The terrestrial cactus is native to arid areas, extremely drought-tolerant, and mostly has the habit of dormancy. After winter, watering should be absolutely forbidden, and the soil in the basin should be kept dry, so that it can enter a dormant state. If the temperature is not lower than 2℃-5℃, you can safely overwinter. Because palm plants have the strongest cold tolerance during dormancy. If improper watering in winter breaks their dormancy and restores their physiological activity, the cold tolerance of plants will be reduced and they will be prone to freezing and rot. If the room temperature is too low during wintering, the plants can be covered with plastic to keep warm. Even when necessary, the plants can be wrapped in cotton and straw, and the pots can be stored in wooden boxes and cabinets. Even if the temperature is below 0℃, it can safely overwinter. Sometimes, when there are many flowers planted in the family but the space is limited and the conditions are poor, after winter, when the pot soil is dry, the plants can be removed, and the bare roots are wrapped with cotton straw and stored in boxes or cabinets, which not only saves space, but also keeps warm. When the temperature rises to 10℃, remove the wrapping material from the plant, put it in a pot again, place it indoors and in a dry place to gradually adapt to the sunlight, and properly spray water and water it at noon to gradually restore its growth. Although this will have some influence on the growth of plants in the coming year, it is also a good way to survive the winter for families with lack of space and poor insulation facilities.
Epiphytic cacti are native to tropical rain forests with high air humidity, such as epiphyllum, lotus flower, crab claw orchid and so on. They also need higher temperature and air humidity in winter, and there is no dormancy period, so it is more difficult to manage the winter than the terrestrial cactus. We need to create an ideal wintering environment for them. The author assembled a glass box with a thickness of 5 cm next to the south window. A layer of charcoal ash was laid on the bottom of the box, and a 100w light bulb was installed in the box to raise the temperature. The cactus was placed in the box, covered with plastic film, and the pot was buried in the charcoal ash. When the weather is fine, properly lift the film for ventilation. If the weather is bad, cover it with plastic film, and if necessary, cover it with a quilt or straw curtain, and light the bulb to heat it up. Even on a sunny night, the glass box should be covered with a straw curtain or quilt to keep warm. In this way, the temperature in the box is generally maintained at12℃-13℃. Usually, a small amount of water can be used to keep the basin soil in a semi-dry state. At ordinary times, it is necessary to sprinkle water on the glass box wall as appropriate to maintain a large air humidity in the glass box. This can meet the water demand of epiphytic cactus, so that the plant can maintain a low level of growth, which is conducive to the growth and flowering of the next year. Here, if there is no glass box, a double-layer plastic film is used to build an insulation shed for the same management, which can also make epiphytic cacti safely overwinter.
Many people are interested in cultivating cactus because its fleshy flowers are peculiar in shape, easy to cultivate and can purify indoor air. So, how can we raise cactus well? The author believes that there are the following aspects:
Temperature cactus likes high temperature and dry environment, and the room temperature in winter should be kept above 20℃ during the day and not lower than 10℃ at night. Too low temperature is easy to cause root rot, but too high temperature is easy to cause scale insect damage.
Lighting cactus requires plenty of sunshine, but it can't be exposed to strong light in summer, so it needs proper shielding. Indoor cultivation can be illuminated by light to make it grow healthily.
Soil cactus is suitable for the growth of sandy loam with good drainage, and artificial culture soil is often used for indoor cultivation, usually mixed with peat soil and fine sand. It can also be planted by adding fine sand to crushed pine needles and mixing the prepared culture soil.
Watering cactus requires a dry environment, and it is afraid of water accumulation in the basin soil. Usually, it is necessary to keep the basin soil "dry and wet". It is best to water it with dried water.
When fertilizing cactus to change pot soil, a small amount of base fertilizer, such as horseshoe slices, bean cakes or sesame sauce residue, should be applied to the bottom of the pot. During the growth period, the fermented organic fertilizer liquid fertilizer should be watered once every half month (the concentration is 20%), and the fertilizer concentration should not be too high.
Pest control in high temperature and poor ventilation environment, pests and diseases are prone to occur. The disease can be sprayed with carbendazim or thiophanate; Pests can be killed by spraying dimethoate. No matter what kind of liquid medicine is sprayed, it should be done outdoors.
The cactus can be propagated by grafting, generally using the method of flat grafting, and the rootstock can be made of three-edged arrow or strong palm. The specific method is as follows: firstly, the top of the rootstock is cut off, the base of the scion is cross-cut, the two are butted, and then tied with string. After two weeks, remove the string.
The aging of the cactus starts from the bottom. When the aging yellow appears, it is my experience to apply Yunda 120 without water to the sphere several times to make the yellow fade and rejuvenate the cactus. Yunda 120 is a plant growth regulator containing hormones, which is harmless to the ball at high concentration. It has less adverse reaction than other plant growth regulators.
You can buy this medicine in a pesticide store.
Nursing care of cactus
The cactus likes sunshine and is not afraid of dryness. Therefore, it should be watered 1 time every month in spring and summer. In winter, it should be watered 1 time every 2-3 months. Note that it must be watered thoroughly. Pot changing should be carried out in spring, and the cactus that has just been changed should not be watered immediately, but should be watered after 1 week. The cactus should be cultivated in a flat-bottomed earthen pot, and the soil in it should be mixed at the ratio of 1 sand 1 soil 1 bone meal, and the thin fertilizer should be applied twice a year.
Cactus is a perennial succulent plant, which is native to Argentina and southern Brazil. Its stems are spherical, solitary or clustered, and the old plants are cylindrical. Flowers bloom in summer, and flowers are born on the side of the sphere. Most varieties of flowers are trumpet-shaped, white, fragrant and fleshy. The cactus likes the light, but in summer, it should avoid long-term direct sunlight and shade, and should not be placed indoors for a long time. Medium fertile sandy loam with good drainage and ventilation is required. The propagation of cactus is mainly by branch cutting and grafting. In the growing season, the young bulbs are peeled from the mother bulbs and planted separately, and the bulbs can also be grafted on the top of other columnar or rattan cacti to cultivate a new landscape. Potted cactus can be planted with 3 parts of humus soil, 3 parts of garden soil and 3 parts of coarse sand, and then added with plant ash 1 part of mixed culture soil. It is best to put and change pots in early spring. The size of the basin is better to accommodate the sphere with a slight gap. When the basin is put on, the bottom of the basin is padded with a layer of broken tiles or gravel about 3 cm thick to facilitate drainage. The suitable planting depth is that the root neck of the sphere is flat with the soil surface. Don't water the newly planted cactus, just spray water 2 to 3 times a day. After half a month, a small amount of water can be used, and after new roots grow around 1 month, the amount of water can be gradually increased. Attention should be paid to watering the cactus during cultivation to keep the basin soil not too dry. The lower the temperature, the more dry the soil should be. With the increase of temperature, the dormancy of plants is gradually released, and the watering amount should be gradually increased. However, in the hot summer, water should be properly controlled, and potted flowers should be placed in the shade. After the dog days, the weather turns cold, and then normal watering can be resumed. Apply thin liquid fertilizer or compound flower fertilizer every half a month in the growing season, and stop applying fertilizer in winter and hot summer. Besides shading in summer, we should also pay attention to good ventilation. Insufficient light, excessive shading or too much fertilizer and water in cultivation can lead to no flowering. In northern China, potted plants can be maintained outdoors in the sunny place after warm weather in spring, and moved indoors in the sunny place before winter, and the room temperature can be kept above 5℃ to safely overwinter.
The cultivation and management of cactus is simple, mainly to master watering. Change pots in early spring every year. When changing pots, cut off some old roots and air them for 4-5 days before planting. The planting should not be too deep, and the root neck of the sphere should be flat with the soil surface. Don't water the newly planted cactus immediately, just spray water and fog 2-3 times a day. After half a month, a small amount of water can be used, and after 1 month, when new roots have emerged, the amount of water can be gradually increased. In winter, it is advisable to moderate watering and keep the basin soil dry. In a room with good heating conditions, it can be watered normally on a sunny morning. From Zhixia in spring, with the increase of temperature, the watering frequency and amount can be gradually increased. It needs a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, but in the high-temperature rainy season, it should be properly watered and placed in a well-ventilated shade. After the dog days, the weather turned cool and normal watering was resumed. In the growing season, apply 10 day or half a month to fertilize the decomposed thin cake, and it is not necessary to apply fertilizer in winter.
After autumn, the temperature drops continuously, especially at night, when there is a cold current, early frost sometimes appears at night. At this time, the physiological activity of cactus tends to be slow, and the water consumption of the sphere is also significantly reduced, so watering must be controlled. If it is sunny and warm weather, it is usually watered twice a week. As the temperature turns cold in autumn, it is watered once a week or once every two weeks. The water evaporates slowly in rainy days, so it is forbidden to water, otherwise the soil will be too wet and the roots will rot easily. After autumn, cactus can't be fertilized more. Generally, it is advisable to apply fertilizer once a month. When it comes to the cold dew festival, it is necessary to stop fertilization. If fertilization is applied at this time, cactus will continue to grow, and the growth part of the ball will be tender and reduce its cold resistance. In late autumn, the temperature difference between day and night is wide, and the tender cactus ball will easily cause freezing damage.
In early winter, when the weather turns cold, the cactus will be moved to a place where the sun is common indoors. If the temperature is lower than 5℃, the smaller sphere can be covered with a can bottle, and the big one can not be bottled, so the whole basin can be covered with a plastic bag. If there are many cactus balls, nail a wooden box (cardboard box is also acceptable) according to the number of the balls, and then cover them with plastic film. Pay attention to the airtight sealing of the box. It is best to install a 40-watt light bulb in the box. When the weather forecast temperature reaches zero, turn on the light at night to keep warm, and then use old cloth to make a cotton cover to cover the outer layer of the ball box, so as to make the triangle safe and warm for the winter. Sunny, warm and windless weather can often be put forward to bask in the sun, thus forming a warm microclimate in the hood, and the temperature in the hood can generally be kept above 5℃. In cold weather, don't open the plastic film to watch the ball, because the ball and triangle are suddenly attacked by cold wind, and the ball will shrink and the triangle will freeze.
After the bitter winter, the cactus should pay attention to leaving the room in spring. It's warm in spring and cold in spring, and the climate is changeable. Don't rush out of the room too early, and don't water it in early spring, otherwise the hard maintenance in winter will be destroyed. You must go to Grain Rain before and after, when the temperature is stable, before you can move outdoors for normal maintenance management.