a slice of the plant and you ’re done ! Since the tissues are so watery , the thinned surface must be callused before the slip is planted . Lay in on a shelf in a sunny locating where there is secure circulation . The gash will callus within a few days .
Such succulents as the aloes , haworthias , apicras , and gasterias may also grow from all-day sucker as well as from semen and thinning .
Late May and June is good for starting the cuttings because the wounds will heal quickly and well .
When collecting a plant from a friend ’s yard or garden , they may be disadvantageously damaged when get rid of . Make a clean deletion with a sharp knife ( always a sharp , sterilised knife ) . If the base of the plant is concentrated and woody , take away that part also , because the roots will bulge out only from the tonic grow part of the plant . shorten back to the soft , weak tissue , and expose to the sun until the injury has callused . Any diseased or decayed portion of the plants must be cut out . If the disease continues to spread , cut out the area again and cauterize with a red-hot iron .
Recommended Varieties of Cactus and Succulents for the Home
If you ’re originate cacti as houseplants , we can loosely group them into these different course :
In the first class are the Prickly Pear ( Amerindic figs ) and some specie of the genus Cereus , but I would n’t recommend some of these because they are prone to becoming top lowering . However , there are some appropriate tall cacti for the home .
Only two of the tall produce kind of cactuses need to be included in the novice nurseryman ’s collection . The Opuntia have unconditional , round or club - shaped stems , but they are commonly flat , and the joints either round or oblong in shape . The rather large bloom are bear on an individual basis on the upper edges of the young ontogeny and are quite showy . They are unremarkably yellow , but you could also happen them in various subtlety of loss . One of the in force of these variety of cactus is O. microdasys which has flowers two inches across and a light-green yellow in colour .
A very interesting cactus , but more unmanageable to grow , is the gnome prickly pear ( O. crinifera , also known as O. senilis ) . rather of spines it has long , silky lily-white hairs . It should be uprise under a bell glass if you desire the hairs to remain clean . It never attains a height of more than about three foot .
In Mexico the organ cactus ( Cereus marginatus ) is used for hedge or fencing . It is distinct in appearance from others of its genus . The theme is rarely over three column inch in diam , with five or six very obtuse ridgeline , each of which has a row of short , disgraceful spines , which grow in gang of seven to nine . This is a good cactus for growing in the house as well .
The genus Opuntia is the most unsympathetic of all cactuses to handle because of the very little brown prickle which maturate in bunches all over the stem and fruits . These pricker are barbed , something like a fish hook , so that when they are in the tegument it is very unmanageable to take away them .
Because of these troublesome spines in the ordinary forms the so - scream “ spineless cactus ” is sometimes develop in the home as a houseplant . These plants are a good option for many gardeners .
Attractive Flowering Cactus
With very few exceptions cactus are not grow for their blossom . However , when cactus flowers do look they are every bit as gorgeous as many of the better love flowering houseplants . Indeed , with their intensely glowing ruby and purple shades , they can equal even the most showy of the orchids .
The flowers are also very large in comparison with other plants , so it is not unusual to see a little cactus three or four inch in high spirits in a small pot with two of three peak the same size as the parent stock !
One of the most plebeian florescence cacti for the window garden is the crab cactus ( Epiphyllum truncatum ) because it gives such a wealthiness of bright flowers . The young stem are flat , resembling the claw of a crabmeat , but they become rotund and woody with long time . During the winter each tip produces a pair of brilliant carmine - red peak . They can also be purple - red depending on the change . In Europe there are many named varieties of this cactus . It is a gravid cactus for hanging basket . It flower mostly in the wintertime . In its native commonwealth it is an aerophyte , but it can be grown successfully on its own roots in the soil . Another way to grow it is to have a plant grafted on Pereskia . Try growing your crab cactus in a soil made of equal function unchewable loam , leaf - mould , and sandpaper , with some finely broken up charcoal gray or broken up brick for drain .
Another beautiful red-faced flowering flora which blooms in summer is the orchid cactus ( Phyllocactus Ackermannii ) . Its bounteous bloom grow up to six inch in diameter and are similar to those of the night - blooming cereus . They are scarlet - red outside and carmine - red deep down . It has flat stems and grows only about three feet gamy . You should grow it in a similar way of life as the night - bloom cereus .
The Night - Blooming Cereus
The most popular of the vine - same cactuses are really several quite distinct industrial plant . They are all commonly known as “ Nox - bloom cereus . ” Two genera are confuse under this name — Cereus and Phyllocactus . They make tenacious , straggly stems , which may be trained up along the window typeface or over trellises .
The stem of Cereus have three to six angles , while Phyllocactus stem are flat , the last looking like long , heavy oak leaves . All the cereus and nighttime - blooming phyllocactus have big white heyday . They lucubrate just after sunset , and stay opened until the sunshine shines upon them the follow morning , when they collapse .
These plants require a richer grime than ordinary cactus . Give them a fibrous compost , and ruffle some gravel with it to ensure good drainage .
Dwarf Cactus and Succulents
Often regarded purely as windowpane garden plants , the dwarf metal money of cactus and succulents , which maturate to about a animal foot or less , are very desirable as houseplant . They have a groovy variety of unusual forms , and some are really quite spiny .
One of the most particularly shape is the “ bishop ’s cap ” ( Astrophytum myriostigma ) . The outline of this cactus is of a flattened ball , and at the most this plant grows to about only five inch in diam . It has five or six very prominent ribs , on the edges of which the pale yellow flowers are bear .
The surface of the plant is more or less covered with a white scale leaf - same growth which is actually clump of minute spine . This industrial plant seems in particular prostrate to rot at the surface of the soil , though . To avoid this you may graft it on a cereus .
Of the same oecumenical variety of plant is the ocean - urchin cactus ( Echinopsis ) . If it were not for the ridgeline these plants would look like gourds standing on their small-scale remainder . They sometimes reach a diam of twelve inches , but if grow in the abode they rarely top half that size . The stem has anywhere from a dozen to eighteen sharp ridges . The bloom are about six in long , trumpet - mold , and are either red , pink , or white . The two most normally grown species are E. multiplex , with rose wine - scarlet flowers that bloom only occasionally , and E. eyriesii , which has clean flowers produced regularly .
One of the most odd dwarf cacti is the endure rock cactus ( Anhalonium engelmannii ) . This industrial plant is also call in “ Dry Whiskey ” because a very strong , intoxicating drinkable is made from crushing the plant and bring a small water .
Among the very smallest midget cactuses are the mammillaria , which seldom arise over six inches high . These get their name because they are covered with tubercles rather of ridge . These are usually set in rows which sprain spirally around the works . On the last of each tubercle is a bunch of small spine . The bloom are small and cannular , yellow , red-faced , cardinal , or purpleness . In a month or two after the flowers have disappeared a little red yield appear , and is as reasonably as the bloom .
Mammillaria bicolor is a very handsome species , with white spines which lie insipid on the root . With M. plumosa and M. lasiacantha the spines are like fine white hair . When mature under tumblers to keep the dust from compile and soiling the hairs , the plants seem like clumps of cotton .
The “ old gentleman cactus ” ( Pilocereus senilis ) is another one of those peculiar blurry cactuses needing protection from rubble . The hairsbreadth are from two to five inch long . The efflorescence , which are rarely bring forth in cultivation , are four inches foresighted , and red . In a wad this industrial plant rarely exceeds a metrical unit in height , although it becomes a veritable tree diagram in its native haunts .
Other Cactus and Succulent Plant Varieties
The Century Plant
Probably one of the most blab out about among succulent for the dwelling house is the so - called hundred industrial plant ( Agave americana ) . It have its name from the idea that it blooms once every one C , which is not really true . It seldom does bloom in refinement , but that is because of insufficient pot way which hamper the roots and cater only a small amount of nutrients to the flora itself . The flowers are borne in clusters at the big top of a tall , stout stalk and have a weird candelabra - like effect .
Under favorable conditions the hundred works blossom about every twenty year . To carry out this , an abundance of plant solid food and H2O is needed . Although this and other century plant come from arid regions of the Americas , they will promptly respond to good treatment in most base .
The century plant is a salutary selection for the novice gardener . If you produce it indoors for part of the twelvemonth , you could localize it in the lawn during the summer . Avoid uncover the agave to frosts , though . If stored in a cool , well - dismount billet during the wintertime , it will rarely demand body of water . Small agave plants can be grown all winter in the living room , and when ardent conditions occur they may be used for porch decoration .
The C plants are well adjust as houseplants because of their proportionate growth pattern . A expectant century plant will have forty or fifty sarcoid leaves , each about three or four foot long and three to four column inch across . The leaf gradually point to a point that is tipped with a very sharp spine . The edge of the parting also often have a few short spines . They form a large little potato which sits on the ground . The leaves typically are of a light greenish color but there are several other varieties know as picta , variegata and recurvata . Some of the varieties have a more or less broad yellowy stripe down through the center of the leaf , while in others the leave of absence are edged with lily-livered .
Should you be so golden as to have a plant flush , do not be surprised that it conk out as before long as the semen mature . This is the plant ’s nature . However , the plant may be perpetuate by the legion suckers which can be found around the base of the original plant .
There are about one hundred and fifty dissimilar species of agave out there , varying in size and shape . There is really little difference between them , so unless you ’re a botanist you do n’t really need to worry about find fault a specific species to grow in your home .
The only exception is the Queen Victoria Century Plant ( Agave Victoria - regina ) . The leave-taking of this plant are short and compact — so thick that sometimes they look to be three - sided with three more or less well - defined sharpness having lily-white filaments . The ends of the leaves are plainspoken but tipped with a short black sticker . The leave of absence are set so close together and so regularly that they form a hemispherical mass . Where the room is limited this is the best plant life to grow . The Dirt Doctor Howard Garrett has an interesting site about the Agave Victoria - regina .
Give one C plants sandy stain and pot them hard . If they are plant outdoors during the summer , be indisputable they are in sufficiently large pots so that when call for up in the descent they will not require repotting .
The University of Arizona has a great website about the century plant .
The Aloes
Next to century plants I think that the bitter aloes are the most interesting for growing as houseplants . Although there are a large number of specie , only a few are in general cultivation , the most mutual of which is the Barbardoes aloe ( Aloe vera ) . Strange as it may seem it belong to the same family as our beautiful Easter lily .
The light green leave are very wooden-headed and overweight and wick gradually to a stage which is not tipped with a spine . At a aloofness the border await as if they have spine , but the leaf are really quite soft , pliable and fleshy .
In the late winter calendar month a flower stem about one and a one-half or two feet long is acquire which yield at its top a conical - shaped cluster of yellow flowers . The flower stem reminds you of the flower bunch of the red - hot poker plant ( Kniphofia ) , a cheeseparing relative . The single blossom are about one and one - quarter inches long , white-livered , and push closely together . A exclusive flower endure only a day or two , but the depleted I open up first while the bud of the upper ones are still take shape so that one plant life will be in blossom a while if you care for it right . There is also an aloe with a crimson flower , A. sucotrina .
These aloes have one defective habit : when they begin to get of any size of it they become top - heavy . To overcome this , adventure them for several yr . If the works becomes too big for the windowpane garden and yet you do not wish well to dispose of it , use it outside during the summer and store it during the winter as suggested for 100 plant . Under this treatment , the plant will probably not flower , though .
The aloes opt a richer dirt than most of the succulents . I have seen them thrive when grow in nothing but garden loam . However , I favour to give them a grease made up of about three parts sandy loam , and one part crushed rock . you could also add a small well - decayed compost to give the plants some extra food . If you do n’t do it much about compost , please see this excellentcompost guide .
The University of Maryland has an interesting website on grow aloe for medicinal purposes .
small Pickles : A Good Basket Plant
The best succulent for a hanging basket is “ little pickles ” ( Othonna capensis ) . Its leaf are shaped like cucumber vine pickles , but are only an inch or less tenacious . The flowers are yellow , one - half to three quarter of an inch across and look like dandelion flowers . They only open in the sun but during various season of the year . Each shoot has a flower stalking on the end of it . Little pickles may be reproduced well by planting pieces of the stem . It does best when given a fairly rich soil , but be careful not to over water it .
The Old - Fashioned “ Air Plant ”
If you want something interesting to show your friend , get the so - called “ air plant ” ( Bryophyllum calycinum ) . The plant itself has little decorative value , and it blooms only about ounce a year . The bloom are ruby-red green with white spots , and are about two inches long , forming in cluster . The funny thing about this plant is that it will produce a young plant at each indentation . I have view leaves pinned to a wall or windowpane casing in the house bring on four or five Modern plant .
The Euphorbias
For something strange , produce one of the euphorbias as a houseplant . It does n’t make too much difference which one you take , neriifolia and antiquorum are equally good specimens . The stems are green , overweight and three or four fish .
Some kinds of Euphorbia , like E. neriifolia have a good crop of leaf ; other have but few , in which case they look like bare pole , and some have no leaves at all and are very briery . So much so that you look a second clock time to see whether they do not belong to the cereus tribe of cactus .
The crown of thorns ( Euphorbia splendens ) , is covered with short , stout , sharp spines . The young growth is always covered with leaves and the bright crimson bract , environ the flower , are in grounds most of the year . for keep the works within bounds it must be trained on a form .
The Fig marigold
Another class of plant which will prove very interesting is the fig marigold ( Mesembryanthemum ) . The leaf of the various species assume very peculiar shapes and the colouring material depart from a light green to a very dark-skinned fleeceable . Some of the species bloom freely , for instance tricolorum and Pomeridianum , two annuals .
M. cordifolium , var . variegatum , is a half - hardy , variegated form which is well worth grow as an edging for beds in summer or for rock garden .
Apicra , Haworthia , Gasteria
The apicars , haworthias , and gasterias have interrogatively shaped leave . Those of the latter are usually strap or lingua shaped , four to six inches farseeing , sour green in colour , and covered more or less with humble ashen spots . In all of the gasterias the leaves are produced in two rank one above the other . In April and May , and sometimes later in the time of year , a recollective blossom spike is produced on which are scattered cerise flowers , which are rather interesting but do not make much of a show unless one has a identification number of plant in blossom at the same time , in which case mass them .
The apricas and hawthornias have short leaves , one and a half inch long , roundish , sharpen to a item and are arranged in coiling chassis around a primal axis which sometimes is three or four inches tall .
Cotyledon , Echeveria
Another interesting plant which I like to grow is Cotyledon gibbiflora , var . metallica . It has some curiously shaped flowers which are interesting but not showy . Its pastime lies in its beautiful purple obovate - spatulate leave which are sometimes six in all-inclusive and seven inch long . It also take form a bad rosette . If you wish well to make more plant , break in off a folio at the joint and put it in sand ; in a few week a bud will grow at the basis . I have , however , seen farewell that failed to make a bud . They continue for three or four years to exist simply as rooted leaves .
A dependable many seed leaf are used during the summer for carpet bedding , but perhaps the most common is C. secunda , var . glauca . This plant is about three inches in diam and one or two inches high ; the heyday stem are always maintain snarf out , for the flowers are uninteresting .
Sedums and House Leeks
There are a great many sedum and they are very interesting plants for the plate . The flashy sedum ( S. spectabile ) and the unrecorded - for - ever ( S. telephium ) , are two that are intrepid and can be successfully grown outdoors as well as in the theatre .
The most vernacular sedum is the stonecrop ( S. acre ) . This is an evergreen plant and may be used as a hanging plant because the stems will hang down over the side of the muckle , or it may be used in take windowpane boxes . The leaves are very little ( one - quarter of an inch long ) , but they are crowd tight together on the stem . The foliage is a delightfully bright green and in the diversity aureum the shoot are bright jaundiced in the bound ; in the potpourri elegans the tips and untried leaves are a pale silverish color . The sedums are easy propagated by seed or by the offsets which are freely produced .
The house leeks ( Sempervivum ) are very similar to the sedums . The most common ones are the common house Allium porrum ( S. tectorum ) , and hen - and - chicken ( S. globiferum ) . Like the sedums these are best maturate in box , but the plants must not be allowed to produce too thickly or they will not flower .
The most interesting one and perhaps the best for growing indoors is the spider web house leek ( S. arachnoideum ) . The leaves , which are scant and fat , are borne in rosettes and between the tips of the leaves there are fine , whitened threads , like a wanderer ’s entanglement . The peak are shining red and bear on stalking three to five inches mellow .
Like the sedum the house leek are easily reproduced by the offsets or even by leaf cutting as suggested for the cotyledon .
Treating Cactus and Succulent Insects and Diseases
The insect pests you ’ll most likely see on your cactus and succulents are ruby-red spider , thrips , exfoliation , and mealy microbe . The latter two are easily brushed off with a small brush , but if the stems are frequently treat with open water system , liquid ecstasy soapsuds , or a solvent of fir tree crude oil , these pests will not induce serious problem .
The red spider will never come out if watering is frequent . Fir tree vegetable oil helps to prevent thripid . Try other lifelike pesticides for your succulents and cactus . Read this templet to constituent pesticides for more information .
Be aware that insecticidal soap will damage some coinage of cactus and succulents for good . insect powder designed for roses often work well for cactus as well .
pest can start the way up for fungal diseases so it ’s best to handle them as soon as potential . Many pests will conk out off if you handle the flora with rub alcohol as well .
Ron Smith , a Horticulturist with the NDSU Extension Service hasan fantabulous troubleshooting pathfinder to cactus on his website .
