Cacti and Succulents

Even if they look hostile, with all that needles, they have a special power to seduce us. Cacti live in the desert, where for being able to survive they need huge water reserves. That is why they have all those rounded strange shapes and also they show a minimum surface to the sun.

The needles are the logical involution of the leaves, designate to reduce the contact surface to medium to the minimum.

With their unique variety of sizes and shapes and a wealth of color and texture, cacti and succulents can make spectacular displays. Many bloom only briefly and bear large, brightly colored flowers, while others flower for longer periods, producing a profusion of exquisite blooms.

When buying cacti and succulents choose healthy, unblemished plants that show new growth or have flower buds forming. Do not buy any damaged or slightly shriveled specimens, or any with dull, dry or flaccid segments. Also reject plants that have outgrown their pots.

Cacti and succulents do not usually thrive in ordinary garden soil, because it is not sufficiently well drained. Good garden loam that has a pH level of 4-5.5 may be used as the basis of a homemade compost for cacti and succulents. It must be sterilized first to kill pests or weed seeds that might be present and to eliminate diseases.

To prepare the compost you have to mix up 2 parts sterilized garden loam with 1 part peat substitute or fine shredded sphagnum or sedge peat and 1 part sharp sand or washed grit and a little slow-release fertilizer.

If the garden loam is alkaline use a loam-based proprietary compost mixed with sharp sand or grit in a ratio of 1 part sand or grit to 3 parts compost.