Cactus lovers believe that these are the best plants in home floriculture. It is difficult to disagree with this statement. The plant attracts with its original appearance, unpretentiousness in care, and even if the cactus bloomed at home, there is no limit to the joy and pride of the owners.
Today we will talk about the most common and popular succulents - echinopsis. They are easy to care for, but when growing, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of these plants.
Echinopsis cactus: plant description
The name of the plant translates as "like a hedgehog." The genus Echinopsis belongs to the Cactus family and includes over 120 varieties. Various species were brought to our country from Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia. At a young age, the echinopsis cactus is spherical in shape. Then it stretches and turns into a rounded column. The stem is ribbed, symmetrical. The surface is glossy and smooth. The color can be light and dark green. Its intensity depends on the variety.
Cactus roots are developed, superficial, growing horizontally. Areoles, covered with hard spines, arranged symmetrically at the same distance. This ordinary-looking succulent amazes with amazing flowers - huge, funnel-shaped, located on a long peduncle, of a wide variety of shades.
Echinopsis flower is a densely pubescent long tube with seven rows of petals. Some species have flowers that emit a subtle pleasant aroma at night or in the early morning. When does a cactus bloom? This process occurs at different times - from spring to autumn.
Popular species
As we have already said, today more than 128 species of this genus are known. Not all of them are suitable for indoor floriculture.
The most popular types of echinopsis include:
Echinopsis golden
Blossoms with beautiful yellow flowers. In adult specimens, the spines acquire a golden hue. This variety grows up to 15 cm in height. The flower tube is shortened (10 cm).
Echinopsis Erie
A miniature species, no more than 25 cm high, about 10 cm in diameter. Snow-white flowers bloom and exude a delicate aroma at night. The variety was named after the French botanist.
Cinnabar red
Plant of medium size, slightly flattened. Flowers have a rare shade that is fully consistent with the name.
Echinopsis Gertrich
Flower no more than 10 cm in diameter. The spines are dense, sticking out insides. Deep red flowers, large.
Echinopsis acute
The plant blooms quite often at home. Flowers fragrant, white, bloom at night. With age, the spines from the flower fall off and the body of the echinopsis cactus becomes completely smooth.
Interestingly, the height of widespread varieties, as a rule, does not exceed 30 cm. Only a few species grow up to 70 cm. In natural conditions, there are specimens that reach a height of almost two meters.
Features of cultivation
Like most succulents, this plant is undemanding. However, improper care leads to a lack of flowering, and it is the flowering echinopsis that is the main achievement of every grower. Therefore, we recommend that you pay attention to the advice of experienced flower growers.
Lighting
Echinopsis cactus is a photophilous plant. Lighting throughout the year should be bright. At the same time, it is not desirable that the flower itself be under direct sunlight for a long time. In the summer, the cactus will be comfortable in the garden or on the balcony. During the period of growing green mass, do not change the position of the plant, do not transfer it from one place to another.
Temperature
Quite often, novice flower growers are interested in: “Why doesn’t the cactus bloom?” One of the reasons for this “behavior” of the plant may be the wrong temperature regime. It is undesirable that in summer the air temperature drops below +20 °C. From mid-autumn to February, the cactus enters a dormant period and the temperature is lowered to +9 ° C, atthis should not reduce lighting. Remember, reducing the temperature during the dormant period, do not allow drafts - the plant does not tolerate them.
Irrigation
Rare watering during the growing season (from spring to mid-autumn) requires echinopsis. Home care involves watering at this time only when the soil in the pot dries out by half. Water the plant with warm settled water. When the temperature drops in autumn, watering is stopped. Spraying to increase the humidity of the air is not required for this culture, but sometimes the shoot is washed from dust.
Soil
Growing Echinopsis cactus requires loose, breathable soil with a neutral reaction. The substrate can be prepared independently by mixing 1 part of leaf earth with 2 parts of sod, 1 part of coarse river sand and 0.5 parts of gravel (fine).
In addition, it is advisable to add charcoal to the soil mixture to prevent root rot. You can use ready-made store-bought cacti mixes.
Feeding
When the cactus blooms and during its intensive growth, it is recommended to apply special nutritional preparations for succulents. Feeding is not carried out in winter.
Echinopsis bloom
Like most cacti, this plant is not pruned. Children are removed from it only from time to time so that all the forces of the plant are directed to flowering. Echinopsis blooms, starting in late spring with large funnel flowers. The flower is placed on a tube covered with black fluff. The number of flowers depends onplant age and growing conditions. Mature specimens can produce over 20 flowers. Flowering lasts no more than two or three days.
In the homes of Russian flower growers, hybrid forms most often grow, obtained by crossing different species.
How to transplant a cactus into another pot?
These cacti should be repotted often:
- young plants - every year;
- adult specimens - no more than once every two years.
Most cactus roots are so strong that when transplanting, you can not worry about their safety. The main problem when transplanting is to carefully remove the plant from the old container.
If it is not possible to solve the problem by pushing the earthy clod with a stick or tweezers through the drainage hole or simply tapping on the pot, it is better to break the vessel.
You can wet the earth ball well - in this case, the plant will be removed more easily. Prickly large specimens must be held by the area where the stem passes into the roots with a gloved hand or large tweezers. Old substrate should be shaken off or completely washed off with water.
Don't worry if some of the roots come off - there's nothing to worry about. Experienced flower growers believe that it is better to remove some of the roots (damaged, old) with a pre-disinfected tool.
Transplantation is recommended to be combined with washing the entire plant under running hot water.
Drying roots
Even peoplethose who know how to transplant a cactus into another pot do not always pay due attention to the condition of the roots. If they were washed, the plant should be dried for 1-2 days, laid on paper, with the roots straightened, or placed on an empty container so that the roots hang freely.
The plant should be at room temperature, not in the sun. The drainage hole in the pot should be covered with a shard, a flat stone, then pour a small layer of soil mixture. Holding the base of the stem, the plant is placed in the center of the pot, slightly below the intended planting height. Spread the roots well so that they are freely mixed in the container. Carefully fill in the prepared substrate, tapping periodically against the walls so that the soil lies more firmly.
After filling the pot, pull the plant up a little. Thanks to this, the roots in a loose substrate will take a better position. The pot is filled to the brim with soil mixture or gravel. Gravel in this case creates a layer of upper drainage, which will protect the soil surface from rapid drying, fouling with saprophytic plants, erosion during watering, and crusting.
When planting Echinopsis, make sure that the green part of the stem does not end up in the ground, but also do not allow too high planting when the narrowed, basal part of the stem is above the ground. A plant planted in this way looks unattractive and, moreover, it is unstable.
For elongated echinopsis at first, until the roots take root, you will need support - pegs stuck in the ground. First days after transplantthe plant should not be watered and placed in the open sun.
Reproduction
Sooner or later, every flower grower who grows echinopsis faces the issue of reproduction. Home care involves two methods: vegetative and seed.
Vegetative propagation
If you want to propagate your plant, you can use cuttings, separation of lateral children and root cuttings. With a sharp disinfected tool, the stems are cut into small pieces, in the lower part the skin of the plant is cut off with scissors.
Sections must be treated with a disinfectant. For this, crushed charcoal, for example, is suitable. The cuttings are placed in a dry room at room temperature for two days. When the wounds dry up, the cuttings are placed vertically (bottom down) in an empty container, left in a bright room, but protected from direct sunlight. So they persist for several months and form dense roots.
Two weeks after drying, they are rooted. The stalk is set in a moist substrate, for example, in a mixture of peat and sand, although an earthen mixture for succulents can also be used. If rooting is carried out in too dry air, which is typical for city apartments, the cuttings should be covered with a jar or plastic bag, but not too tightly so that they "breathe". Echinopsis takes root very amicably and quickly.
Seed propagation
According to flower growers, the rooting of children is very effective,but not the best method for propagating cacti of this species. This is due to the fact that with long-term vegetative propagation of species grown in indoor culture for a long time, their decorative qualities weaken: first of all, this concerns the tendency to bloom, which is weakening.
To obtain he althy and beautiful offspring, it is more expedient to grow it from seeds. In Echinopsis, they are quite large and easy to germinate. Seeds are soaked for several hours in a disinfectant solution (potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide). Then spread them carefully on the surface of the substrate, which can be a mixture of peat and sand, or ready-made store soil.
Seeds need moderate heat and fairly high humidity to germinate. To do this, the sowing container is moistened, placed in a pan filled with water, or sprayed from a spray bottle. The air temperature in the room should not be lower than +25 °С.
The first shoots will appear in a week. They resemble small green juicy balls. When the first thin spines-hairs appear on them, the seedlings with a lump of earth are transferred with tweezers to a new dish. This procedure is called picking. Experts believe that frequent transplants for young plants in the first two years accelerate their growth.
Growing problems
"Why isn't the cactus blooming?" - most often asked by beginner flower growers. This is one of the common problems when growing Echinopsis. For flowering, this cactus requires strict adherence to temperature.mode (warm in summer and lower in winter). In addition, lack of lighting, excess moisture and root rot can cause a lack of flowering.
The basic rules for achieving regular flowering can be formulated as follows:
- Provide bright lighting throughout the year. Otherwise, the plant will not only not bloom, but may also change color and become deformed.
- Observe the temperature regime so that during the dormant period the plant can gain strength and prepare for flowering.
As you can see, the Echinopsis cactus is not too demanding to care for. By following simple rules, you can grow a he althy and strong plant that will delight you with regular flowering for a long time.
