Cactus House Plants

Cactus plants are at their best in terms of beauty during the flowering season, but that doesn't mean they don't look beautiful when not in bloom. If a low-maintenance garden in the home is what you aspire to have, some species of flowering cactus house plants will be ideal for you. More importantly, the fact that these plants grow well in containers can be an added advantage, as they can be placed and moved anywhere in the house depending on the requirement.

Cacti Species Popular as House Plants

When planning to grow cactus plants in the house, you need to be well-versed with the basic information about the species. There are basically two varieties of cacti, that are preferred as house plants - the 'desert cacti', such as the Golden barrel cactus, Column cactus, etc, and the 'forest cacti', such as Easter cactus, rat-tail cactus, etc. Both of these varieties differ from each other on several grounds, and hence require different treatment. The desert cactus plants, as their name suggests, are native to the arid regions of the world. These cacti species are the ones which are usually covered with spines and hair, an adaptation to survive water scarcity. On the other hand, the forest cactus plants are normally found in wooded areas of temperate and tropical regions. Other common cactus house plants include Giant saguaro cactus, Christmas cactus, etc.

Cactus House Plants Care

The cactus plants require a copious amount of sunlight, and hence experts recommend that they should be ideally kept near a south facing window. Some varieties of cactus only tend to flower only when they receive an ample amount of sunlight. At times, you may require to keep the particular species outdoors so that it basks in the sunshine to produce beautiful flowers. Cactus plants don't require much water. Being succulent plants, they tend to store water and can go without it for 8 to 10 days on a stretch. On the other hand, too much of water can turn out to be detrimental for the species, as water logging often results in rotting of the roots. One should never use cold water for cactus, and more importantly, should never pour water on the top of the plant. Though relatively less, these plants do require fertilizers. The soil used to plant cactus should be high in potassium and phosphorus, though it can be low in nitrogen.

Both the cactus varieties have different requirements and growing conditions. For instance, the forest cacti requires more water than their desert counterparts. In case of forest cactus plants, you need to keep the soil moist throughout, but in case of desert cactus, you need to let the soil dry completely, before you water it again. Owing to these differences, different varieties of cactus cannot grow together in a single container.

Growing cactus can be easy, but then there are some aspects of cactus care such as re-potting or cactus pruning, which require proper attention. As an amateur gardening enthusiast, you should ideally go for species such as the orchid cactus, which are easy to care. Basically, the rule of thumb is that cactus house plants grow best when they are unattended. Too much of attention to these species is bound to result in some mistake on your behalf which will either spoil the plant or a part of it.