Piante grasse cactus spine

Tag: seasonal care

Repotting cacti in winter: here’s why and what are the advantages of this choice

Given that it is possible to repot cacti and succulent plants in almost all months of the year, for more than fifteen years I have been carrying out this operation during the winter, between December and February. If necessary, for example in the case of a suffering plant or a new purchase, I repot even in spring or in the middle of summer. I almost never repot in autumn, because in this period the plants begin to slow down their growth to start the winter stasis and I prefer to avoid “disturbing” this natural process, since repotting is always a small trauma for a plant.

We look at the benefits of repotting cacti and succulents over the winter in the article that follows. (…)

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Growing cacti and succulents: seasonal care and what needs to be done during the year

I have discussed in various articles on this site of the basic factors for growing cacti and succulents, particularly those collected in the Cultivation category. This post intends to be a kind of summary “map” organized by seasons (seasonal care), indicating what you have to do at each time of year. In the following article, I review everything that needs to be done in terms of watering, fertilizing, repotting, exposure, etc. – season by season, to best grow cacti and succulent plants in general. This guide is thought to be a practical “vademecum” at a glance (but each topic can be explored in depth thanks to the appropriate internal links) of what is useful and recommended to do in spring, summer, fall and winter.

In short, a kind of handbook to keep in mind every time to organize work, whether you have a greenhouse or a terrace, a balcony or even only a windowsill. Let’s see everything in this article. (…)

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How to make cactus and succulent plants bloom: what you need to know and what tricks to use

How to get cactus to bloom is one of the most frequently asked questions among succulent plant enthusiasts. Here are the precautions to take to make our cacti flourish.

Colourful, flashy, ephemeral. Cactus blooms are sudden bursts of energy. Often the buds develop in a few days to open within few hours, amazing the newcomers to the cultivation of these plants and, above all, those who are not familiar with succulents. In these last few years, I have noticed that there is a lot of misinformation about cacti, in particular about their blooms. Those who do not cultivate these plants can even be surprised that they can bloom, no more or less than the specimens of all the other plant families, forgetting that the flower is the basis of the reproduction of almost all plants. Others are impressed to learn that even cacti can bloom in abundance and several times during the growing season, thinking perhaps that the flowering of a cactus is an exceptional event, almost unique. Nothing could be more wrong: all the cacti regularly bloom, and if there are relatively stingy species, that can produce few flowers for limited periods during the year, there are also really generous species, able to give blooms several times for entire months (for example Echinopsis, Astrophytum, Strombocactus, Gymnocalycium, Trichocereus).

In the following article we see in detail how to make cacti and succulent plants bloom abundantly. (…)

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Summer is coming: seasonal care for cacti and succulents, watering and aestivation

Summer is a relatively quiet season for those who grow cacti. Things to do, in fact, are not that many. Preventive treatments have already been done, and repotting, although repotting can be done at any time if necessary, should be suspended at this time, when the plants are in vegetation and in full bloom. Fertilizations should also be stopped at this time, confining them to spring and September. Overall, the bulk of the work in the weeks from mid-June through August focuses on watering, which will need to be calibrated according to the species being grown. In some cases, with certain plants, it will be appropriate to suspend them altogether to avoid stagnation and rot. Indeed, there are plants that vegetate well even in these months and plants that slow down their vegetation. Still others, in the warmer months, such as July and August, stop vegetation altogether to resume growth at the time of September, as soon as the maximum temperatures have dropped slightly. This phenomenon, the halting of vegetation coinciding with the hottest weeks, is called “summering,” and it is good to know its effects to avoid risks in cultivation.

In the following article we look in detail at what we have to do in the run-up to summer to best prepare cacti and succulents and avoid problems. (…)

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Succulents and cold: how to care for cactus in winter and the minimum temperatures tolerated

Do cacti resist frost? In winter, do succulent plants have to be kept indoors or can they stay outside? And what are the minimum winter temperatures they can tolerate? Even among experienced growers, the minimum temperatures of cacti and succulents are still debated today. I tackle the topic starting, as always, from my personal experience, which is my only way to have accurate data, found in the field, related to my system and my growing conditions, here in North of Italy. Let’s say right away that during winter I keep most of my plants in the greenhouse. It is a large greenhouse of 60 square meters and with a height, at the top, of 4 meters. These dimensions guarantee a satisfying volume of air, which in turn prevents moisture stagnation, the first real enemy of cacti and succulent plants in winter.

Let’s see, in the following article, the various factors that influence the resistance of cacti and succulents to cold. At the end of the article, you will also find a schedule with the minimum temperatures tolerated by the various families of succulents. (…)

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