Care for echinocactus at home and in the open ground: temperature and light, soil and transplant, how to water, feed and fight diseases, photo

Echinocactus or hedgehog cactus is a Mexican succulent. In care, a spherical flower is simple and not capricious. Experts say that this particular cactus can live up to 500 years! Next, we’ll tell you how to care for the plant, what watering it needs, temperature, lighting, soil, pot, top dressing, how to cut it, transplant it. As well as how to spend his wintering, to grow in the open ground and to combat diseases and pests that threaten the plant's health.

Home Care

Temperature

Desert flower does not tolerate heat. Optimum air temperature in summer - 20 - 25 ° C. From extreme heat, echinocactus slows growth. The life cycle is broken, the succulent enters a state of rest. In autumn, the flower is transferred to a cool place to prepare for the winter.

The temperature is 12 ° C.

Watering

Echinocactus requires moderate watering during the growing season. In the fall, watering is reduced.
Important! The lower the temperature of the flower, the less moisture it requires.
Watering should be done only when the soil is completely dry. Unacceptable dampness of the substrate.
Water is used only clean, settled, room temperature.
Echinocactus does not require spraying, preferably low humidity.
Dust should be cleaned with a brush. You can bathe a flower under a warm shower, after covering the substrate with a film.

Shine

Lighting should be bright, full, echinocactus grows well in direct sunlight.
It is recommended to place pots on the south side.
Bright light is needed throughout the year. From a lack of light, the flower throws powerful thorns, a thin, inexpressive pubescence grows in their place. The stem loses its appeal.
Transplanted young plants should be gradually adapted to the bright sun.

Priming

The substrate should be light, neutral in acidity, nutritious. You can use the finished mixture for succulents and cacti. It is recommended to add crumb of red brick to it or some small pebbles for friability and breathability. You can prepare the substrate yourself, observing the proportions.

The composition of the soil mixture for echinocactus:

Sod land - 2 hours
Sheet land - 1 h.
Coarse river sand - 1 hour
Drainage layer - fine gravel - 1 hour.

Important! For soil disinfection, small pieces of charcoal should be added to the composition.

Pruning

For the formation of the bush itself, pruning is not required. Trunk is trimmed only in case of decay of the root or stem.

Cropping pattern:

The flower is carefully removed from the container.
Rotten areas are cut out.
Sections must be powdered with powdered coal.
The barrel itself is sharpened a little, like a pencil, around the entire circumference.
The stem is installed in a dry transparent container (glass or jar) vertically.
New roots appear within 2 to 4 weeks.

For root growth, dry content and bright lighting are necessary.

Top dressing

In apartment conditions fertilize the substrate from April to August, regularly, once every 3 to 4 weeks. Commonly used fertilizers for cacti.

It is recommended to use top dressing with a low nitrogen content so that the round stem does not deform.

Experienced growers are advised to use liquid fertilizers "Gilea for cacti": the composition includes balanced trace elements - chelates, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in the required ratio.

Dosage: 2 caps per 1 liter of water. You can use or alternate concentrated fertilizer for cacti and succulents (a saturated composition with magnesium and succinic acid).

In the fall, top dressing is reduced.

Pot

The root of echinocactus is poorly developed, superficial. The pot should be shallow but spacious.

Important! The size of the pot, in relation to the diameter of the stem, should be larger by 1 - 1.5 cm.

It is better to use ceramic pots. Plastic from the bright sun is very hot, which is contraindicated in the root system. Ceramics better allow air to pass through, retain heat in the winter, and prevent root overheating. There should be drainage holes at the bottom of the tank.

Transfer

Transplantation is a difficult process for echinocactus. Adult echinocactus grow slowly, they need to be transplanted once every 5 years. Young plants are transplanted more often as they grow older.

The procedure is carried out in the spring. Transplant difficulties:

Brittle roots are sensitive to damage.
The trunk is carried using a loop of wire (sharp and hard spikes prevent free access to the stem).
The wire is threaded between the needles so as not to damage them.

Transplantation scheme:

A plant is carefully removed from the pot.
Cleansed of old and rotten roots.
If necessary, the rotted stalk is trimmed, new roots grow.
The flower is transferred to a new pot.
A layer of drainage spills out to the bottom of the pot, up to 4 cm.
Watering through the pan, excess moisture is removed.
The next watering after 3 weeks.
Add root dressing.

After the purchase

It is better to purchase a flower in the spring so that it does not freeze during transportation.
Before buying, you should carefully inspect the condition of the stem, it should not show signs of mold and rot, damage.
Immediately after purchase, the flower should adapt within 2 to 3 weeks. Then it should be transplanted into a permanent pot.
After transplanting, suspend watering for 7 - 9 days.

During and after flowering

To stimulate flowering, the plant should be fed with liquid fertilizers.
During flowering, top dressing is also required for longer duration.
After flowering, the plant needs a little rest. Watering is moderate, top dressing is suspended.

Wintering

In autumn, pots are brought into the house. The flower is preparing for winter holidays.
Pots are installed in a bright place, but not next to radiators, so as not to dry the soil. The optimum winter flower content is 12 ° C.
Important! Avoid sudden temperature changes, drafts.
Under the pots, it is better to install coasters so that the roots do not freeze.
Watering and feeding stop before spring.

Features of outdoor cultivation

As soon as the spring heat is established, echinocactus must be taken out to fresh air.
Pots are located in sunny areas in flower beds or stony flower beds until the end of summer.
The place should be quiet from strong gusts of wind.
Watering regular, in small doses. Water should not fall on the stem.
Fertilizers are combined with watering.
Echinocactus should not be planted in open ground, the flower is not winter-hardy, in a temperate climate it winters indoors.

Photo

See below for a photo of echinocactus:

Diseases and Pests

Description of the problem	Causes	How to cure
The trunk wrinkles.	Overdried substrate.	Water, add a warm shower.
The flower resets the thorns. The trunk is stretched.	Inadequate lighting. Not enough fertilizer.	In winter, light up the lamps. In the summer, rearrange the pots in a lighter place. Feed the substrate.
Brown spots.	Sunburn. More often in young flowers.	Easy shading of windows.
Brown spots.	From the cold, the root or stem began to rot.	Urgent pruning and transplanting. The soil is changing.
The trunk is deformed, growing one-sidedly.	Uneven light.	Turn the plant once a week.
A red spider mite cobwebs the trunk of the web, yellow or greenish spots appear.	Drying of air, substrate, the barrel was covered with a layer of dust.	Spray with tincture of tobacco and soap. The trunk is treated with an actellik 2 times with an interval of 2 weeks.
Worms leave a white coating, the stem dries.	Low temperature, damp soil.	Hand-pick with a damp cotton swab. Spray with soapy foam. Warm shower. Treatment with confidor or biotlin. Repeat treatment for prophylaxis.
Root nematode. The stalk is deformed. Balls appear on the roots.	Wrong watering. Infection of the substrate.	The pot is placed in hot water for 15 minutes. The substrate is treated with phosphimide. Reprocessing after 2 weeks.
Cactus scale insects provoke fungal infections of the stem. Signs: the appearance of brown tubercles on the stem, then reddish spots.	Hypothermia. Dampness of the soil.	Apply alcohol or vinegar to the carapace. To clear the barrel of plaque with a hard brush. Wash the flower in the shower. Processed by an actress. Do the treatment again after 2 weeks.

Breeding

Echinocactus is propagated by seed. Seeds of this species have excellent germination. Seedlings are grown in a greenhouse. Shoots appear within a month. Repeated picking of seedlings is required as they grow up. The process is long.
Children - processes rarely appear. They are separated from the main bush, planted in separate pots. Care as an adult plant.

We suggest you watch a video about planting echinocactus seeds:

You can grow a healthy echinocactus, observing all the conditions of its maintenance, taking into account the light and temperature preferences of the flower, strictly adhering to the dosage, watering regime and fertilizers.