Cactus blooming: what kind of care does it require?

Cactus blooming is a real miracle. He is able to cause a beginning gardener a storm of emotions and make him believe in their strength. After all, in order to see the cactus blooming, you need to make a lot of effort and diligence. These strange plants can feel good in your home, but at the same time stubbornly refuse to bloom. Let's find out why this is happening and how to influence the situation.

Flowering cacti: photos and varieties

In their homeland, these plants reach maturity at a certain age. Often by this time the cactus is already quite large. Column-shaped varieties are easily cultivated from seeds, and they are easy to take care of at home. But the appearance of buds they should not be expected. Those cacti that can bloom in indoor conditions, most often require special light and heat. Cuttings imported from the Mediterranean countries acclimatized Opuntia can successfully develop into a large plant. But they blossom only under particularly favorable conditions. The same applies to Trichocereus - their babies can easily adapt in almost any conditions, grow in amateur rooms with whole curtains. But the cactus blossoming of this kind can be seen rarely - for this, it must reach impressive proportions, receive a balanced diet. Rebations can bloom already in the second year, and notoktusy and mamillarii - only on the fourth. Trichocereuses and ferocactuses can please their master with blossoming not earlier than fifteen years after planting. Different specimens of the same species may also behave differently. Badly flowering individuals willingly throw out lateral shoots (babies). It is convenient to propagate the cactus. But in this way, rarely flowering plants can spread widely. Often this happens with a cactus like Echinopsis.

Care and Submitting

Rebutia, Echinopsis, Notoktus, Mamillaria - all these species blossom abundantly in the conditions of the room. If this does not happen, you should analyze the errors in caring for them. The most common of these is the disturbance of the rest period of the plant. Cactus blossoming forms buds only in conditions of cool maintenance and almost complete absence of watering in winter. In the spring, noticing the buds of the plant, do not rush to begin to water it intensively. Wait until the kidneys are clearly visible. The fact is that rapid vegetative growth due to intensive irrigation can prevent the development of buds. They must reach a certain size. After that, moisture can be introduced into the ground in sufficient quantities. You also need to feed the cactus.

How many flowers does this plant?

Depends on the species. Instances with the day-time flowering form are about three days. Sometimes from one day to a week. Also, the duration of flowering affects the illumination. On cloudy days buds often remain closed. Cacti, blooming at night, do not depend on the presence of light. They can blossom and in complete darkness. But such flowers are more short-lived - they are open no more than two days.