Gardening Hacks : Basic Tips in Growing Cacti Indoors

Are you a fan of cacti? I am.

When I first moved here in The Netherlands, I learned that people bring plants and flowers when they visit someone. I'm one who prefers flowers unpicked. I love being given flower as every woman do and most of my friends know now that I love them in pots not in vases.

In most windows here, you'll find plants displayed on the sill. In my case, it's cacti. I'm a Filipina, I love tropical plants and my first encounter of them was in Baguio City. There, cacti grow beautifully and flower much. Back in the Philippines, I used to collect them and so, I do the same here.

One time, hub and I were doing the grocery and we bumped into these cute little cacti which I thought were flowering. They were my very first cacti.

Unfortunately, only one of them are still alive because at that time I don't know how to take care of cacti so two of them eventually died. Later on, I bought new ones to replace those that died and looked for ways on how to grow them indoors successfully.

Here are basic tips in growing your cacti indoors:

Grow your cacti in a shallow pot with enough room for growth. Transplant once it has grown close to the side of the pot.

Make your own potting soil by mixing 1/3 garden soil, 1/3 sand and 1/3 gravel or tiny pebbles. Layer them garden soil first (bottom), sand next and finally pebbles on top. Better yet, buy a ready mix soil for cactus.

Water the cactus only once a month. Pour the water around the base of the cactus NOT ON the cactus. If it gets too sunny and warm, water it at least two times on those sunny days. Water them on a regular schedule. One of my new cacti died because it got too warm this summer and I followed the once a month regular watering, most of their soil got pretty dry.

The last watering should take place during the last week of September. From October to January, do not water them at all. It's their sleeping time or dormancy. They won't shred a needle or anything though, you won't notice the difference.

Place your cacti in a sunny place. The best place is facing south and never in a direct sunlight. If you have glass windows like we do, better not place the cacti too close to the window as it could get too warm in summer. Direct sunlight would actually make the cacti look pale. Too much direct sunlight would eventually burn them.

Move the cacti to a darker place in your house where there is no direct sunlight at all - from October to January .This way, they would know it's winter and doing this encourages them to flower in the spring. They need to sleep or go dormant in the winter as well.

Fertilize your cacti two times a year. Never during its dormancy. Some fertilize their cacti 3 times a year specially the huge ones. I use Pokon for my cacti and this year they have been successfully growing.

Lastly, talk to your cacti and give them compliments when you are watering them. Plants are alive and they get encouraged with appropriate attention. If too much love would kill you - too much attention would kill that cactus, too.

Everything grows well when grown in balance and with love.

sources: How to Care for Indoor Cacti http://homeguides.sfgate.com
How to Grow Cactus Indoors www.wikihow.com
Fertilizing Cactus Plants: When And How To Fertilize A Cactus www.gardeningknowhow.com
Annie Cactus of www.cactusoase.nl
1st two pics I've also shared in my other social media account but not publicly.

Some of these pictures I took with my Samsung Galaxy Note 1 and some with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016.
Love plants like I do? FOLLOW ME @englishtchrivy.