How to make cacti bloom at home

How to make cacti bloom at home? No way. They should not be forced. It is better to create a natural natural cycle for plants, then they themselves will please the hosts with flowering.

The two most common mistakes of flower growers: excessive care and its complete absence. Do not rush from one extreme to another. It is enough to follow our recommendations and periodically look out the window. Because, depending on the time of year, the “provocative” factors of care vary.

Spring

In nature, it is rainy. Short but strong and furious. Cacti need to be watered the same way. Water should be very warm, watering - short-term, but plentiful.

An indispensable condition is good drainage, otherwise the roots will be bad. And the soil itself must be loose, with a lot of coarse sand and fine gravel. No turf or black soil! Where does such a luxury come from in the deserts or mountains?

Lighting is bright, but not yet very intense. In principle, the southern or western windowsill would be ideal.

Summer

Under natural conditions there is no rain. But the sharp difference in day and night temperatures causes plentiful evening dew. So cacti also need to be watered. That is, to spray out of a spray bottle daily in the evening. The first drop flowed down the trunk - enough. Water should be practically hot, about 40-42 ° C.

Daytime air temperature is very high, there is a lot of light for a long time. It would be nice to pull the pots into the fresh air, let them cool down at night, as in nature. By the way, the size of the pot should be minimal. The root system of cacti is not very large, it does not need much soil.

Fall

Lighting is reduced in duration and intensity, there is no longer the usual summer heat. So we create similar conditions for cacti. The big mistake of many gardeners is to add a cactus to the windowsill after entering the house. At this time, central heating is already on, and hot dry air will ruin all your undertakings.

If it is not possible to place cacti in a cool room, be sure to cover the radiators with a thick towel or blanket. This will allow the cacti on the windowsill to be in dry coolness.

Important! In general, all types of cacti really do not like changing their position in space relative to the sun. But once a year they must be turned around its axis by 180 °, in order to avoid curvature of shoots.

Autumn is the best time for this procedure. All life processes are slowed down, and cacti carry it calmly.

How not to get confused, where is which side? Some sources recommend making a small note on the pot. Why is that? Make a big one! A container with a beautiful picture or a large sticker in its entirety visibly enlivens the interior. Attach a plaster or plastic figure next to the prickly pet, stick a decorative element in the form of a wattle fence or fence into the soil. Plenty of room for imagination, lots of options, and you won’t be confused as to which side to put the pot toward the sun.

Winter

In the mountains and rocky deserts, winter is a cool and very dry season. There is no rain at all, dew does not fall. Maybe once a month a small cloud will fly by and sprinkle the plants slightly with a small meager rain.

At home, water the cacti once every 30 days, slightly moistening the soil. We do not hope for memory. We circle the X-day on the calendar circle, make an entry in the diary or put a note on the phone.

The lighting is dim, the sun warms slightly. We do not need to do anything with this; there is no scorching star in the middle lane in winter.

Tip. On clear days, cacti can even be pricked slightly. Otherwise, they quickly catch a burn from sunlight reflected by snow.

The temperature should be in the range of + 5-13 ° C. Not higher. Otherwise, cacti will mix up the time of year and grow. Buds will not get for sure.

How to achieve this in a warm room? Radiators are covered, but this is clearly not enough. There are still ways to lower the temperature near the cactus in the winter:

• To fence off the lower part of the window sill from the room with glass.
• Lay pieces of ice or snow nearby on a pallet.
• Freeze water in plastic bottles, then put it near the pots.

Running frosty air from the street or spraying is undesirable. This increases humidity, which is absolutely unacceptable in the conditions of a "special" winter for cacti.

In the spring, the cycle repeats. If you did everything right, then in April you will see the buds, and in the summer you can admire the flowers.

Useful Tips

1. Do not try to provoke flowering of cacti in this way before the age of 3 years. It can be the first and last at the same time. The fact is that flowering is too depleting the plant. And young age does not allow the cactus to recover completely.
2. It is better to groom and cherish it for the first 3-4 years of life, not paying attention to the time of year. Let the plant receive proper care and good nutrition. Then the cactus will grow strong and developed, with a strong root system. But then you can provoke it to bloom every year.
3. By the way, do not be lazy and look for complete information about your cactus. Some varieties, even in nature, begin to bloom for 2 decades. Then all your efforts will be in vain, or even bring irreparable harm to the plant.
4. And further. Take a closer look, maybe your cacti are already blooming every year, but you have not noticed? After all, some flowers are very difficult to see, they are so small. Or do buds open at night for several hours?

How to make cacti bloom at home? They cannot be forced. Plants do not follow the orders of the owners. But they perfectly let themselves be deceived. In the case of cacti, you don’t even have to resort to deception. It is enough to recreate the natural conditions of growth, and they will be happy to give you flowers themselves. Moreover, every year.

Video: what you need to do to make cacti bloom