Cacti Species Ornamental Value Overview
Introduction to the article: Knowledge about succulent plants, ornamental value overview of cacti species, let's learn about them together below.
Cacti flowers have the following ornamental value;
Featured flower species White Sandalwood: Gourd Fist (White Sandalwood) is a succulent plant. It has many branches, with finger-like stems, 1.2-1.5 cm thick, up to 1 meter long, soft and cannot stand upright; there are 6-9 ridges on the stems, sometimes twisted, densely covered with white, hard hair; green stems. Flowers are funnel-shaped, crimson red, 7.5 cm in diameter.
Habit: Native to Argentina and the West Indies. Likes a well-ventilated and well-lit environment, but avoids direct sunlight in summer. White sandalwood is relatively cold-resistant, when the winter temperature is below 0℃, the color of the branches and stems turns red, slightly soft, showing signs of frostbite; 0-5℃ the plant maintains life but does not grow, above 5℃ slow growth. Requires loose and fertile soil.
Lingjian Lotus: Lingjian Lotus, an epiphytic cactus. Shrubby, with a thin and round main stem. The stem is flat, lanceolate, with sparse sawtooth edges and short spines between the teeth. The flowers grow on both sides of the stem apex, with purple, pink, red, yellow, white and other colors; the flowers are bell-shaped, with open and inverted corollas; the filaments and pistils are both curved; the flowers open during the day.
Habit: Native to Mexico and Colombia. Likes a warm and humid environment with sufficient light, and requires soil rich in humus.
Epiphyllum: Epiphyllum, an epiphytic cactus. The stem is slightly woody, flat, with forked branches; the old branches are cylindrical, the new branches are long elliptical, with wavy edges and no spines. Large flowers grow on the edges of leaf-like branches; the calyx is tubular and red, the flowers are double and pure white, with lanceolate petals. Flowers open at night and wither early the next morning.
Types: Peacock Epiphyllum, the leaves degenerate into flat and thick two-pronged leaf-like stems, the leaf-like stems are long, with symmetrically arranged coarse sawtooth spines on the edges, and the spines are born in the notches of the sawtooth; when water and fertilizer conditions are suitable, tender stems can grow from the spines. There are a few fine spines on the tender stems, and the spines on the old stems fall off, leaving scars.
Habit: Native to tropical America. Likes a warm and humid environment with half shade, and requires sandy loam with good drainage.
Propagation and Cultivation Management: Propagation by cutting. Use a mixture of peat soil and equal amount of river sand for the pot soil. Keep the pot soil slightly moist during the growing season, spray water frequently to increase air humidity; shade properly in summer, give full light in winter, keep the pot soil dry, and maintain a temperature of about 10℃.
Rat Tail Cactus: A perennial flower of the Rat Tail Cactus genus. Creeping stems are slender and long, 1-1.5 cm thick, up to 1 meter long, with aerial roots, densely covered with yellow-brown short spines. Young stems are bright green and turn gray later. Flowers are pink, growing on stems, opening day and night. The blooming period is from April to May.
Habit: Native to Mexico and Central America. Likes a warm, well-lit and well-ventilated environment, also tolerates half shade. Requires soil with good drainage.
Types: Golden Button, also known as Rat Tail Cactus or Cactus Whip. The stems are creeping, whip-shaped, up to about 1 meter long, with many branches, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, with 8-12 narrow and shallow ridges, densely covered with golden yellow fine spines. Flowers are funnel-shaped, 5-6 cm in diameter, red.
Triangle Arrow: Also known as Three-sided Arrow, is a perennial flower of the Triangle Arrow genus. The stems are triangular in shape, with nodes, 50 cm long, and with aerial roots, many branches. Small or no spines. Large flowers, 30 cm long, white, calyx lobes united at the base into a long tubular shape, with linear lanceolate large scales. Red berries are large, 10 cm long, without spines, with leaf-like bracts or scales.
Habit: Native to warm areas of Mexico and the West Indies. Likes high temperature and humidity, and half shade, not cold-resistant. Requires soil rich in humus.
Hairy Column: Also known as Hairy Whip Column, Hairy Column genus. The plant is tall, up to several meters, with many branches at the base, forming a cluster. The column is blue-green in color, with yellow-brown spines. Flowers grow on the top, with dense long hairs on the flower buds, large white flowers, with fragrance.
Habit: Native to the high mountainous areas of South America. Likes a warm and sunny environment, requires loose, well-drained limestone soil.
Types: Commonly cultivated and ornamental species in this genus also include Blunt Angle Hairy Column, with a height of 2-3 meters, needle-like spines are yellow-brown. Large white flowers often cluster 2-4 or more on the top of the column.
Black King Ball: Dragon Claw Ball genus. The plant is cylindrical, 6 cm in diameter, up to 1 meter tall, initially solitary, later forming clusters, the ball is covered with white powder, the spines are black, the top spines are covered with grayish white wool, the flowers are yellow, over 2.5 cm long, funnel-shaped, growing in wool clusters, the seeds are black.
Habit: Native to the extremely arid areas of northern Chile. Likes a sunny environment, not shade-tolerant, requires well-drained limestone soil.
Types: Dragon Scale Ball: The plant is spherical or cylindrical, 40 cm tall, 11 cm in diameter. The ball is light green to dark green, with dense yellow wool at the top. The spines are soft and curly, light yellow to grayish green. Flowers are bell-shaped, yellow. Black Earth Ball is similar to Black King Ball, but the ball is dark green and the spines are black.
Descendant Ball: Also known as Treasure Mountain, is a descendant ball genus. The ball is small and exquisite, flattened spherical, with many spiral arranged tubercle-like protuberances instead of ridges, densely covered with grayish white or yellowish short spines. Flowers grow at the base of the ball, small in size but large in quantity, and bright.
Habit: Native to the high mountainous areas of South America. Likes a well-ventilated and sunny environment, not tolerant to direct strong sunlight. Requires well-drained limestone soil.
Types: Commonly cultivated and ornamental species in this genus also include Xun Treasure Ball: The ball is larger than Descendant Ball, densely covered with white short spines, red flowers are smaller. Weng Treasure Ball is similar to Xun Treasure Ball, but densely covered with long white spines, red flowers are slightly larger than Xun Treasure Ball. Brocade Treasure Ball: The ball is densely covered with yellow fine spines, small flowers are pink. Wei Treasure Ball: The flowers are deep red, with a diameter of up to 6 cm.
Naked Calyx Ball Genus: Also known as Snake Dragon Ball Genus. The ball is solitary or clustered, with a concave horizontal line under the areole. Flowers are funnel-shaped, growing on the areole in the center of the ball, with scales on the flower buds and corolla tubes.
Habit: Native species from South America. Likes a warm and dry environment with sufficient sunlight, relatively cold-resistant. Requires loose, fertile, well-drained soil.
Types: Scarlet Peony: A variety of Peony Jade. The ball is flattened spherical, 3-5 cm in diameter, in orange-red, pink or deep red, mature balls produce offspring balls. The flowers are slender and funnel-shaped, pink, often several flowers open at the same time. Scarlet Peony Brocade: A chimera variety of Scarlet Peony, the ball is inlaid with several colors such as red, yellow, green and brown. Commonly cultivated in this genus are New World: The ball is medium-sized, blue-green to dark green. The spines are robust, dark brown to black, and the old spines are gray. The flowers are white or light pink.
Bright Red Cactus Finger: A plant of the Cactus Finger genus that can both epiphytize and grow on land. Leaf-like branches are flat, with many branches, dark green, with nodes, about 8 cm long. The upper branches are flat and pentagonal, the lower ones are lignified and hexagonal. The edges of the stem are shallowly wavy and purple red. Flowers grow at the top of the stem, 2-3 clusters, the petals are symmetrical circles, drooping downward, the top of the petals is pointed.
Habit: Native to Brazil. Likes a warm and humid, shady environment, afraid of too much light. Requires fertile, well-drained and ventilated soil.
Palace of the Moon: The stem is spherical and oval, about 6 cm in diameter, about 15 cm tall, fresh green. The ball is densely covered with yellow spines and white wool. Flowers are funnel-shaped, growing at the top of the ball, bright red, and red berries.
Habit: Native to Mexico. Likes a warm and dry environment with sufficient light, and avoids strong sunlight and exposure to the sun in summer. Requires loose and fertile, well-drained slightly acidic soil.
Golden Ball Genus: The stems are spherical or cylindrical, with prominent ridges. The areoles are large, densely covered with hard spines. The top is densely covered with light yellow wool, flowers grow in wool clusters, yellow. Fruits are covered with scales and wool. Seeds are black.
Habit: Native to Mexico and the southwestern United States. Likes a warm and sunny environment, but avoids direct sunlight in summer. The optimum growth temperature is 20-25℃. Requires well-drained, lime-containing sandy loam.
Types: Golden Ball: The ball is dark green, the spines are hard and golden yellow, the top wool is also golden yellow, and the flowers bloom in the wool clusters near the top, yellow. This species has several varieties: White Spine Golden Ball, the spines are white. White Spine Golden Ball Crown, a chimera variety of White Spine Golden Ball. Crazy Spine Golden Ball, the spines are irregularly curved. Short Spine Golden Ball, large ball, up to 1 meter in diameter; the spines are very short. Great Dragon Crown: The plant is spherical or cylindrical, clustered, 80 cm tall, 25 cm in diameter, with red or yellow spines, hard and curved. Dragon Crown Lady: The ball is smaller than Great Dragon Crown, but with more spines, and the stem is prone to producing small balls. The spines of young plants are bright red.
Phoenix Jade: Planet Genus. The plant is spherical, the old plants become slender and cylindrical. The ball is 10-20 cm in diameter, with 4-9 obvious ridges, mostly 5 ridges. The areoles on the ridges have no spines, but with brown wool. The ball is grayish white, densely covered with white star-like hair or small scales. The flowers grow on the areoles at the top of the ball, funnel-shaped, yellow or with red heart.
Habit: Native to Mexico. Likes a cool and sunny environment, also requires sufficient light in summer. Requires well-drained, lime-rich sandy soil.
Species and Varieties: There are many cultivated varieties of this species, mainly Baiyun Phoenix Jade: The white star-like hair or small scales on the ball are irregularly distributed, showing cloud-like patterns. Spiral Phoenix Jade: The ball has 5 to 10 ridges, in a spiral shape, the flowers are large, yellow with red heart. There is also the Planet (Pouch), with a fan-shaped plant, the ball has 8 shallow ridges, the areoles have no spines, but with white wool. The flowers are yellow, with red heart. Baiyun Planet, also known as Baiyun Pouch, is a variety of Planet (Pouch). The ball is flattened spherical, 10 cm in diameter, green to grayish green. No spines, usually 8 ridges, rarely 6-10, the ridges are gentle. The areoles are located in the middle of the ridges, composed of thick felt. The rest of the ridges are densely covered with many tufted hairs, which are connected into irregular sheets. The flowers are yellow, about 3 cm long, 6.5 cm in diameter, with red throat, the petals are slightly red in the middle. This species is native to Mexico and Texas, USA.
Propagation and Cultivation Management: Propagation by sowing. Substrate and management methods are the same as Golden Ball.
Papillate Ball Genus: The ball has no ridges, instead, there are many slightly spiral arranged tubercle-like protuberances. Flowers are small, yellow or pink, arranged in a ring on the top of the ball, berries are small and cylindrical, red.
Habit: Mainly distributed in Mexico. Likes a sunny environment, but avoids strong sunlight in summer, requires loose and fertile sandy soil with good drainage.
Types: Commonly cultivated in this genus also include Daifu Ball: The ball is flattened spherical, with white short spines, relatively hard, the new spines are slightly red. The flowers are dark red. Golden Barrel Ball: The ball is slender and cylindrical, densely clustered, with yellow short spines arranged in a star shape. Small flowers are yellow or white. Yangyan Ridge: A variety of Yangyan. It has no latex, the ball is small, with a height and diameter of only 3 cm. Papillae are small and arranged closely. The areoles grow on the top of the papillae, densely covered with light red feathers, the central spines are hooked and reddish. The whole ball is completely covered with feathers and hooked spines. The flowers are 1.2 cm in diameter, the petals are white with red stripes in the middle. Yuhuang: The plant is round in the seedling stage, and gradually grows into a cylindrical shape, with a diameter of 10-12 cm, the ball is bright green, with conical tubercle-like protuberances, each with white wool in the axilla, and 20-30 white soft peripheral spines, with 2-3 brown central spines at the tip. The flowers are purple red, numerous, blooming around the ball. After flowering, purple fruits are produced.
White Beauty: A variety of Orangutan Ball. The ball is cylindrical, solitary. The ball is covered with white short spines. The flowers are red, with many branches. Dark green, thick and robust, multi-tuberculate cylindrical, with irregular longitudinal ridges, with brown spines, the areoles are arranged in a spiral shape, with tufted small spines. Many branches, white flowers.
Light Rainbow Ball: A flower ball genus. The ball initially grows alone, and then easily forms clusters. Round to oval, with a diameter of 4-5 cm, purple green, with 10-14 low tubercle-like ridges, with radiating tufted spines, gray white, about 13-15, with a deep brown central spine. The flowers are lateral, funnel-shaped, 5-6 cm in diameter.
Habit: Native to Bolivia. Likes a sunny environment, cold-resistant, requires well-drained sandy loam.
Lion King Ball: South Country Jade Genus. The plant grows alone, the ball is flattened spherical or spherical, dark green, the diameter can reach 16 cm, with 13-15 tubercle-like prominent ridges on the ball, 6-7 peripheral spines and 2 central spines, light yellow, the tip and base of the spines are reddish brown, the flower buds grow at the top, taking about a month from budding to flowering, the flower buds resemble a brush tip, the flower buds open into a funnel shape, 4-6 cm in diameter, yellow, the center of the flower is red, after the flower buds close, it becomes a colorful brush with full paint. The berries are green, covered with short and dense white wool.
Habit: Native to Uruguay and Argentina in South America. Likes a sunny environment, cold-resistant, requires well-drained, drought-resistant humus sandy soil.
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