Prickly pear - a subtropical guest of Russia, a cactus having a peculiar, unusual shape.
It consists entirely of piled disc-shaped segments.
Covered with spines and glochidia (very small spines).
it the plant looks exotic and even slightly extravagant.
In this article we will talk about the care at home for the Opuntia cactus, as the photo will be presented.
For flower growers prickly pears are of interest also because multiple forms of the bush, but also because of the unforeseen development.
His shoots sometimes grow in completely unpredictable places, and therefore each bush, growing, becomes completely unique.
Home care
Cactus calendar
January February
Difficult time for all cacti, they are at rest.
Due to lack of light, the plant may weaken, lose some thin roots.
Carefully monitor the condition of the pet for pests or diseases. Do not let the soil dry out.
At the end of February, you can also sow the first succulent seeds.
March
The period of awakening prickly pears. Long-light days are coming. The cactus begins the growing season.
Start spraying it with warm water from a spray bottle. The sun at this time is already hot, and the plant is not quite accustomed to it, so it should be slightly pritenyat.
Cut off from the prickly pear shoots formed during the winter.
Pruning required to achieve a beautifully shaped bush.
April
Take care of planting new specimens. Not transplanted copies feed.
May
Month active flower growth. At this time it is necessary to provide conditions for its full development.
The flower is no longer needed, let it be heated under the hot rays.
Plant transplanted. Favorable for the development of walks in the fresh air, more often endure it. However, first select the morning hours and cloudy weather.
June July
It's time to plant plants.
Graft will help cure damaged bushes, will update them, will promote growth and bloom.
This is a time of active development and flowering of prickly pears, so you need to especially take care of the necessary conditions for their life.
August
The growing season is coming to an end. You need to harden the plant to prepare it for the winter, so take care to ensure the differential night and daytime temperatures.
This will help the prickly pear to harden. Actively feed your pet with a large amount of fertilizer. potassium and phosphorus.
September
Time to stop feeding.
Also reduce watering.
At this time, the plant is abundantly airing.
AND minimize nighttime temperatures.
In late September, copies that were in the open ground, returned to the apartment.
October
Watering reduced to a minimum.
Conduct final processing of pesticides.
November
Prickly pear stops growing - place it in a cool and dry room.
If the weather still allows, continue airing.
December
Opuntia fell asleep, leave it alone. Do not disturb, do not rearrange and do not even turn.
Bloom
In the wild, in its homeland this cactus blooms incredibly beautiful, bright colors, and, very long - from spring to the beginning of autumn.
At home, to see the flowers of this representative cacti can not always.
Sometimes single buds appear on it, but often do not reach full flowering.
The buds are shed, never having blossomed, or shoots instead develop.
Why is this happening?
One of the main reasons for this is improper wintering.
Flower buds prickly pears are laid, starting in November, and lasts until March.
However, due to inexperience, many growers do not take this into account and behave with the plant as usual: keep it in the same room as in the summer, turn, water.
One more reason - too large pot. At the roots in it there is a place for growth, so they grow, instead of resting and laying buds.
And also detrimental to prickly pear any turn from the original position.
On the bright side began laying the babies, and on the shaded side - the buds. And the florist decided to improve the position of the plant.
And all the buds, tied in the shade turned into kids.
Result: a lot of kids on both sides, no flowers.
Sometimes the buds begin to develop prematurely.
It is still winter on the calendar, the cactus is not watered, and the buds simply dry out, never having dissolved.
How to achieve flowering? To make your prickly pear blossom, try the following:
the pot should be close. Even if the roots stick out of the drain hole, do not replant the plant until the roots fill the pot completely;- the plant should winter at temperature plus 6 - 10 degrees;
- watering prickly pear cut down since September, during wintering, do not water it at all, maintain air humidity, you can use a humidifier;
- if the soil begins to dry, moisten slightly but only once a month;
- do not turn and do not move the prickly pear to another place, if for some reason you need a rearrangement, put it to the light by the same side as it was before;
- inspect the flower carefully during wintering, when buds appear, start watering earlierwhat it should be;
- after hibernation, when you take the cactus into heat, shade it so as not to cause burns and drying of the buds;
- put it the way it was in winter, that is, the same side to the light, because it is on this side that the flowers develop;
- Do not feed the plant immediately after wintering, so as not to cause active growth.
the pot should be close. Even if the roots stick out of the drain hole, do not replant the plant until the roots fill the pot completely;Formation
Immediately after flowering, engage in plucking segments of prickly pears to give it a beautiful shape.
Content at home
For well-being, prickly pears must be placed in a lighted place, otherwise it will stretch and become pale.
If this happens, find a brighter spot for the cactus, cut the elongated stems.
Prickly pear temperature in the summer - 25 30 degrees.
Water the cactus once a week.
From one watering to the next, the land should dry out.
Prickly pear needs fresh air, so air the room regularly.
If possible, make a day out on the balcony or on the street.
A photo
The photo below shows the bright representatives of the Opuntia cactus:
Transfer
It is necessary to transplant a prickly pear annually. Each transplant is performed in the pot 1-2 cm more previousabout. Do not immediately take a large capacity, the plant needs a little cramped, so that both the aboveground part and the root system develop evenly.
Too much space for the roots will lead to their rapid development, while the crown will not grow.
Once pot diameter will reach 15 centimeterscut down replanting up to one time in 2 years.
Transplantation is carried out by the method of transshipment. Do not shake the old soil from the roots, so it will be easier for the plant to adapt and grow.
If you notice the death of some parts of the root, you need to remove them, otherwise they will infect the healthy part.
The soil for this type of cacti should consist of sod-clay - 2 parts, sand - 1 part.
Take the sea sand, building will not work. To improve the bactericidal properties and deoxidation, it is desirable to add a little woody.
Watch carefully that the earth does not contain remnants of old roots, she must have a fresh smell. Before transplanting, the ground is sterilized using the water bath method, dried and heated.
Top dressing
Feed this plant once a month, only during the growing season, with special fertilizers for cacti. The composition requires phosphorus, potassium.
IMPORTANT. Do not use organic fertilizers for cactus. Nitrogen is contraindicated, it will lead to decay of the roots.
Breeding
Cuttings
Reproduction of prickly pears by cuttings is carried out from spring to summer, photos and videos below. The stalk is unscrewed from the parent stem.
Shoots are taken from lateral shoots or from tops. Slices treated with charcoal. After that, the segment is dried day.
Stalk stir in the wet sand, covered with a transparent cap.
The temperature during germination support not higher than 20 degrees.
After rooting, land on the main place.
Sowing seeds
Produced from March to May. For sowing, take a flat pot, with holes in the bottom. Pour a layer of drainage, on it a layer of soil consisting of turf, sand and clay.
It is also necessary to add charcoal for disinfection.
Condense the soil, and then pour another small loose layer - this can be done with a coarse sieve.
Then the grooves lightly sprinkled with soil and moistened with a spray.
The following types of cacti also multiply by seeds: Ferocactus, Rebution, Cereus, Decembrist.
Cover the plate with glass or plastic and place in a warm, bright place. But not under the direct rays of the sun, to eliminate the greenhouse effect. The top layer should be constantly moistened with boiled water. Once a week, put crops into the water.
For good germination should be the difference between day (25-30 degrees) and night 18-19 degrees) temperatures.
With the emergence of shoots they begin gradually accustom to the air.
Opening first for 5 - 10 minutes, then 20-30 minutes a day.
Two days later, the glass is removed, cover seedlings at night.
From burns seedlings pritenyayut.
Picks produce when the plants start the first spines. Remove them from the soil with a wooden peg or fork.
Lands are not removed from sprouts, roots are straightened so that they do not bend upwards. After transplantation, do not put the plants in the sun, do not water them.
Vaccinations
Opuntia is an excellent stock. It should be healthy, with a well-developed root system.
Vaccination is carried out in the early summer, in the morning, on a hot dry day. Before grafting the stock is well watered.
Take the blade and wipe it with alcohol. Cut off the top of the stock. In graft cut the lower part with the roots.
Put the graft on the stock without waiting for them to dry.
Try to combine the cambial rings of both parts. If the center does not coincide, it will not work.
After all you need to fix. Do it with a rubber band, crosswise. Put a piece of cotton under the gum on the stock. Instead of gum, you can use the patch.
After vaccination the design is covered with a glass bell and placed in a warm place. So hold about 12 days. Graft cacti do not water, and moistened by immersion in liquid.
The following video detail the reproduction of the children:
Diseases
Main enemy young prickly pear - funguscausing rotting. Roots are formed on the roots, the fungus spreads with great speed. The wounds turn brown, then they dry up.
Gray rot also often affects prickly pears. Plant tissue rot, grow moldy.
Putrid processes are provoked by over-wetting of the soil or by infection from other plants. The diseased plant is thrown away, it cannot be cured.
When small areas of the disease appear, the plant is treated with a fungicide. When a disease is detected, the specimen is separated from the healthy and immediately. carry out prevention of the entire collection.
Pests
Immediately inspect the newly acquired copy with a magnifying glass to exclude the presence of parasites on it.
On a prickly pear growing in Mexico aphids multiply in abundance.
We noticed someone, act immediately, without waiting for the multiplication of pests.
The hardest thing to exterminate cactus mite.
His presence is signaled by traces that look like rust stains.
You can destroy it by washing it with warm water and then treating it with an alcoholic solution or toxic chemicals (Fufanon, Aktellik).
The other parasite is the worm. Fight him with the same methods.
It is more difficult to cope with the b heart that has settled in the root system. About its presence says stopped growth or lack of flowering.
Saw white cocoons on the roots - this grubs. Wash them away hot, 45 degrees, water. You can use toxic chemicals.
Hot water will save you from nematodes. This pest lives in the roots and sucks the juice.
Noticed on the roots of cones or brown nodules - destroy them just like the larvae of the insects.
Aphid - pestsucking juice from Opuntia. This green-brown parasite forms whole colonies on the shoots, mainly on the upper parts.
The most commonly infested with aphids are plants grown in the open air.
But it so happens that the female - seeker, flies through a window, or gets on a plant from another, infected.
One female produces hundreds of larvae.therefore, this parasite quickly covers opuntia and begins to pull juices out of it.
Aphids, which appeared in small numbers, can be brushed away and destroyed. Strongly affected areas should be removed..
The areas from which you mechanically removed aphids, wash them with water and diluted with soap.
Louse destroy Aktaroy, Akarinom, Iskra.
In general, modern trade offers a lot of drugs to combat pests of indoor plants. The choice is yours.
And from the old methods can recommend karbofos. There is a popular method of prevention. Place fragrant pelargonium next to the prickly pear. Aphids will disappear in a few days.
Conclusion
Prickly pear - unpretentious plant. Even under adverse conditions, it will grow.
It will grow, but it will only bloom and look exotic if you follow the recommendations for growing it.
Love your flower, care for it, and it will give you its beauty.
