CACTI CARE

Photo: Ronnie dried grapes on his cacti to get sultanas.

CACTI
Now the days are getting longer and there is a bit of heat in the sun it’s a good time to tend to houseplants. A lot of plants may need repotting, Cacti included. Cacti are amongst the longest living, easy to care for plants that you can grow indoors, in fact it’s the only type of plant that I have in the house at the moment. By the time I come in from tending to all my plants outdoors I just don’t notice any indoors and they tend to get severely neglected! The Cacti benefit from little or no water all winter in the dormant season, but spring is a good time to see whether they have outgrown their pots.

REPOTTING A CACTUS
Check the bottom of the pot, if the roots are showing then it may be time to think about repotting, if so, water the plant so the soil is just moist a couple of days before.

1 Fold a newspaper to make a collar to fit around the plant when you take it out of the pot, this will save your hands the irritation of getting spiked to bits and it will also protect the spikes of the plant from getting damaged.

2 Hold the ends of the newspaper together then ease the plant out of its pot and lay it down on some crumpled newspaper.

3 Pick a slightly larger pot and set the old one inside it. Fill the gap around the edge with cactus compost (this can be bought from garden centres) or you can mix coarse sand and grit into the compost you already have.

4Carefully remove the inner pot from the compost. This will leave a hole just the right size for the rootball of the plant.

5 Gently pick the cactus up with the newspaper and lower it into the hole.

6 Trickle a layer of grit around the plant, this makes it look more attractive and also allows water to drain quickly through the compost.

TIP: Small quantities of grit can be bought from D.I.Y stores or garden centres, or you could also pop down to the pet shop. They usually have grit for use in fish tanks.

CACTUS CARE
Most Cacti are suitable for a sunny south or west-facing windowsill. They also do well in a frost-free greenhouse or conservatory, but they do need good ventilation, even during mild wintry periods. Remember that the plants will dry out quickly in the summer months on a bright windowsill, so regular watering will be needed, but like most houseplants try not to over water them.To give your cacti a clean, brush them gently with a soft brush, if there are any pieces of grit lodged in the spines then you could get out the tweezers and pick them out. This can be a bit tedious but the plant will love you for it.

TIP

Add crushed eggshells into the soil in which cacti are plants to give them extra calcium and a better draining medium in which to grow.

Horticultural.