How to plant a cactus: how to propagate correctly, how to cut cuttings and root them at home, how to grow several flowers in one pot, also care

Cacti breed in many ways. Growing these unpretentious thorns is not at all difficult, most importantly, you need to know the conditions of planting, reproduction and growing, how to propagate by seeds or cuttings, how to root a plant and properly care for a cactus.

From this article you will learn about what time of the year it is better to reproduce, how to choose the right pot and soil. We will consider in detail how to propagate a cactus with children, seeds and cuttings. We will tell you what to do if the plant does not take root.

What season is the best time to propagate?

How do cacti breed at different times of the year? The time of the year is selected depending on how the breeding will be carried out at home. Cutting is carried out in spring or summer. In autumn and winter, most plants are dormant.

If you cut the stalk for propagation at another time of the year, then the shoot may not be affected and even take root, but the mother plant may die. An exception may be a withering cactus, when the only way to save a flower is to cut the cuttings.

The seed propagation method does not depend on the time of year, the main thing is to create appropriate conditions for seed growth.

How to choose a pot: material and size

The pot is selected according to the size of the cactus. The root system needs a lot of room for development. But at the same time, a sufficiently large flowerpot also does not fit, otherwise the cactus will lose a lot of time and energy for the development of the soil. But the terrestrial part of the flower will develop poorly.

Optimal will be such a capacity, where between its walls and roots there will remain a small space (about 1 cm). There are breeds of cacti, whose roots grow in depth, in this case you need a long and narrow pot. The pot can be taken both clay and plastic. But you need to take into account that the walls of the plastic container do not allow moisture to pass, and the roots can rot from its excess.

What land is needed to breed a flower?

Before planting a plant land can be purchased in specialized stores. It is developed by gardeners specifically for cacti. But not in all flower departments you can find such a substrate. Most often they sell soil that is universal for all indoor plants. You can prepare the soil yourself. The basis is taken shop soil, and compiled their own suitable soil for cacti.

To do this, you need the following additives:

Clay-soddy soil.
Humus.
The sand is coarse-grained.
Charcoal.
For drainage, crumb brick is added.

Sometimes brick chips are added to the ground. From this, the earth becomes loose and breathable. For a flower like a cactus, this is a very important point.

How to plant?

There are several ways to plant a cactus.

Seeds

You can propagate cacti with seeds all spring and even in summer. For this, a substrate is poured into a separate bowl:

Leaf and turf land.
Coarse sand.
It is advisable to add more chopped charcoal.

How to propagate by seed to sprout and grow a cactus? Before planting, seeds are prepared in a special way.:

First, they are soaked overnight in warm water, then for 10 minutes in potassium permanganate.
After this, the grains are carefully dried.
Seeds are placed in shallow grooves, the distance between them is approximately equal to 1 cm.
The bowl is installed in a basin with water, this is done so as not to water the seeds from above.
Be sure to cover the seeds with a film or a jar and put on a lighted windowsill.
After the emergence of seedlings, the greenhouse is removed, and when the first thorns appear, the flower is transplanted into a separate pot.

Read more about growing cacti from seeds in this video:

Cuttings

How to cut a stalk and plant it correctly? A healthy stalk is cut with a sharp knife, which is pre-treated with a disinfectant. The sequence of how to plant a plant by means of cuttings:

Preparing the soil and dishes for planting cuttings.
After cutting the processes, the cut is treated with charcoal.
So that the slices dry well, they are left in the fresh air for several days.
After that you can plant.

How to root a cactus after circumcision? When the stalk is planted in the ground, it must not be watered for several days. This is due to the fact that in moistened soil cuttings of the cuttings can begin to rot. To everything went well, you can use a tool such as "Kornevin." It is added to the landing hole in small quantities.

Video about planting a cactus with a cuttings:

How to breed sprouts (children)?

How to propagate the plant by children? In some species of cacti, full-grown young plants appear on a mature flower. They have already formed a root system, so these the shoots are easy to root. Many of these children showered on their own, some of them have to be torn off.

Visual video of cactus breeding by children:

You can learn about planting a cactus without roots and about all methods of reproduction from our separate material.

Graft

Such the method is not suitable for beginners in gardening. Typically, the method is used for a cactus, which can not bloom.

In order to plant a plant, two basic conditions must be taken into account:

The cactus must have a developed horse system.
The plant must be healthy.

In addition, another cactus must meet the standards of the first.

On the grafted and "uterine" plant, lateral sections are made with a sharp knife. It must be treated with a disinfectant.
After that, freshly cut pieces of cacti are pressed tightly to each other. You can use the thread.
The pot with parts is placed in a warm and bright place for two weeks.
Watering at this time is moderate.
After the allotted time, the threads are removed and the plant is gradually accustomed to sunlight.

How to plant cactus properly is shown in this video:

Photo

Next, you can see the photos of cacti:

Growing several flowers in one pot so that it is beautiful and correct

How to plant several plants in one pot correctly and beautifully? If you plant cacti in one pot, then you need to do this so that the distance between the roots of the plants is not more than 3-5 cm. If the distance is greater, the root system can rot. Many gardeners acquire a large pot and plant small cacti right in their pots. This is done most often with the aim of decorating the room.

Leaving the first time after landing

Watering at first will not be needed, only after gaining strength by the root system can you begin to moderately water the flower. A cactus needs a lot of light, but direct sunlight is eliminated. For the first time after planting, it is better not to touch the flower, it must adapt to the environment. When planting a plant in the autumn-winter period, watering is not carried out until early spring.

Important. When the plant has already taken root, it must be fertilized periodically. But you need to know what top dressing a cactus needs.

In many fertilizers, nitrogen is present in large quantities, it is important for cactus. But in an excess of nitrogen leads to the active growth of the flower, it begins to stretch and takes on an unsightly appearance. In order for the plant to develop evenly, it will need not so much nitrogen, but also phosphorus, calcium and potassium.

What to do if it does not take root?

The plant does not take root due to improper human actions during reproduction. Perhaps the soil, lighting is incorrectly selected or inappropriate irrigation is carried out.

If we talk about lighting, then you should choose the south side.
A flower does not like being often rearranged from place to place. In a cactus, it must be permanent.
Watering should be moderate, water at room temperature. Many species generally do without water for a long time.
The soil should be light. The perfect combination: one part of sand, sheet land and ordinary land.

Basic land requirements for planting a cactus:

Porosity, soil must freely pass air and water.
The soil should be somewhat rough and lumpy.
Must not have undecomposed organic matter.

Reproduction of cacti is not too complicated, although it requires some special knowledge. Sometimes one method of propagation and rooting may not be suitable for a certain type of cactus, so there are several options for propagating a plant.