A plant with multi-colored thorns is an interesting ferocactus. Description of species and varieties, features of care and reproduction

Cacti are interesting plants that adorn the windowsills of many people. They are not too difficult to care for, and at the same time they delight the eye with the beauty and variety of their forms. Ferocactus is one such plant.

A distinctive feature of the genus is multi-colored spines. They attract many plant lovers. Ferocactus has large white roots. The fleshy stalk is oblong in shape, covered with a dense skin of dark green or bluish color.

Description

Ferocactus (Ferocactus) - a genus of perennial plants of the family Cactus (Cactaceae)combining more than 30 species of plants. The appearance of ferocactus is diverse: they can be elongated or round, large or small, flowering or not (learn about large wounded cacti here, and about small ones here).

Most of these succulents form one stalk up to 4 m high and up to 80 cm wide. But highly branched species are also found. On the stem are vertical ribs with a triangular section. Along the rib areola are evenly distributed, covered with pubescence and containing a bunch of sharp needles.

Up to 13 hooked needles from 1 to 13 cm can be in the areola. The flowers are usually large, in different shades of yellow and red (read about cacti with red flowers here). The birthplace of ferocactus is: the lands of North America, Mexican geographic areas, the south and southeast of America, California, Oaxaca, Queretaro and other desert areas (for more information about cacti that live in deserts, read here).

The genus was first identified by Rose and Britton about 100 years ago. The name of the genus comes from the Latin word "ferus" - wild, cruel.

Popular species and varieties of Ferocactus, their photo

Latispinus

It is one of the most beautiful species of the genus. The spherical stem of this succulent has a green-blue hue and reaches a diameter of 35-40 cm. Large bell-shaped flowers have a pink color (read about this cacti with pink flowers in this material). Spines are pink-white, large, curved. This kind sometimes called "damn language" for the characteristic shape of the needles.

Ford (Fordii)

It has a spherical stem of gray-green color, on which there are small sharp spikes. The flowers are funnel-shaped and endowed with a bright pink or purple color and a yellow core.

Powerful (Robustus)

Large view. It forms a group of stems up to 1 m in height, and in diameter reaches up to 3 m. The sizes are different. Small flowers have a bright yellow color.

Home Care

• Temperature. The plant is thermophilic and in summer needs a temperature of 20-35 degrees. Attention: the room with the succulent should be regularly ventilated, but with extreme caution, because ferocactus does not respond well to drafts.
• Watering. Watering is done with abundant, well-settled water at room temperature, but only after the soil has completely dried.
• Lighting. Ferocactus loves bright lighting, regardless of the time of year. A window on the south side is the perfect solution. On the north side, you have to arrange additional lighting.

  Important: some species require shading at noon.

• Priming. In nature, cacti of this genus prefer rocky or calcareous soil. At home, it is necessary to recreate similar conditions: the soil should be drained and sufficiently acidic. To create a substrate at home, you need to mix turf and leafy soil, fine gravel, coarse sand.

  All ingredients are recommended to be taken in equal proportions. To avoid root rot, a small amount of charcoal can be added. You can use the purchased mixture for cacti, but you have to add coarse sand or fine gravel to it. Remember to make good drainage.

• Top dressing. In vivo, succulents grow on poor rocky soils, so feeding it is required no more than once a month and very carefully. As a top dressing, liquid fertilizers are used for succulents or cacti, the dose is halved or triple the recommended dose on the package.
• Transfer. The plant should be replanted as rarely as possible due to the fact that it is slow-growing. Ferocactus is very sensitive to transplants, does not adapt well in new soil and can hurt after transplantation. The transplant procedure can be complicated by the thorns of a succulent (are there cacti without thorns?).

  If you carry the cactus in thick gloves, the thorns can break, which can ruin the appearance and decorativeness of the plant.

• Wintering. From November to March, ferocactus is kept in a room with a temperature of 10-15 degrees. At this time, succulent can not be watered.

  Attention: the temperature should not fall below 10 degrees, otherwise the plant may die. There are no differences between indoor care and outdoor care.

Breeding

Cuttings

Cuttings are taken only from a healthy and strong specimen. Before landing, they should be dried for 3-4 days. A mixture of sand and crushed charcoal is made for planting. You can use crushed expanded clay. Cuttings are covered with a glass jar or a cut plastic bottle. When the seedlings are stronger, they are transplanted into a separate soil.

It is necessary to regularly air the cuttings and moisten the soil, as necessary.

Seeds

The seed material must be wrapped in something and soaked in warm water for about a day, so that the seeds swell, and germination is increased.

The soil must be calcined in the ovenAfter moisturizing and pouring seeds on it. You do not need to deepen them; you can lightly sprinkle with soil. The pot should be wrapped in a plastic bag or put on top of the glass and put in a warm place.

After about a month, the first shoots appear, then the film or glass is removed. The container can be put in a well-lit place, but without direct sunlight. When the seedlings grow up, they are planted in separate pots.

Important: Do not forget to open the seedlings for ventilation and moisten the soil with a spray gun. In the open ground, reproduction and cultivation does not differ from indoor.

Bloom

Only adult cacti bloom, so the first flowering of ferocactus has to wait a very long time. The plant blooms in summer, several flowers blooming at once, having a short tube covered with scales. In residential conditions, ferocactus blooms extremely rarely.

If the ferocactus does not bloom, it is hardly possible to do anything about this. Sometimes these succulents do not bloom for five or more years, it remains only to wait.

Diseases and Pests

With excessive watering and violation of the rules of care, it can suffer from root rot and fungal diseases. Ferocactus is rarely saved, so do not violate the regime. Ferocactus is rarely affected by pests, but it is worthwhile to ensure that it is not affected by a spider mite, aphid or mealybug.

Similar plants

1. Echinocactus Gruzoni (Echinocactus grusonii) is a representative of the genus Echinocactus of the Cactus family (read more about Echinocactus here).
2. Gymnocalycium (Gymnocalycium).
3. Mammillaria (Mammillaria) is one of the largest genera of the Cactus family.
4. Echinocereus (Echinocereus) is a genus of highly decorative plants of the Cactus family. Read about Echinocereus species here.
5. Echinopsis (Echinopsis).

Ferocactus - unpretentious ornamental plant and with proper observance of all conditions of detention, it can become a wonderful decoration of the room, even if it does not bloom.

Watch the video: 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN CACTUS CARE (December 2024).