How to transplant a cactus at home

Cacti, bought in the store, immediately transplanted into another pot. The substrate that professionals use to grow a plant is devoid of nutritional components. It is necessary to fertilize regularly, otherwise the spiny succulent will wither and never please the owner with bright pink or delicate white buds.

How to choose a pot

Cacti live for months without water. They accumulate liquid in juicy pulp and carefully spend it. More green "hedgehogs" are afraid of abundant watering and too wet soil in which fungus appears. In order for the cactus to consume water and not suffer from mold, you need to choose the right pot.

The preference is given to clay containers. The material absorbs moisture and passes air, providing oxygen to the root system of the cactus.In the bottom of the pot there should be drainage holes through which excess liquid can flow. You can not buy glazed clay. Plastic pots will do as well.

How to determine the size of the tank? The height depends on the type of root system. Cacti with fibrous varieties will enjoy the wide, but low flowerpot. Green hedgehogs with a massive and long rhizome are more convenient to develop in high pots, similar to beer glasses.

The diameter of the new house should be 3–5 cm larger than the old one. There is enough space for the cactus to feel comfortable and manage to absorb water.

The pot is washed with an antibacterial agent. Clay varieties are dusted with boiling water, then dried and filled with a drainage layer. Poured into the tank prepared land and transplanted cactus.

What basis to choose

Flower shops have special mixes for growing cacti. The land for succulents is nutritious, but heavy, therefore it is mixed with coarse-grained river sand and fine rubble.

In order not to buy soil, it is prepared independently. The composition of the substrate for cacti includes:

• leaf or coniferous humus - 2 parts;
• turf ground taken from a garden or vegetable garden - 1 part;
• crushed coal or wood ash - 1 part;
• small stones with a diameter of 1 to 5 mm - 1 part.

Too lazy to go over rubble in search of suitable specimens? The component is replaced with coarse river sand.

Sifting sod land is not necessary. Cacti will love needles, unfertilized leaves and small twigs. The more heterogeneous the substrate, the easier and more airy it is.

The soil is connected to humus, and then calcined in the oven or steamed in a slow cooker. The earth is disinfected so that the root system of the succulent is not destroyed by a mold or a colony of insect pests.

In the sterile soil add pebbles, which are pre-washed and doused with boiling water, and wood ash. Miniature cacti — stars like crushed coal. The substrate is insisted for several days so that useful bacteria appear in the calcined earth, and then fall asleep in a pot.

Important: The ground cannot be added to the base from the beds if they have recently been fertilized with cow dung or bird droppings.

Fine gravel, broken brick or perlite, grated foam are placed on the bottom of a clay or plastic pot. The material draws excess water from the ground, protecting the cactus root system from fungus.The thickness of the drainage layer varies from 1 to 4-6 cm, depending on the height of the tank.

Land in a pot is not tamped. If it settles over time, exposing the root of the plant, just pour out some new soil.

Removing the succulent from the old tank

It is painful and dangerous to touch the green “hedgehogs” with bare hands, because small needles can get stuck under the skin, due to which a purulent abscess will appear. It is recommended to wear tight gloves made of leather or fabric with rubber inserts. Other gardeners use thick foam sponges that gently impale a plant, and old newspapers, folded 6–8 times. Paper cuffs wrap around the base of the indoor flower, firmly squeeze the ends and transfer it to another pot.

Small cacti are removed from the tank with special forceps. The tool is sold in flower shops.

The room flower is no longer watered 2–4 weeks before transplantation so that all the liquid evaporates from the substrate and it becomes completely dry and crumbly. It is not recommended to soak the ground around the root system, because then it increases the risk of injuring thin shoots.

How to extract a succulent so as not to damage it?

1. If the pot is made of clay, you need to gently knock on the walls with a hand or a spatula for garden work.
2. Plastic containers gently crumpled fingers to separate the earthen clod from the pot.
3. The pot is turned upside down.
4. Hold the flower with one hand and slowly turn the container with the other.
5. The flowerpot is removed, the root system is cleaned from the substrate.

If the cactus is attached to the walls of the container, then an earthen ball is surrounded with a sharp knife. Couldn't get the succulent? Then the pot is broken or cut in half.

Before planting in a new pot, the plant is carefully inspected and preventive disinfection is carried out.

Cactus processing

In the rhizome of succulent can live aphid or mold. To protect the extracted flower from pests and diseases, a special bath is prepared for it.

You will need a jar or an iron bowl and a sheet of thick cardboard in which a small hole is cut. Hot water is poured into the container. Fluid temperature varies from 50 to 55 degrees. Put the cardboard base on the cactus so that the rhizome is at the bottom and the neck remains at the top.

Before disinfection, the plant is cleaned from earthen coma.If the soil is not watered for more than 3 weeks, it is enough to shake the flower. Stuck substrate, which had turned to stone, is soaked in warm water, and then removed.

Dip the prepared root system into a hot bath for 15–20 minutes. Remove and put on paper towel with liquid from the succulent glass. Move the cactus in a plastic container or shoe box, hide from the sun for 3-4 days. The flower is placed next to the battery or other heat source.

After 3-4 days rhizome inspect, cutting off rotten and dried shoots, shorten thick shoots. Thin strings do not touch, because thanks to them the cactus pulls nutrients out of the ground.

Work with a sharp knife or scissors. Burn the blade over the fire or wipe it with alcohol to prevent infection. Fresh wounds are sprinkled with crushed activated charcoal or sulfur powder.

The cuts should dry out and tighten. The plant is returned to the container, give rest for 1-2 days.

How to plant in a pot

A thin layer of soil is poured over the drainage, water is not added. The cactus is placed on the substrate, gently straightening the roots and distributing throughout the pot.The lower part is covered with earth, slightly tamping it down. The root collar must be left on the surface of the earth.

Filling the pot with the substrate, you need to knock on the walls so that the soil fills the voids and evenly distributed across the container. Top with a layer of fine expanded clay. For tall and large cacti install wooden props. The trunk is tied to sticks with thin fabric cords and left until the succulent rooted in the new house.

Important: Long roots need not only straighten, but also send down. A plant with a curved base becomes weak and sluggish, eventually loses needles and fades.

Subtleties of care

A prickly plant is watered 2–2.5 weeks after transplantation. The cactus is hidden from the sun, but kept warm. After 14 days, when the flower adapts, and the roots dry out and heal, they make a small portion of water with mineral fertilizer. The next day, put on a lighted window.

After transplanting the plant is too stretched up? This means that the substrate is not nutritious or the pot is too wide. Recommend to replace the soil, adding more land, and buy a new pot of smaller diameter.

Sprout cactus

During transplantation, small growths are cut from the mother flower. The billet is separated with a sharp disinfected knife to protect the adult cactus from infection and rotting.

The separated sprouts are placed in a plastic container. Cover the bottom of the container with paper towels so that it is dry inside. Hide small cacti in a closet or another room where it is cool and there is no sun. Keep the harvesting there for 3-5 days so that the cut point is drawn out and dried. If a wet sprout is planted in the ground, it will not take root, it will rot and disappear.

Pour the drainage layer into a small plastic cup, then dry the substrate as for an adult cactus. Sprout to put in a small depression in the ground, but do not bury. Periodically watered or sprayed with a spray bottle.

When a new cactus will have thin roots, it is transferred to a clay pot. Choose a miniature flowerpot, because in a large capacity prickly flower will not survive. At the bottom of the dishes lay expanded clay, then fall asleep substrate.

Sprout put in the center of the pot, rhizome gently straighten and correct. Covered with a layer of earth, cleaned in a dark place. Water in 3-5 days.So much time will be needed for the cactus to restore the damaged thin strings and adapt to the new environment.

Grown plants are transplanted every 2–4 years. The substrate in old prickly flowers changes in 5–7 years.

Cacti are beautiful and unpretentious, do without water and fertilizer for a long time. They love light, soddy soil with expanded clay and wood ash. Transplanting spiny plants is simple: choose the right pot and substrate, transfer the flower to another container and hide it from the sun. This is enough for the cactus to quickly adapt and take root, and a few years later it pleased the owner with exotic buds.

Video: how to transplant cactus