Cacti are fleshy , water - fresh succulents in the Cactaceae family line native to the deserts of North and South America .
Most are easy discover from other succulents by bumps called areoles from which bristle , flush , roots , spines , and stem grow .
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As houseplants , cacti are generally low sustentation . They require smart , indirect sun and watering every few workweek when the soil all dry out .
This guide discusses when and how to repot a cactus .
Here ’s what we ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
When to Repot
ready Your Tools
Containers and Substrates
Unpotting and Repotting
Cacti grow slowly and wish to go snugly in their container , but it ’s wise to :
Let ’s discourse each .
Divide Pups
Some species of cacti produce pups or runner – clones of the parent plant . As whelp develop , they crowd together the parent works , competing for food and wet in the container .
Our usher to diffuse succulentshas educational activity for divide offshoots from parents and potting them separately .
With the pups remove , a parent flora can remain in its current locoweed until one of the other condition designate it ’s time to move into a Modern one .
Refresh the Medium
A growing medium that sustains a plant for three years or more becomes use up in quantity and nutrient content . Some organic matter , like peat , becomes more acidic as it age .
These plants prefer a pH of 6.0 to 6.9 and surplus acidity can wreak havoc with food and impair plant wellness .
to boot , the potting grease may show signboard of being compacted and go to drain decently .
repot into fresh substrate reestablish a alimental - dense growing environment and reduces the risk of soilborne pests and disease from taking hold .
Size Up
Fitting snugly in a pot is unlike from being so tight that the stem wrap up around and around and find their way out of the bottom of the container .
An overabundance of root displaces soil , impairing water and nutrient intake . industrial plant may also become top - heavy in their Mary Jane and potentially unstable .
The ideal pot is 10 per centum wider than the breadth of the plant life and 10 percent deeper than the length of the root word .
To fit their shallow roots in the intimate convulsion they prefer , generally you will need to go up just one peck size of it .
A container that is too bombastic pick out too farseeing to dry out out and is likely to advance decompose .
Transplant
A new cactus in a plastic greenhouse container needs to be graft to a porous vessel that promotes air circulation and drainage . Unglazed stiff is an idealistic stuff .
If your specimen falls into one or more of the three categories advert above , it ’s time for a container acclivity .
Because most cacti have acuate spine , it ’s full to be after in advance to protect your optic and hide when working with them .
garner the adopt items to make the job easy and injury - free :
Sanitize metal tools with a resolution of nine parts urine and one part bleach , rinsing , and dry them thoroughly before employment .
With your protective train ready , it ’s meter to discuss containers and substrate .
As mentioned , the best vessel for a cactus is a porous one that breathe , get tune and moisture through to avoid oversaturation .
Unglazed the Great Compromiser like terra cotta is an excellent choice . See ourguide to the best container materials for more info .
Your container should have a generous drainage yap in the bottom , or multiple gob .
Avoid product with attached drip saucers , as they can not drain excess wet without tipping and peradventure dislodge plants .
The idealistic size , as discussed , is 10 percent wide-eyed and 10 percentage cryptic than your plant life ’s width and height . These succulent have shallow roots that branch horizontally rather than growing straight down .
hygienise your Modern or used container before role with a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach , rinse , and teetotal .
buy a quality substrate formulated for cactus and succulents that is free , well - draining , and not too moisture - retentive .
You ’ll want enough to make full your container three - quarters of the way , leaving way at the top for lacrimation without grime overflow .
This mathematical product from Hoffman carry compost , peat moss , sand , and limestone to regulate acidity .
Hoffman ’s Organic Succulent Soil Mix
Hoffman ’s Organic Cactus and Succulent Soil Mix isavailable from Hoffman ’s via Amazon .
Or , follow our instructions tomake your own cactus mixwith potting dirt , coarse sand , and perlite .
With instrument , container(s ) , and grow medium ready , we can get to work .
The best time repot your cactus is during the spring - through - gloaming growing season when retrieval and acclimation are most potential to be successful .
If your plant is in bloom , wait for the flower to fade before trouble it .
With your tool , vessel(s ) , and growing medium quick , it ’s fourth dimension to prepare your industrial plant to transition from its old grow environment to a raw one .
Water two days before repotting so the grease is moist but firm – head off waterlogging the soil .
Note the astuteness the cactus sits in its original container . You ’ll call for to replicate it in the fresh one . If you care , take a picture for reference .
Wear your protective eyewear , long sleeves ( or gauntlet ) , andgloves .
Fill your new container halfway with fresh grow medium using your garden trowel .
Contrary to pop notion , It is not a practiced idea to put gravel in the bottom first as this does not promote drain . Instead , it causes a “ rest water table ” above the crushed rock , where water pools , which can promote fungous ontogeny and lead toroot hogwash .
To unpot , introduce your board knife into the soil against the side of the container and work it around full circle to loosen the content .
With a new plant , the formative nursery container may be flexible enough to squeeze a chip and slither the entire contents – grime and plant – out .
You may have to set the container of a well - show specimen on its side to work it off . Here ’s where the thick glove , house of cards wrap , paper , and tongs are handy .
Because cacti have shallow antecedent , you never need to grasp the plant and attract as this can end up break the roots .
Instead , with the vessel on its side , wreak the table tongue around the soil border again , turn the pot as you go . Use your gloved hand , tongs , and wrappings for gentle reenforcement until the contents come free .
softly remove and discard the old soil , rinse the roots as needed but taking care not to damage them .
For rootbound plants , use your pruners to cut across the twining root to boost raw growth .
If the roots are a tangled mess , you may cut up to one - third off the bottom of the root mass before transplantation .
If any root are dingy , malodourous , and/or slimy , they may be rotting from oversaturation .
you’re able to cut off the worst of them , but intelligent white roots must be attach for a successful transplantation .
Make a newspaper or bubble wrap sling , or expend tongs or pair of tweezers to mildly grasp the plant while you settle it into the fresh soil .
Backfill until the flora sits at the same depth as it was in the original potentiometer .
center on it upright before firmly tamp down the growing medium around it . The watercraft should be no more than three - quarter full of substrate to enable you to weewee without spillover .
Use your artist ’s light touch to dust off any flecks of soil between the vertebral column , but not so aggressively that you bruise the foliage . instead , rinse with water and annul returning to bright indirect sunshine until the specimen is good wry .
Water at the soil story , avoiding the foliage , and place the new vessel in its permanent localization in bright , indirect sunlight .
run out excess water – and do n’t let it pool in a drip mold dish antenna – to suppress moisture buildup . Sanitize all creature after use as we did before .
The ideal indoor temperature is between 65 ° farad and 80 ° F with dispirited humidity . Most healthy rest home are in the 30 to 50 percentage humidity grasp .
It ’s not necessary to fertilize at planting meter , but is beneficial to use a 15 - 30 - 15 ( NPK ) fertilizer two or three times during the growing time of year .
In winter , the plants go dormant and stop produce , and plant food is not needed during this time .
Water requirementsare greatly keep down in wintertime as well , and the container is likely to remain moist for up to six weeks before completely dry out out .
A Contented Cactus
It ’s easy to call back of cacti as self - sufficient because they grow tardily and do n’t need body of water often .
However , being perpetually in survival style is n’t good for them . I get a line that the hard path when a once endearing mini barrel cactus dry rot from the bottom up .
furnish shining , indirect sunlight , ample drain , and sluttish cactus and succulent grunge .
Fertilize during active growth , water when the growing culture medium dries out , confine water during quiescency , and repot as take when dividing pups and take over rebound root .
When you fulfill their ethnic requirements , these plants do n’t just survive life as houseplants , they thrive .
And formore info about growing cacti , control out these guides next :
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Nan Schiller
