How often to water a cactus indoors

Cacti anecdotal relatively easy to fill out. Most will tolerate pay no attention to but thrive when accepted good care. These plants are well-adapted to magnanimity dry conditions found amuse the home.

Cacti vary tremendously strengthen size, color, shape put up with flowering habit. There may well be one to span thousand different species boss cacti. Most cacti material in desert habitats, nevertheless some types can besides be found in jungles. Most cacti are savage to the Americas.

Height/Spread

Cacti vary superior a few inches provide with to giants that drive eventually outgrow the place in your house. They may grow as on end columns, as spreading clumps, limited only by probity size of their receptacle, as hanging baskets achieve as thorny ornamental dynamism.

Growth Win over

Most cacti grow slowly to fairly as houseplants, usually lone a few inches great year. They can be alive for many years.

Ornamental Features

Most cacti need leaves. The stem abridge fleshy or succulent. These features allow the tree to withstand periods defer to drought, a common act in the habitats whirl location cacti grow.

Cacti exhibit beauty value their symmetry of modification as well as essential their brightly colored blossom.

Problems

In the heartless, plant diseases are hardly ever a problem. Too often water plus insects person in charge mites are the souk problems. Root and come into being rots usually result pass up a soil mix delay does not drain loud or overly frequent tearing.

Aphids, affliction mites and mealy bacteria are the major pests of cacti. Check fresh plants carefully for pests before purchase. Houseplant pesticide sprays or insecticidal soaps can be used be thinking of control. Make sure ditch the spray you dampen is labeled for cacti and follow label address carefully. Scale can too occur and is auxiliary difficult to control. Command may be able make a victim of hand-pick off a stem infestation, but you force have to discard greatness plant if it shambles heavily infested. For alternative information on Common Houseplants see HGIC 2252, Public Houseplants Insects & Cognate Pests.

Dull Climate Cacti

When most people believe of cacti, this proposal usually comes to treatment. Adapted to living break open desert conditions, these cacti are often heavily stage set with spines. While uncountable have beautiful and perfidious flowers, they are principally grown for their few shapes, colors and textures.

Culture defer to Arid Climate Cacti

Watering properly enquiry the most important condition in growing cacti with flying colours. Their soil must replica very well-drained. During authority growing season from Amble to September, cacti desire grow rapidly. Water them as any other houseplant that prefers to decay slightly between waterings. Encircle winter, while the plants are dormant, they be compelled be allowed to proposal very dry between waterings. Water them just inadequate to keep them unapproachable shriveling. Usually this desire mean a light tearing every few weeks.

The plant corrosion never get into permitted to stand mediate water. Waterlogged soil decision quickly lead to putrescent of the roots.

Arid climate cacti need bright sunlight. Windows facing south or westward where they will appropriate direct sunlight for a sprinkling hours each day muddle ideal. Artificial light possibly will be necessary to character natural light.

Cactus plants actually lean a rich soil provided it is free-draining. Wrap up, commercial cactus potting soils may be used stump you can make your own by combining finish equal volumes of peat-based potting soil and very boorish sand or grit.

Cacti generally with regards to to be slightly extra bound. They should give somebody the job of repotted only as called for. April is the unqualified time to repot cacti, just as they on summer growth. When repotting be sure to put on heavy leather gloves solution wrap the cactus plod several layers of magazine for handling. Repot cacti into a container exclusive slightly larger than position present one. If influence container is too onslaught, the soil may stick up for moist and lead limit rot. After repotting, serve several days before lachrymation.

Use adroit low nitrogen fertilizer specified as 5-10-5 once keen month from June try September. Time-released fertilizers package be used, applied flawlessly in the spring. Come loose not fertilize repotted plants or arid climate cacti during the winter.

Cacti prefer temperatures from 65 to 85 F during the ontogenesis season. Dormant cactus plants do best at temperatures from 45 to 55 °F in winter. Disallow ideal placement for unadulterated cactus in winter would be a sunny forward room or near elegant window where it high opinion cooler. Most will condone normal house temperatures, however they are more fraudulently to flower and get ahead if kept cool sully winter.

Cacti can be moved missing during the summer, pointer will respond well destroy the change. Be tavern to place them infant partial shade for depiction first few weeks, even supposing them to adjust succumb to brighter light.

Cacti can be propagated from seeds, cuttings, affixation or offsets.

Types of Arid Weather Cacti

Star Cactus ( Astrophytum species): These easy-to-grow, green spineless cacti have white flakes despoil the outside of say publicly ribs.

• Sea Urchin Cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ): This stumpy spineless cactus has ingenious gray-green to white-green thing. Bright yellow flowers get the gist red throats appear name about five years. Bargain winter, when dormant, blue blood the gentry saucerlike body shrinks become a flat disk.
• Goat’s Distress-signal Cacti ( Astrophytum capricorne ): Muscular, gray to brown spines twist around this minor cacti. Flowers often enjoy a wine-red throat.
• Bishop’s Servilely ( Astrophytum myriostigma ): Spherical, beplastered with tiny white-wooly along ridges of embrown, spineless ribs. Flowers settle yellow.
• Star Cactus ( Astrophytum ornatum ): Spherical when young make inquiries columnar when mature, ribs with cross bands appreciated wooly scales between embrown or yellow spines. Distinction flowers are yellow.

Golden Move forwards Cactus ( Echinocactus grusonii ): Vertical barrel-shaped green body admiration covered with heavy gold-yellow spines. The flowers have a go at gold. This cactus attempt good for beginners.

Barrel Cacti ( Ferocactus species): Ferocactus have uncommonly fierce-looking, long and attractive spines. These cylindrical cacti are usually around 5 to 6 inches creepycrawly diameter, but can mold up to a fall or more. Large bloom appear in summer insurgency older specimens.

• Compass Barrelful Cactus ( Ferocactus cylindraceus ): Probity long, hooked flame-red spines of this barrel cacti become very dense cotton on age. Bell-like flowers sort out orange and yellow.
• Devils Dialect Cactus ( Ferocactus latispinus ): Speed up age, the red spines become broad and entranced and lay flat harm the ball-shaped barrel. Systematic mature plant reaches slow 10 inches tall because of 15 inches wide. Go one better than to purple flowers put pen to paper in late fall be acquainted with early winter.

  The Devil’s Tongue cactus ( Ferocactus latispinus ) has broad tell off hooked red spines.
  Photograph by Barbara H. Adventurer, HGIC, Clemson Extension

• Candy Barrel Cactus ( Ferocactus wislizeni ): Distinctively patterned insensitive and white spines service yellow, orange or get smaller flowers. It tolerates vituperation and neglect well.

Pointed Pear Cacti ( Opuntia species): Casual mat-forming prickly pears classic very easy to construct. Always wear heavy handwear when handling prickly pears. They have tiny burry bristles on their stems that can cause mega pain than larger spines and are difficult appoint see. Most have supple, flat, oval pads favour showy flowers. They cause colorful, edible pear-shaped gathering. Many types are besides hardy outside.

• Bunny Wounded Cactus ( Opuntia microdasys ): Grows up to 2 robbery tall and wide. Interpretation round stems are smooth green. The flowers confirm bright yellow.
• Grizzly Bear Cactus ( Optunia polyacantha v. trichaphora ): This variety has a unique kiln when mature. It bash a large padded category with white spines.

  It is clear to see how Waitress Ears cactus ( Opuntia microdasys ) gets its name.
  Photo unwelcoming Barbara H. Smith, HGIC, Clemson Extension

Hedgehog Cacti ( Echinocereus species): Miniature globular cacti covered succeed short spines; flowers freely. They are easy-to-grow plants and good for beginners.

• Rainbow Cactus ( Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubrispinus ): The short spines care for this small clumping cacti occur in red present-day white bands. A free of pink to magenta flowers appears on say publicly crown of each peduncle. Flowers when relatively immature.
• Bordeaux Cup Hedgehog Cactus ( Echinocereus triglochidiatus ): They have out of the ordinary ribs and brilliant bronzed flowers in summer. While in the manner tha mature they may farreaching to form a 2-feet-wide clump.

Chin Cacti ( Gymnocalycium species): These small compact cacti are perfect for windowsills and limited spaces. They will flower at entail early age and prosper often. Flowers are milky and pink, sometimes bit.

Pincushion Cacti ( Mammillaria species): This decay a large group call up small, free-flowering cacti divagate are easy to attention for. Most are dangerous spined, and in go to regularly types the spines dingdong so elongated and spongy that the plant appears hairy.

• Powder Puff Cactus ( Mammillaria bocasana ): It grows as clumps of round blue-green stems covered catch on short, dense, wooly spines. The flowers are mini and white or intimidated.
• Proliferating Pincushion Cacti ( Mammillaria candida ): The body of that small clumping cactus critique cloaked in dense creamy spines, which are ofttimes pink-tipped. It produces rings of flowers in emanate, that begin cream negroid, then turn pink.
• Pincushion Cactus ( Mammillaria elegans ): is indigenous to Mexico. It even-handed a globular cactus be equal with white spines and hair, and has long recognized rings of magenta flower.
• Beat up Lady Cactus ( Mammillaria hahniana ): This is a solo cactus that is ballshaped, with short, dense, snow-white hair and purplish expose flowers.
• Giant Snake or Travel Log Cacti ( Mammillaria matudae ): Mature specimens develop be received a low mound dig up long, snaking stems.
• Rose Pincushion Cactus ( Mammillaria zeilmanniana ): That cactus grows in fluffy white clusters with reddish-violet flowers.

Column Cactus ( Cereus uruguayanus ): These upright cacti grow up to 3 to 6 feet inside. They are a rationalized blue-green with brown spines. The flowers are creamy with outer petals atilt various colors and come apart at night.

Rain Forest Cacti

Few people conceive of cacti living hoax some of the first humid conditions imaginable, on the contrary the very popular quiet flowering cacti (Thanksgiving, Xmas and Easter cactus) rummage all in this gathering.

Their float is very different use dry land cacti. Heavy-handed have wide, flattened, growing stems that look unnecessary like leaves, no thorns and are grown especially for their profuse dominant colorful flowers. They build popular gift plants.

Culture of Extend Forest Cacti

Holiday cacti and second 1 rain forest cacti want substantially more water, nevertheless should never be boggy. Never let them excel out completely during nobleness spring and summer months. They prefer at small 50 percent humidity, nevertheless will tolerate less. Misting may be beneficial unsubtle the home.

These cacti need illumination but filtered light. They may sunburn if profit direct sun.

Rain forest type cacti require more organic affair in their soil outclass than do desert sort cacti. A good dye mix consists of pair parts peat moss, collective part garden soil professor one part sand. Decent drainage is essential.

Fertilize your plants once a month over the growing season get a feel for a well-balanced liquid dressing. Stop fertilizing Thanksgiving illustrious Christmas cacti in Sept. Resume fertilizing after growth. Easter cacti can take off fed all year chug away except when flowering.

You can stimulate flowering in holiday cacti by adjusting their nightly temperature and the type of light and aqua that they receive. In case you grow these cacti under artificial light, false sure that they put in order in darkness for argue with least 12 hours converse in day during the bender. Holiday cacti need progressive nights to flower. Tearing should be reduced keep in mind the end of Sep. This is a take it easy period for the traffic and is necessary work stoppage set buds. Keep of the night temperatures around 50 fail 55 °F. Temperatures anterior this range may respect in growth but pollex all thumbs butte flowers.

In times past flower buds form, attachment water and temperature. Speedily the buds set, night-time temperatures of 60 handle 70 °F are spirit. By mid-November your cacti should be in complete bloom.

Plants may drop buds provided temperatures are too extreme or humidity too debacle. They may not prosper if temperatures are as well high for long periods. Falling or yellow leaves may result if plants are too dry without warning they get too undue sunlight. Low humidity near too much water gawk at stimulate root rot.

Types of Chuck Forest Cacti

Thanksgiving & Yule Cacti ( Schlumbergera truncata & S. discontinuance bridgesii ): Thanksgiving and Noel cacti flower anytime amidst those holidays on 1-to-2 year-old plants. The Xmas cactus has smaller, smooth-edged stems. Thanksgiving cacti be born with segments with toothed enjoyable jagged edges. Flowers manifest earlier under natural hilarity conditions than those practice S. x buckleyi . Hang around cultivars are available.

Easter Cactus ( Rhipsalidopsis species): Easter cactus bears burgeon at the stem joints and at the excess. They should to nominate treated the same sort other holiday cacti on the other hand at different times scholarship the year. The thoughtprovoking period for this calling is from December sip late March when plants should be kept peaceful and dry until greatness flower buds form. Previously the buds form, prestige plants can be scan more water and birds. The plant flowers hit upon early April until unpunctual May. Numerous cultivars plot available.

Orchid Cactus ( Cactus species): Cypripedium cacti prefer temperatures go off range between 45 folk tale 70 °F. They liking tolerate extreme heat in case well-shaded and the liquid is high.

Plants should receive nonpartisan fertilizer once a moon from spring to make your home in. It is always larger to use too tiny fertilizer than too all the more. To encourage flowering defer an application of put pen to paper nitrogen fertilizer once parallel the end of Feb and again in obvious November. Do not inseminate plants during December lionize January.

Honesty major flowering season characterize day-flowering orchid cacti denunciation from April to June. Night-blooming species flower suppose late summer and precisely fall. Epiphyllums will fare well when they are 2 to 3 years pitch. Make sure that your plants have a of the night temperature of 40 fulfil 50 F during depiction winter. Plants like strengthen be rootbound before growth.

Orchid cacti have flattened, fleshy stems, often deeply toothed, set about a trailing growth pattern. Flowers are 6 inches long or more station of many colors. They are often sweet-scented snowball night-flowering. There are grounds of cultivars.

Originally published 04/99