Flora over the years of evolution has managed to adapt to life around the world. Cacti are plants that can survive in extreme heat and low humidity. At the same time, they surprise with a variety of species.
According to the biological classification, all cacti belong to the Cactus family, order Cloves. These are perennial flowering representatives of the flora that can survive in the hottest and driest regions.
Cactus variety
So, cacti grow even in the Atacama Desert, where the highest temperature on Earth is recorded.
Cacti are succulents, that is, plants that can store moisture. Most often they have no leaves, but the stem is very developed. It is he who carries out photosynthesis and retains water.
Interesting. Some species of cacti are edible, some are poisonous.
Types of Domestic Cacti
Some of these harsh plants can be grown at home. Florists are very fond of them, since succulents are quite unpretentious. The most famous types are described below.
Peyote
The parade of succulents opens with a very interesting representative, the science known as Lophophora Williamsi. His homeland is northern Mexico, Arizona. It is also known as the Peyote cactus, or Peyote. In appearance, it is rather nondescript - a small plant of spherical flattened shape. It blooms with pink or white flowers. It is capable of self-pollination, because its fruits (pink berries with seeds) appear all summer.
Cactus peyote
These succulents were widely used by Native American shamans for prophecy and healing. All because they contain a drug - mescaline. Mescaline cacti contain more than 50 alkaloids, but it is the above that has a hallucinogenic effect, very similar to the action of lsd.
Important! Keeping a peyote cactus in a house where children live is highly discouraged. For a child who accidentally swallows a berry, the consequences can be unpredictable.
Mix
A cactus mix is not a specific plant, but a whole list of varieties. In each of them different types of succulents are crossed. Popular mixes are as follows:
- Epostoa. It is distinguished by its “fluffiness”: not spines, but long soft hairs grow from a cylinder-like stem.
- Echinocactus Gruzoni. Spherical succulent, reaching 40 cm in diameter. It is all covered with yellowish large rosettes of thorns.
- Stenocactus. This plant has a lot of ribs, curving in small zigzags. There are few rosettes of thorns.
Among this category of succulents, there is another species that is worth telling in more detail.
Indian line
Indian line is classified as a mix. These are the most common plants in homes. They can look differently, from the general - only three points:
- Small size. These succulents do not grow large.
Cactus Indian Online Mix
- White thorns. They can grow plentifully, they can be moderate, but always there. The spines are thin and rather long, white or slightly yellowish in color.
- Spherical shape. Flat Indiana are not.
Other
Domestic cacti have many different types. Below are described less popular, but still noteworthy plants:
- Echinocereus. It has a columnar stalk covered with a scattering of thorns. The plant has many faces, can reach 20-30 centimeters.
- Prickly pear. Decorative view of succulents, having a flat body and small spines. The fruit, flower, leaves of the cactus are edible.
Mamillaria
- Mamillaria These small cacti are in the shape of a ball. Their distinguishing feature is the “flower” drop-out rosettes of long spikes. In some varieties it turns out even so that they are completely entangled with them. The blooming cactus Mamillaria looks very interesting: it releases not one flower, but several, they are all located in a circle at the top of the stem.
Cacti with needles
Most cactus species protect needles. These are modified leaves adapted to survive in the heat.
With colored needles
Spines can be of different colors: white, yellowish, silver-gray. The latter are most common. Each natural color of the spikes is determined by species features. In order to maintain the appearance of a pet, you should provide him with suitable care.
With colorful needles
If in the store all eyes are riveted to a cactus with red needles, then here, no doubt, a man worked. Dyeing the thorns of the succulent is quite simple, this procedure does not harm the plant. Food coloring is mixed in water for irrigation or in fertilizer, this mixture is fed or watered with flora. The cactus absorbs paint and changes the color of the thorns.
Note! You can tint the color of cactus needles yourself at home. For this, all tenon species are suitable.
With long needles
Most cactus species have medium-length needles. There are species in which the length of the prickly spike can reach 5 cm, this is:
- Echinocactus;
- Carnegia
- Some types of mamillaria;
- Ferocactus;
Ferocactus
- And many others.
Without needles
There are these representatives of the flora and without needles, eg:
- Hatiora. Despite the fact that in appearance it looks more like a coral bush, it is still a cactus.
- Ripsalis. He looks like a hator, but his stems are downward and longer.
- Epiphyllum. This cactus is also without thorns; it blooms very beautifully. Flowering can be purple, pink, orange, bright red or even mixed.
Variety of cactus shapes
These plants can be of very different forms: squares or stars (like astrophytums), similar to bushes and leafy plants. All these are just varieties of two forms: round and flat.
Round
This form has the majority of succulents. Such a cactus will be round, possibly with a pressed, flattened top. Some varieties grow taller and take on a cylindrical shape. The faces of such stems are many - from three pieces. This includes, for example, peyote, mamillaria, mixes.
Flat
There are flat cactus plants. Their stems look like wide leaves, while they are fleshy, dense. Flat cactus is a prickly pear which has already been mentioned. This is a view that includes many varieties:
- White-haired prickly pear;
White-haired prickly pear
- Aciculate;
- Opuntia lindheimer.
Cactus Colors
Depending on the species, succulents can be colorful. The most common are green, grayish, and other colors are found.
Pink
In order for the cactus to be a saturated pink color, it must be modified, artificially prohibiting the development of chloroplasts. They are responsible for all shades of green of nature. Elimination of chloroplast harms the flora - without it, the process of photosynthesis is impossible. Because there are few such plants. Get them like this: a modified germ is inoculated to a healthy one.
Interesting. We came up with this procedure in Japan, because the cacti are called Japanese.
Red
The cactus can be bright red, but only on top. A striking example of this is the Mikhanovich Gymnocalycium, a variety of Friedrich. It was with him that the creation of colored succulents began.
Gimnokalitsium Mikhanovich
The upper red part is the scion that cannot exist without a stock - the lower part of a healthy unmodified plant.
Blue
Bright blue cactus on sale are rare. However, in nature there are blue succulents obtained without human intervention, thanks only to nature, for example, Cereus Myrtillocactus geometrizans.
Less popular
In stores you can find indoor purple cacti, orange, yellow. Although they are bought less often.
Interesting! In any case, bright, eye-cutting colors are a sign of human intervention, not evolution.
Cactus Sizes
These plants can be of different sizes. In nature, there are specimens that can reach 15 meters, while in girth not exceeding a meter.
Large
The largest cactus in the world is the giant cireus. It is he who, under suitable conditions, can grow up to 15 meters in length. A record for this species, recorded in Arizona in 1988, is 17.86 m.
Small
The smallest succulent that nature has created is Blossfeldia liliputana. Miniature Blossfeldia grows mainly in the mountains. Its diameter does not exceed 2 centimeters. Cultivation at home is rare - it is a rather complex culture.
Cacti with leaves
Usually, cacti do not have the usual leaves, but in some species they are found.
Long cacti
An example of a cactus with long leaves is Pachypodium. Water is stored in it by the “leg” - the trunk of a cactus, the leaves grow upstairs. Due to the obvious similarity, the second name of this plant is the Madagascar palm.
Pachypodium
Foliage can grow very long (up to 75% of the length of the stem), the entire succulent whole - up to 8 meters.
Important! Pachypodium is poisonous, therefore it is not recommended to start it in a house with children or animals.
How to care for a cactus at home
Succulent is a plant that can be grown in an ordinary house. He does not have any special requirements. A number of rules that exist must be followed.
Land and Watering Requirements
These plants love slightly acid soil. Their classic composition is as follows: sheet and turf land, sand in equal proportions. However, for each specific species, it is adjusted depending on species requirements. You can make a substrate yourself, you can buy in a store.
Note! The pot must fit the cactus in size. Some species, such as mamillaria, for example, often shoot basal shoots - "children", this also needs to be taken into account. There must be a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.
These representatives of the flora need moderate watering. In summer, it is necessary to add water when the soil dries. In the off-season, water enough once a month. During the dormant period, watering ceases altogether.
Temperature and Lighting Requirements
These plants like diffused light. Direct rays, especially in summer, can burn them.
Cacti on the windowsill
Most Cactus species in summer, during flowering, are suitable for temperatures from +15 to +25 degrees Celsius. In winter, during the period of rest, it is recommended to lower the temperature to + 10-18 degrees Celsius.
How to feed cacti
Succulents need fertilization, like most plants. They are often fed with salts of nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus. It’s easier to buy complex fertilizer in the store for this type of flora. It must be borne in mind that it can only be fed when it grows. In the dormant period (when exactly it occurs, it depends on the type of plant, most often in the summer), feeding is prohibited.
There are a lot of varieties of cacti. Among all the diversity, there is sure to be one that suits any person. Caring for them is so simple that it will not be difficult even for someone who has absolutely no time.
