Cacti have an amazing ability to evoke response in human hearts - some of them openly dislike, counting useless spines, others are ready not to sleep at night, creating suitable conditions, but virtually no one remains indifferent. For the first steps in kaktusovodstve the echinopsis is the best - a fairly unpretentious cactus, with proper care, pleasing with regular flowering.
Cactus Echinopsis - Species
To date, the genus Echinopsis includes more than 130 different species, differing from each other in height and shape of the stem, as well as the size and color of the flowers. At home, most often grow the following:
- hook-bearing;
- sharp-cut;
- white-flowered;
- multi-division;
- tube -colour;
- House;
- golden.
Care for the Echinopsis cactus
Although all the representatives of the Echinopsis have a high degree of adaptability, they need certain conditions for a full-fledged development and, most importantly, flowering:
- Sunlight . The best place for Echinopsis will be the east or west window, and in summer - an open loggia or balcony. This cactus is not afraid of direct sunlight, but the first time it is better to pritenyat at noon time.
- Temperature regime . An indispensable condition of flowering for any echinopsis is the winter temperature drop to a level of no more than +6 ... +12 degrees.
- Watering . In summer the plant needs regular watering as the land dries in the pot. In the winter, experienced cactus growers recommend reducing the amount of moisture to a minimum by transferring echinopsis to watering at a frequency of 1-2 times a month.
- Transplantation . Transplanting echinopsis is best in February, when the plant has not yet emerged from hibernation. In this case, the transplantation is carried out in a "dry" way, moving the cactus from the pot to the pot with a dry earthen lump and resuming irrigation not earlier than a week after the transplant. This helps to prevent rotting of the root system.
- Top dressing . For flowering it is necessary during the growth period to provide the echinopsis with a sufficient quantity of nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a ratio of 1/2/3. It should be remembered that an excess of nitrogen can lead to the death of the plant.
- Trimming . Over time, any echinopsis has the ability to stretch, losing decorativeness. Therefore, pruning old cacti is done, cutting off the top of the echinopsis and using it for further reproduction.