Aporocactus

 

Cactus family. Homeland - Central and Southern Mexico. 5 species of epiphytic cacti are common in nature, distributed in open rocky areas or on tree trunks in the undergrowth. These cacti are distinguished by a creeping stem, they are grown as ampel plants.

АпорокактусАпорофиллумАпорокактус

Aporocactus flagelliformis - has the popular name "rat tail cactus." It is an epiphytic cactus native to the rainforest. Light green stems, with slightly pronounced ribs in the amount of 8-13 pieces, easily hang down from the pot, in nature the length of the stems reaches 1.5-2 m in length, with a diameter of 1.5 cm. Radial spines from 8- to 12 - short, up to 5 mm, like bristles, yellow-brown. Central spines 3-4, in length and color almost indistinguishable from radial. The flowers are bright pink, very large up to 9-10 cm in diameter, look very impressive on thin stems, especially when there are many of them. Flowering usually begins in late winter.

Aporocactus plethiformis was widely used in hybridization, as cactus collectors are widely known, for example, Mallison's Aporocactus mallisonii is a hybrid of Aporocactus flagelliformis and Heliocereus speciosus, synonymous with Aporoheliocereus. It has about 5 ribs, more deeply expressed than those of Aporocactus braided and rigid short spines.

Also on sale can be found cactus Aporophyllum Aporophyllum - a hybrid of Aporocactus Aporocactus and Epiphyllum Epiphyllum.

Aporocactus care

Temperature: Moderate, does not like the heat in summer above 28 ° C, in the heat the stems turn yellow, dry, are attacked by a tick. In winter (from October to February), the rest period is at a temperature of about + 11-12 ° С, at least + 10 ° С, with an almost dry content.

Lighting: Bright diffused lighting. Aporocactus like a lot of light, but mostly scattered, direct sun only in the morning or evening. You need to accustom to the spring sun gradually. In summer, aporocactus is harmed not so much by direct sun as by heat in a sunny place.

Watering: Plentiful in spring and summer (after drying the earth in a pot, water every other day), since autumn watering is gradually reduced (after drying the earth, we wait 3-4 days), in winter watering is very rare with cold maintenance (very little by little once a month). It is necessary to water aporocactus only with soft water, and warm (warm hand) in summer, in winter the water temperature is not lower than 20 ° С.

Fertilizer: From March to August, they are fed with special fertilizer for cacti, once every 2-3 weeks. You can use Fertica Lux fertilizer for flowering plants at a dose 2 times less than recommended.

Air humidity: Aporocactus loves moist air more than other cacti, prefers regular spraying with warm water from a very small spray bottle during the growing season, and this also helps to prevent the appearance of a tick. With the beginning of sunny days in February, you can start awakening the cactus to bloom - start foggy spraying in the morning (without the formation of water droplets on the stems). Use only warm and boiled water.

Transplantation: The soil of a slightly acidic reaction is the 1 part of the sod earth (sifted from sod, better from mole excavations), the 1 part of peat, the 1 part of the sand and the 1/2 part of the brick crumb (1-3 mm) and the 1 part of the small gravel or granite crumb (2-3 mm). In addition, several pieces of crushed birch coal should be added to the substrate. The container for aporocactus should be shallow, since their root system is weak. Young plants are transplanted annually or a year later, old ones a year later - two, in spring.

Reproduction: By seeds and cuttings. Cuttings cut from the tops of shoots, about 5-7 cm long, or broken daughter branches must be dried within 2 days. Then I pour the prepared soil into a wide pot, small gravel with a layer of about 5 mm on top, and stick bamboo sticks. I tie a handle of aporocactus vertically with a woolen thread to each stick. There are about 5 cuttings in one pot. I do not water for a week, at least, then slightly moisten the ground from the spray bottle with a stream, so that water does not fall on the stems of the cactus. Roots appear about 2 weeks after planting. I remove the props when it is clear that the cactus does not fall on its side. You can, of course, not tie the cuttings, but put them flat, then the roots appear directly from the middle of the cuttings, but this is ugly.

Important

I must say that aporocactus bloom quite easily and bloom abundantly. Despite the fact that aporocactus is quite easy to grow, you cannot do without due attention and care. The growing aporocactus bush must be periodically cut off, elongated or ugly shoots must be removed, sprinkling the sections with gray or crushed coal.

Aporocactus are very often attacked by a red flat tick, if you do not keep track, then the plant disfigures, the shoots die off. The lesion begins to manifest itself as a tick with the formation of a silver-red coating on the stems.

Control measures: spray with actellic solution (1-2 ml per 1 liter of water). You can also use other acaricides (Apollo, Vermitek, etc.). For prevention, wipe the stems of the cactus with medical alcohol, but sometimes this is difficult due to the large size of the bush.

By the way

Aporocactus is very sensitive to excess moisture or stagnation of water in the roots. Therefore, there should be good drainage in the pot. In general, like any epiphyte, the roots of the aporocactus must breathe.

This is achieved by planting in very loose, well-drained soil, and high-quality drying of the soil between watering (the voids between the soil particles are filled not with water, but with air). Heavy clay soil and pure peat without additives are not suitable for planting aporocactus.

Another option for the soil mixture: 1 part of the leaf earth, 1 part of the coconut substrate (from briquettes), 1 part of the sand, 1 part of the vermiculite, 1/2 part of the pine bark (fine fraction of 3-5 mm), 1 part of the wine cork cut into small pieces (about 3 mm). Plus lower and upper gravel drainage.

Fresh air

Aporocactus, like all other cacti, are in great need of fresh air. Therefore, for the summer it is better to take them out into the garden or onto the balcony and leave them there until autumn. Round-the-clock stay in the fresh air throughout the summer period, especially hardens and strengthens cacti, increases resistance to diseases and pests. But if the aporocactus is brought out into the fresh air, it does not need to be brought into the house even at night. Cacti quickly get used to nighttime temperature changes, and their transfer from place to place will lead to the fall of buds. And, on the contrary, aporocactus left on the balcony for the summer blooms more abundantly, and the flowers are larger, you should only take care of a slight shade from the hot sun.

By the way

Aporocactus forms flowers anywhere in the stem, during flowering it does not tolerate not only rearrangement from place to place, but even turning the pot with the other side to the light.