Cactus lovers believe that these are the best plants in home gardening. It is difficult to disagree with this statement. The plant attracts with its original appearance, unpretentiousness in care, and even if at home the cactus bloomed - there is no limit to the joy and pride of the owners.
Today we will talk about the most common and popular succulents - echinopsis. They are easy to care for, but when growing it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of these plants.
Cactus echinopsis: plant description
The name of the plant translates as "like a hedgehog." The genus Echinopsis belongs to the Cactus family and includes over 120 species. Various species were brought into our country from Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia. At a young age, echinopsis cactus is spherical in shape. Then it stretches and turns into a rounded column. The stem is ribbed, symmetrical. The surface is glossy, smooth. Color can be light and dark green. Its intensity depends on the variety.
Cactus roots are developed, superficial, growing horizontally. Areoles covered with solid spines are located symmetrically at the same distance. This usual outwardly succulent amazes with amazing colors - huge, funnel-shaped, located on a long peduncle, of a wide variety of shades.
Echinopsis flower is a densely pubescent long tube with seven rows of petals. Some species have flowers that emit a delicate, pleasant aroma at night or in the early morning. When does a cactus bloom? This process takes place at different times - from spring to autumn.
Popular views
As we have already said, today more than 128 species of this genus are known. Not all of them are suitable for indoor floriculture.
The most popular types of echinopsis include:
Blooms with beautiful yellow flowers. In adult specimens, spines acquire a golden hue. In height, this variety grows to 15 cm. The flower tube is shortened (10 cm).
A miniature species, not more than 25 cm high, about 10 cm in diameter. Snow-white flowers bloom and exude a delicate aroma at night. The variety was named after the French botanist.
The plant is medium in size, slightly flattened. Flowers have a rare shade that fully matches the name.
Flower no more than 10 cm in diameter. The thorns are dense, sticking out to the sides. Flowers are deep red in color, large.
The plant often blooms at home. The flowers are fragrant, white, blooming at night. With age, the spines from the flower fall off and the body of the echinopsis cactus becomes completely smooth.
It is interesting that the height of widespread varieties, as a rule, does not exceed 30 cm. Only some species grow up to 70 cm. Under natural conditions, specimens that reach a height of almost two meters are found.
Growing Features
Like most succulents, this plant is unpretentious. However, improper care leads to a lack of flowering, and it is blooming echinopsis that is the main achievement of each grower. Therefore, we recommend that you pay attention to the advice of experienced gardeners.
Lighting
Cactus echinopsis is a photophilous plant. Lighting throughout the year should be bright. At the same time, it is not desirable that the flower itself be exposed to direct sunlight for a long time. In the summer, the cactus will be comfortable in the garden or on the balcony. During the period of growing green mass, do not change the position of the plant, do not transfer it from one place to another.
Temperature
Quite often, beginning flower growers are interested in: “Why does a cactus not bloom?” One of the reasons for this “behavior” of the plant may be the wrong temperature regime. It is undesirable that in summer the air temperature drops below +20 ° C. From mid-autumn to February, the cactus enters a dormant period and the temperature is lowered to +9 ° C, while lighting should not be reduced. Remember, lowering the temperature during the rest period, do not allow drafts — the plant does not tolerate them.
Watering
Echinopsis requires rare watering during the growing season (from spring to mid-autumn). Home care involves watering at this time only when the soil in the pot is half dry. Water the plant with warm, settled water. When the temperature drops in the fall, watering is stopped. Spraying to increase air humidity is not required for this culture, but sometimes the shoot is washed away from dust.
The soil
Growing an echinopsis cactus requires a loose, breathable soil with a neutral reaction. The substrate can be prepared independently by mixing 1 part of leaf soil with 2 parts of turf, 1 part of large river sand and 0.5 parts of gravel (small).
In addition, it is desirable to add charcoal to the soil mixture to prevent root decay. You can use ready-made store compositions for cacti.
Top dressing
When the cactus blooms and during its intensive growth it is recommended to make special nutritional preparations for succulents. In winter, feeding is not carried out.
Flowering echinopsis
Like most cacti, this plant is not pruned. Only children are removed from it from time to time, so that all the forces of the plant are directed to flowering. Echinopsis blooms, starting in late spring with large funnel flowers. The flower is placed on a tube covered with black down. The number of flowers depends on the age of the plant and growing conditions. Adult specimens can produce more than 20 colors. Flowering lasts no more than two to three days.
In the homes of Russian flower growers, most often hybrid forms grow, obtained by crossing different species.
How to transplant a cactus into another pot?
These cacti should be replanted often:
- young plants - every year;
- adult specimens - not more than once every two years.
Most cactus roots are so strong that when transplanting you can not worry about their safety. The main problem with the transplant is to carefully remove the plant from the old container.
If it is not possible to solve the problem by pushing an earthen coma with a wand or tweezers through a drainage hole or simply tapping a pot, it is better to break the vessel.
You can well wet the earthen lump - in this case, the plant can be extracted more easily. Spiky large specimens must be kept at the site where the stem goes to the roots with a gloved hand or large forceps. The old substrate should be shaken off or completely washed off with water.
Do not worry if at the same time individual roots come off - there is nothing to worry about. Experienced flower growers believe that it is better to remove part of the roots (damaged, old) with a pre-sanitized tool.
It is recommended to combine the transplant with washing the entire plant under a stream of running hot water.
Root drying
Even people who know how to transplant a cactus into another pot do not always pay due attention to the state of the roots. If they were washed, the plant should be dried for 1-2 days, laid on paper, with straightened roots, or placed on an empty container so that the roots drooped freely.
The plant should be at room temperature, not in the sun. The drainage hole in the pot should be covered with a shard, a flat pebble, then pour a small layer of the soil mixture. Holding the base of the stem, the plant is placed in the center of the pot, slightly below the estimated planting height. Spread the roots well so that they are freely mixed in the container. Gently fill the prepared substrate, tapping periodically on the walls so that the soil lies more firmly.
After filling the pot, pull the plant up a little. Due to this, the roots in a loose substrate will occupy a better position. The soil mixture or gravel pot is sprinkled to the brim. Gravel in this case creates a layer of upper drainage, which will protect the soil surface from quick drying, fouling by saprophytic plants, erosion during irrigation, and the formation of a crust.
When planting echinopsis, make sure that the green part of the stem does not appear in the ground, but do not allow too high a landing when the narrowed, basal part of the stem is above the ground. A plant planted in this way looks unattractive and also unstable.
For elongated echinopsis, at first, until the roots take root, support will be required - pegs stuck in the ground. The first days after transplantation, the plant should not be watered and placed in the open sun.
Breeding
Sooner or later, every grower growing echinopsis is confronted with the issue of reproduction. Home care involves two methods: vegetative and seed.
Vegetative propagation
If you want to propagate your plant, you can use the cuttings, the separation of the lateral children and root layers. With a sharp disinfected tool, the stems are cut into small pieces, in the lower part the skin of the plant is cut off with scissors.
Sections must be treated with a disinfectant. For this, crushed charcoal, for example, is suitable. Cuttings are placed in a dry room at room temperature for two days. When the wounds dry, the cuttings are placed in an empty container vertically (bottom to bottom) and left in a bright room, but protected from direct sunlight. So they persist for several months and form dense roots.
Two weeks after drying, they are rooted. The cuttings are set in a moist substrate, for example, in a mixture of peat with sand, although you can use an earth mixture for succulents. If rooting is carried out with too dry air, which is typical for urban apartments, the cuttings should be covered with a jar or plastic bag, but not too tight so that they “breathe”. Echinopsis takes root very amicably and quickly.
Seed propagation
According to gardeners, rooting children is a very effective, but not the best method of propagating cacti of this species. This is due to the fact that with long-term vegetative propagation of species long grown in room culture, their decorative qualities weaken: in the first place, this relates to the flowering tendency, which is weakening.
To obtain a healthy and beautiful offspring, it is more advisable to grow it from seeds. In echinopsis, they are quite large and easily germinating. Seeds are soaked for several hours in a disinfectant solution (potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide). Then lay them neatly on the surface of the substrate, which can be used as a mixture of peat and sand, or ready-made shop soil.
For germination, seeds need moderate heat and fairly high humidity. To do this, moisten the sowing container, place it in a pan filled with water, or spray it from a spray bottle. The air temperature in the room should not be lower than +25 ° .
The first shoots appear in a week. They resemble small green juicy balls. When the first thin spikes-hairs appear on them, seedlings with a lump of earth are transferred using tweezers to new dishes. This procedure is called picking. Experts believe that frequent transplants for young plants in the first two years accelerate their growth.
Growing problems
"Why is the cactus not blooming?" - Most often they ask beginner growers. This is one of the common problems when growing echinopsis. For flowering, this cactus requires strict observance of the temperature regime (warm in summer and lowering temperature in winter). In addition, lack of lighting, excess moisture and rotting of the roots can provoke a lack of flowering.
The basic rules to achieve regular flowering can be formulated as follows:
- Provide bright lighting throughout the year. Otherwise, the plant will not only not bloom, but may also change color and deform.
- Observe the temperature regime so that during the dormant period the plant can gain strength and prepare for flowering.
As you can see, cactus echinopsis is not too picky about care. Observing the simple rules, you can grow a healthy and strong plant that will delight you with regular flowering for a long time.