Methods for Dealing with Small Cacti Growing from a Mother Plant
This article provides a detailed introduction to the knowledge of cacti propagation, focusing on how to deal with small cacti growing from the mother plant. Here is a comprehensive explanation for you.
Generally, there are two methods for dealing with small cacti: one is to remove them early to maintain the shape of the mother plant or conserve nutrients, and the other is to use them for propagation. Let's see how cacti enthusiasts deal with these small cacti.
Many cacti are very proficient at sprouting small cacti from the bottom or sides, and these small cacti grow rapidly, competing with the mother plant for nutrients. This can lead to slow growth and an imperfect shape of the mother plant (except for species that prefer clustering). For species that do not easily produce offspring, methods such as cutting the top or damaging the growth point of the cactus can be used to encourage the production of many small cacti.
When the offspring have grown large enough, we can carefully twist them off by hand or with a tool and place them in a shaded area to dry. After May, they can be planted after drying for a week.
First, we need to choose the soil for planting. My recipe is three parts akadama soil, coarse sand, and slag, plus some activated carbon or rice husk ash.
Use shallow pots of 4 to 5 centimeters in diameter, as the small cacti do not require deep pots for root growth, making it convenient to observe the moisture level of the soil. Spread the prepared soil from coarse to fine on the surface, slightly moisten it with a spray bottle, and then place the small cacti neatly on the surface.
For daily management, water the soil immediately after it dries. For cacti with fuzz, do not spray water directly on the small cacti. Due to the good water permeability of the soil and the shallow pots, it is easy to prevent waterlogging, which promotes root growth of the small cacti. Most will root within half a month and ensure healthy and strong new roots (except for a few species that are very difficult to root).
After two months, look at this offspring cactus, its roots have grown perfectly!
The above is a comprehensive introduction to the methods for dealing with small cacti growing from a mother plant, hoping to bring some related knowledge about green plants to plant enthusiasts.