Should cacti be kept in a humid environment?
Today's experience sharing: knowledge about cacti, a type of succulent plant. Should cacti be kept in a humid environment? Please see the detailed introduction below.
Many plant enthusiasts don't know whether cacti should be kept in a humid environment and how to do it. If you don't have a terrace or yard, we recommend keeping all cacti in a humid environment, and it would be even better to have a greenhouse.
Some people say, "Don't plants grow in the ground in their native habitats?" Yes, see below:
1. The key is that you don't have soil; plants in pots cannot spread their roots and have much lower resistance.
2. Keeping them on a windowsill or in a closed balcony is actually keeping them in a humid environment. The problem is that the wooden floors in your house and the ceramic tiles on the balcony are not effective enough to evaporate enough moisture for the plants to grow at night.
3. The irrigation water and soil solution contain a lot of inorganic salts. Any evaporation process cannot remove these salts, and the accumulation of salts is harmful to most plants.
If you keep them in a humid environment:
1. Perfect water circulation keeps the humidity always sufficient.
2. Plants in a humid environment almost don't need watering, so there are no external inorganic salts.
3. Slightly higher temperatures extend the growing season, adding at least two months per year.
4. The cost of heating in a humid environment is much lower when less electrical power is needed.
If you decide to keep them in a humid environment, keep reading.
The first step in keeping them in a humid environment is, of course, to start keeping them humid. Building a greenhouse is not mentioned, a more realistic approach is to build a plant shelf outside the balcony. This first requires a long and艰苦 struggle with the property management. It is recommended to buy a book on business negotiation, or if not, a book on Shaolin Qigong or Yongchun White Crane Fist. Fish tanks and storage boxes are also considerate options, provided they are sufficiently transparent, so it's easy to shade them when the sunlight is too strong and add light when it's not enough.
The principle of keeping them in a humid environment is to shield external interference, allowing the water in the pot, the plant, and the greenhouse (box) to form an internal cycle. It's usually semi-humid, leaving a evaporation path, such as ventilating at night, and adding water when there's not enough. Here, I would recommend full humidity, completely sealed, and if you like, you can even tape the seams firmly. The question is, won't they suffocate? I ask you, what do you mean by suffocation? In fact, as long as there is no external force, and they are not steamed or frozen, cacti are almost 100% killed by fungi, whether humid or not. They will be killed by fungi. I've actually kept a few boxes this way, the ones that should die did, and the ones that shouldn't are still alive, the survival rate is negligible compared to the control group.
Full humidity method 1:
Start with sowing, fill the pot with substrate, soak in water, microwave the pot with soil (avoid using yogurt boxes, use high-quality plastic pots instead), and let it dry. Treat the seeds with potassium permanganate, filter them out, and sow. Then spray or soak the entire pot with a dilute potassium permanganate solution or carbendazim (do not use metalaxyl, it's systemic and not suitable for wide-range fungicide use). Finally, quickly put it in a new plastic bag, tie it tightly, and wait for the seedlings to grow. You can also put it directly into a small greenhouse or tank, provided it's also disinfected.
Full humidity method 2: Half-grown cacti, water them well, keep them humid, leave a vent, and after a few days, when half the water is lost, spray carbendazim and then seal. Since there's still a lot of fungi inside, don't be too reckless at first, keep it sealed for two weeks to enjoy, and repeat after a while. If you see that the cacti are growing aggressively, you can gradually increase the sealing time. Strong cacti are not afraid of anything, the more aggressive they are, the more humid they get, haha.
Advanced:
Next, add bottom sand to the box, which may not necessarily be sand. Vermiculite, perlite, and other materials are also good. Water the cacti well and put them in the box, seal immediately, and the water in the pot will quickly be absorbed by the bottom sand, creating a more complex balance of air-cacti-pot soil-bottom sand.
Further advanced: Add organic matter to the bottom sand, allowing the roots to extend out of the pot's drainage holes and absorb nutrients from the bottom sand. You can even add some fertilizer in advance. By the time the roots have grown in, the bacteria have already decomposed most of the organic matter in the fertilizer, forming a large amount of absorbable inorganic salts for the plants. This way of growing plants can fully reach the standards of Fujian flower farmers, growing from 1 cm seedlings to fist size within a year. The downside is that the cacti become a bit fat and the spines are sparse, but the task of keeping them humid has been completed. Take them out to shape and admire.
Finally, should you open the ventilation at night? The answer is no.
1. Ventilation at night cannot kill fungi unless you open it for a long time and expose it to sunlight.
2. Since the water is internally recycled, there's no need to absorb it from the outside air.
3. Carbon dioxide is also internally recycled, some from bacteria consuming organic matter, and some from plant respiration.
Of course, if the plant growth is terrifying to you, then open it at night to settle down.
The above is the full content of [] about whether cacti should be kept in a humid environment and how to do it. I hope it is helpful to green plant enthusiasts!