My idea of the perfect plant.
Unlike the majority of gardeners, I treat my house plants rough; well I guess I treat all my plants rough. I want plants that are tough and are not too needy. My idea of the perfect plant is a plant that you can forget about for months and when you come back to it, it looks like you have been giving it constant loving care! When it’s time to make more plants, I want a plant that if you broke off a piece and throw it on the ground stepped on it, it will spring to life. It also needs to be tough enough to handle all kinds of weather hot, cold, wet, dry whatever comes along and bugs have to HATE it.
That sounds like a tall order but I’ve found a whole group of plants that fit perfectly, cactus.
There are about 8,000 different cacti and they come in every shape and size. The unique forms that some cacti take are quite spectacular. Most often cacti grow so slow that they will look the same for years. This makes it easy to plan a permit display. There are plenty of cacti that grow at reasonable rates and there are some cacti that can grow a foot a year! Yes there some cacti that are very fragile and will not tolerate much abuse!
It’s easy to grow a great looking cactus that makes you look like a great gardener. Most cacti take so little care that I have to write a note on the calendar to remind me when to feed them. The biggest problem with cactus is over watering. I do not water my cactus from December to March and if any die I say oh well, that one’s not for me. After years of this process I have a collection of plants that take care of themselves and make me look like a super gardener!
Here are some of the plants that made it on to my list of tough plants!
The Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus adustus) is my first choice for propagation. It produces many, many pups or offshoots. You can often purchase a mature hedgehog cactus in a 4-6 inch pot that can have more than 40 pups, for less than $20.00.
To make the new plants, simply break off the pups and let the wound heal in direct sunlight for 2-3 days. You can plant them any time after two days in a standard cactus soil mix or you can stand them up all together in an empty pot and over the next 4-6 weeks they will begin to develop roots. You can also delay planting for up to six months. But if you’re not going to plant them within three weeks of harvesting them, they should be kept in a shady location.
This is an excellent plant for the novice. For a teacher, it can make an interesting and inexpensive class project, easily producing 25-50 plants in a small area.
Jacob’s Coat Cactus (Opuntia monacantha ‘Variegata’) is my personal choice for the strange and unique forms that it takes. I have several that are just so bizarre looking. You can see the pink, yellow and green on one branch.
To make new plants cut off a branch, let the wound heal in the sun for a few days and then plant it in the standard cactus soil mix.
For a phenomenal growth rate there is nothing that can beat the Peruvian Fence Post, also known as Peruvian Torch (Trichocereus Peruvianus). It often grows more than a foot a year. My personal best was 18 inches of growth in one season. A fully mature Peruvian Fence Post can be more that twenty feet tall.
A close second is the San Pedro Cactus (Trichocereus Panchanoi) often growing close to a foot a year. The thing that makes this cactus special is that the spines are very small and finger friendly.
Both of these plants are an excellent choice for grafting stock often accelerating the growth of much slower varieties, increasing the growth rate by a factor of ten.
Making new plants is just like all the other plants. Cut off a piece, let the wound heal and plant it.
All the plants I have mentioned here are as tough as nails. They can all take the cold right down to 0° C and most Trichocereus can take -5°C. All of these plants can be made dormant and stored at 5° C with no light and no water for at least three months. When storing plants it is critical to maintain 3 to 5° C.
Care, light: Strong light is essential for growing cactus, it doesn’t have to be direct sun light but 4 hr a day of strong light is the minimum.
Care, feeding & watering: The best growth is going happen with regular feeding & watering during the growing season. Only water your cactus when the top 25% of the flower pot is DRY, if your pot is 4” tall then you have wait for the first inch of your flower pot to dry out before you can water.
Regular feeding with 15/30/15 water soluble fertilizer at haft strength every 2 weeks during the growing season will give you very good results.
If you are someone that has to be doing something in your garden all the time, then these plants are not for you and you should try Orchids or something else. But if you like most of us and are all ways running out of time Cactus is the answer!
Do do do
Indoor Gardener October 2006
Unlike the majority of gardeners, I treat my house plants rough; well I guess I treat all my plants rough. I want plants that are tough and are not too needy. My idea of the perfect plant is a plant that you can forget about for months and when you come back to it, it looks like you have been giving it constant loving care! When it’s time to make more plants, I want a plant that if you broke off a piece and throw it on the ground stepped on it, it will spring to life. It also needs to be tough enough to handle all kinds of weather hot, cold, wet, dry whatever comes along and bugs have to HATE it.
That sounds like a tall order but I’ve found a whole group of plants that fit perfectly, cactus.
There are about 8,000 different cacti and they come in every shape and size. The unique forms that some cacti take are quite spectacular. Most often cacti grow so slow that they will look the same for years. This makes it easy to plan a permit display. There are plenty of cacti that grow at reasonable rates and there are some cacti that can grow a foot a year! Yes there some cacti that are very fragile and will not tolerate much abuse!
It’s easy to grow a great looking cactus that makes you look like a great gardener. Most cacti take so little care that I have to write a note on the calendar to remind me when to feed them. The biggest problem with cactus is over watering. I do not water my cactus from December to March and if any die I say oh well, that one’s not for me. After years of this process I have a collection of plants that take care of themselves and make me look like a super gardener!
Here are some of the plants that made it on to my list of tough plants!
The Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus adustus) is my first choice for propagation. It produces many, many pups or offshoots. You can often purchase a mature hedgehog cactus in a 4-6 inch pot that can have more than 40 pups, for less than $20.00.
To make the new plants, simply break off the pups and let the wound heal in direct sunlight for 2-3 days. You can plant them any time after two days in a standard cactus soil mix or you can stand them up all together in an empty pot and over the next 4-6 weeks they will begin to develop roots. You can also delay planting for up to six months. But if you’re not going to plant them within three weeks of harvesting them, they should be kept in a shady location.
This is an excellent plant for the novice. For a teacher, it can make an interesting and inexpensive class project, easily producing 25-50 plants in a small area.
Jacob’s Coat Cactus (Opuntia monacantha ‘Variegata’) is my personal choice for the strange and unique forms that it takes. I have several that are just so bizarre looking. You can see the pink, yellow and green on one branch.
To make new plants cut off a branch, let the wound heal in the sun for a few days and then plant it in the standard cactus soil mix.
For a phenomenal growth rate there is nothing that can beat the Peruvian Fence Post, also known as Peruvian Torch (Trichocereus Peruvianus). It often grows more than a foot a year. My personal best was 18 inches of growth in one season. A fully mature Peruvian Fence Post can be more that twenty feet tall.
A close second is the San Pedro Cactus (Trichocereus Panchanoi) often growing close to a foot a year. The thing that makes this cactus special is that the spines are very small and finger friendly.
Both of these plants are an excellent choice for grafting stock often accelerating the growth of much slower varieties, increasing the growth rate by a factor of ten.
Making new plants is just like all the other plants. Cut off a piece, let the wound heal and plant it.
All the plants I have mentioned here are as tough as nails. They can all take the cold right down to 0° C and most Trichocereus can take -5°C. All of these plants can be made dormant and stored at 5° C with no light and no water for at least three months. When storing plants it is critical to maintain 3 to 5° C.
Care, light: Strong light is essential for growing cactus, it doesn’t have to be direct sun light but 4 hr a day of strong light is the minimum.
Care, feeding & watering: The best growth is going happen with regular feeding & watering during the growing season. Only water your cactus when the top 25% of the flower pot is DRY, if your pot is 4” tall then you have wait for the first inch of your flower pot to dry out before you can water.
Regular feeding with 15/30/15 water soluble fertilizer at haft strength every 2 weeks during the growing season will give you very good results.
If you are someone that has to be doing something in your garden all the time, then these plants are not for you and you should try Orchids or something else. But if you like most of us and are all ways running out of time Cactus is the answer!
Do do do
Indoor Gardener October 2006