The South American plant fell in love with Russian flower growers for the variety of plant forms, unpretentiousness and wonderful bright flowering. Cacti can be grown even in very small headspaces.
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile are native masters of desert cacti. Thanks to selection, dwarf cacti appeared, which are grown at home. The mysterious Latin names of cacti are hard to remember - Ripsalidopis, Sylvester's chamecereus, Echinopsis, Peruvian Cereus. The most famous are prickly pear and zygocactus or Decembrist.
If at least one species of this plant has appeared in the house, then you want to start new ones more and more. Succulent species are very popular in indoor plant growing. Certain varieties of cacti such as aloe and kalanchoe have medicinal properties. But in general, this is an ornamental and, moreover, completely unpretentious plant. It does not require much attention to itself. But do not forget that you need to take care, one way or another, of any green space growing in your home.
Everyone knows that cacti bloom very beautifully, some species bloom only for one day or even a night. In very rare cases, this unique phenomenon can be observed. Is that on the pages of magazines. If you have a desire to see this wonderful sight in its natural form, you need to make every effort and love for your prickly friend.
The plant loves light, although the cactus is completely undemanding to the location chosen for it. It does not matter at all where he will stand on a light windowsill or a darkened corner, the main thing is to choose the right place for this type of succlent. The best spots are the east or south side sills for desert cactus species and the west or north side for forest species.
It is important to choose the right container in which the flower will grow. Cactus pots must be plastic with a retractable bottom, where water will be poured.
The height of the pot for growing a cactus should be exactly such that the soil covers the root system by a few centimeters. Before laying the substrate, it is necessary to fill in a drainage layer. The ground should be fluffy and loose. A mixture of river sand, deciduous humus and turf works well. A small layer of expanded clay or gravel is placed at the bottom of the pot.
Proper watering plays a very important role in the life of cacti. This plant is native to the desert, so it does not like a lot of water at all. Water the cacti with water, which has settled for 24 hours. Before watering the flower, you need to make sure that it is really necessary - to touch the earthen coma. Excess moisture can destroy this desert dweller. But too dry soil will not allow the succulent to grow and develop properly. In a warm period of time, watering should be done quite often, but again, monitor the drying of the soil. In winter, these flowers should be watered with extreme caution; cacti enter a dormant period. One or two waterings per month are enough. In the snowy season, thorny flowers are best placed in the coolest room.
In summer, cacti like to bask in the fresh air, so an open balcony will be a joy for them.
A plant transplant is needed only when the pot has become small. This procedure should be carried out during the spring period of active growth. A couple of days before transplanting, the cactus is no longer watered, so that the earth can easily fall off the roots.
A young plant requires an annual transplant. Those who are 3-4 years old are transplanted every 3-5 years.
If you carefully and responsibly approach the care of these peculiar flowers, you can get rare, but delightful with their exoticism, flowers as a reward.
