The second wave of COVID-19 has dashed the hopes of many, but don't despair! We've been through this crisis before, and many lifestyles have changed, entering a New Normal . It's time to be strict with ourselves again. For those staying home or working from home, Clean Tex invites you to plant some trees! One easy-to-care-for plant is the cactus.
It is believed that planting cacti on a Saturday, facing west, brings good fortune, blessings, and good health.
People who like cacti tend to be sensitive, have an artistic temperament, appreciate simplicity, are kind-hearted, fun-loving, and cheerful, but often don't show it.
This thorny plant is native to the deserts, mostly in South America, before spreading to Africa. It's a popular ornamental plant for indoor or outdoor cultivation, highly drought-tolerant, and can be grown in any soil and placed anywhere. Cacti store a large amount of water in their stems, using it during long dry periods. They also transform their leaves into thorns to reduce water loss through transpiration, although they still transpire. There are over 127 genera of cacti, but some of the most popular include...
There are over 400 species of Mammillaria that are easy to grow, fast-growing, and bloom regularly. A distinctive feature of these cactus species is the fuzzy covering around the plant, along with small, beautiful, sweet-colored flowers that bloom in a circle at the top. Popular varieties include Mammillaria plumosa, Mammillaria yellow, Mammillaria woolly, and Mammillaria owl.
light
Sunlight is essential for growing cacti. If you're growing them indoors, you'll need to move them to a location that gets sunlight occasionally.
earth
Well-draining and aerated soil is essential for the optimal growth of cacti.
Watering
The biggest danger to cacti is overwatering, as this can cause root rot and death. Watering should be done every 3 days during the summer.
And once every 7 days in winter.
Fertilization
Avoid using fertilizers high in nitrogen, as this promotes lush foliage without producing flowers. Stimulate flowering using fertilizers high in potassium; liquid fertilizers are best.
Keeping your cactus looking pristine.
Use an old toothbrush or shaving brush to remove dust and grime that has accumulated on your potted cactus. In the summer, moisture evaporates quickly, so a light mist of water is recommended to ensure a truly clean finish.
Why don't cacti bloom?
Many people buy cacti that never bloom. First, check if you're overwatering. Another reason is that some cactus varieties only bloom in specific climates, or sometimes it might be due to insufficient sunlight. Therefore, ask the store clearly about the climate requirements for your chosen variety. Additionally, the lack of blooming might be because the plant is too young and hasn't reached maturity. Some plant shops force blooming by using concentrated fertilizers, resulting in premature flowering. So, even if your cactus has beautiful blooms when you first buy it, after a while at home, it will become exhausted and stop blooming.
Repotting
Withhold watering the cactus for several days before repotting. Then, place newspaper on the bottom of the pot, hold the pot, and gently push the cactus out through the drainage holes using a pencil or chopsticks. The root ball should remain intact.
Protect against thorns.
When handling a cactus, to prevent thorns from pricking your hand and breaking, wrap a thick layer of folded newspaper around the plant and pull it off.
Furthermore, you can make gardening with thorny plants like cacti fun and artistic by decorating with stylish designer rugs. This creates a relaxing corner in your home, allowing you to enjoy yourself even if you're not traveling during the holidays. The " Cactus " collection of designer rugs from PRAW not only beautifies your small garden and creates a relaxing space, but also serves as a soil catcher, preventing floor dirt and making it easy to clean and wash.
The Charm of Cacti
The blow from the second wave of pandemic has hit hard, ruining many hopes and dreams, but don't let it brings you down. We'd been through it once, we can do it again! Our lifestyle has changed , the old norms have been replaced by the “ new normal ”. During this period of time, let's put a great deal of awareness and care towards our health. For those who are staying at home or working from home, we (as an admin) would like to suggest gardening and one of the easiest plants to care for is cactus.
There's a belief that planting a cactus on a Saturday and on the west side of your premises brings you luck, prosperity and strength. Cactus lovers are considered sentimental, artistic. They also favor simplicity, have a kind heart and they are joyful but those characters often stay hidden.
These spiny plants are natively and originally from deserts, mostly in South America before spreading to Africa. These perennial plants are popular as indoor and outdoor decoration, because they can tolerate drought and can be planted in any types of soil, as well as, they can be placed in any places. Cacti have ability to store up an enormous amount of water in their trunk and use it over a long dry period. All their leaves turn into thorns (often called spikes or glochids, depends on their size) to minimize dehydration. There are over 127 species of cactus. Here are the popular ones;
- Mammillaria
There are more than 400 types of mammillaria. The specie is easy to maintain, quickly grows and blooms regularly. One of the mammillaria's unique characteristics is the hair like or wooly spines which are soft and fluffy covering the body, accompanied by small and sweet-colored flowers springing in a circle at the top. The commonly-known types are Mammillaria Pumosa (white feather cactus), Mammillaria Schiedeana (yellow feather cactus), Mammillaria bocasana (Powder Puff cactus) and Mammillaria perbella (Owl eye cactus).
- Gymnocalycium mihanovichii (commonly called Chin cactus)
Little charming and bright cacti which a lot of people find attractive. They have colorful body with large flowers. They are easy to bloom and the bloom lasts for several days. However, this specie requires a regular maintenance. It might take some time for the plants to bloom, depends on the right amount of water and somewhat, patience.
- Astrophytum
These species are unique because of the shape of their trunk which is similar to a star shape. Furthermore, they can easily be distinguished from others by the white dots visible all around their trunk. Nowadays, we can divide the species by the characteristics of the trunk and thorns into 6-7 types, for example, Astrophytum asterias or Sand Dollar cactus and Mario cactus.
Astrophytum Miracle, also known as Astro Miracle, is easy to care for. It grows rapidly and often flowers and it's also easy to be mixed between breeds. The nature of this species is "without thorns" and white dots around the trunk. It starts flowering once it reaches about a year old. The peak point of flowering is during Summer and randomly occurs in other seasons.
- Echinopsis
It's a bush-like cactus with white flowers which only bloom from midnight to around 08.00 AM. Even though this species has thorns but its thorns aren't as sharp as others.
- Haworthia
These succulent plants have different shapes which make them outstanding. Mesmerizing and eye-catching with the different patterns appearing on the leaves, accompanied by their unique charm from the way their leaves are transparent. The examples of this species are Haworthia truncata (aka “Horse's teeth”), Haworthiopsis attenuate or Zebra Haworthia, Haworthia pumila donut, Haworthia cymbiformis and Haworthia cooperi.
Cactus care
Light
Sunlight is an essential factor for planting a cactus. If you plant a cactus in your house, place it in the area where there's a light, periodically.
Soil
The soil which drains and ventilates well is the best choice for cactus. It helps cactus to grow.
Watering
The most critical part of cactus care is overwatering which can cause rotten roots. The recommended frequency is to water a cactus once every 3 days during Summer and once every 7 days during Winter.
Fertilizing
Do not use fertilizers that are high in nitrogen because they nourish the leaves without flowering. For flowering benefit use ones which are high in potassium, especially the liquid-like fertilizers.
Polishing cactus
Brush your cactus with a used toothbrush or shaving brush to get rid of dust which might stuck on the plant and becomes a stain. During summer time when humidity vaporizes very quickly, mist the plant with a water spray for keeping your cactus nicely clean and polished.
Why doesn't my cactus bloom?
Many people bought a cactus and it hasn't ever bloomed, not even once. Firstly, check if you've been watering it way too much or not. Then, another reason is that some types of cactus only bloom in a specific type of climate. Even sunlight insufficiency also causes non-flowering cactus. Therefore, make sure to check with the florist's whether the cactus you're buying is suitable for your climate. Furthermore, another reason why your cactus doesn't bloom is because it's a young plant; not yet in a mature state to produce flowers. However, at some florists' they fast-forward the flowering state by using a lot of fertilizer which causes the plant to bloom but it's still a premature. Even though the plant is blooming when you buy it, but when you place it in your house it becomes weak and stops blooming.
Changing pot
Avoid watering the cactus for several days before changing its pot. To easily remove a cactus from a pot, firmly hold the pot and use a pencil or a chopstick to slowly push the soil and the plant from the hole on the bottom of the pot. You can place a newspaper on the floor for keeping your floor clean and easy to tidy it later. Once you push it through the hole, the plant should come off smoothly and wholly. This way helps preventing any damages on cactus's root.
Preventing being poked by those thorns
With a help of some newspaper pages (folded several times to create few layers) acting as a glove can prevent your hand being poked by those sharp thorns. Simply wrap around your cactus with this newspaper glove while handling it.
Besides, you can make your gardening with cacti more pleasant and more artful by arranging an area in your house as your relaxing corner, decorating it with a chic designed mat . Even though we can't travel during this time but a nice and beautiful view of your house makes this time more enjoyable. The cactus designed collection from PRAW is not only for decoration purpose but also for keeping your floor nice and clean, lack of dust and dirt and PRAW mats are also washable, easy to clean.
Source:
How to Grow Cactus: 9 Things You Should Know for Beginners - Baanlaesuan.com
Cactus: Benefits and Cultivation | puechkaset.com
Basic knowledge about cacti - Cactus lovers (google.com)
Five cactus species that women are head over heels for (thairath.co.th)
How to Care for Cacti for Beginners: A Enjoyable Hobby While Staying Home (pd.co.th)
