Content
- To cultivate your prickly pear cactus - tips and tricks
- The right location and the best floor
- Pour the prickly pear properly and fertilize
- The prickly pear cactus in winter
- The essentials in brief:
- Tips
The prickly pear cactus needs little attention
To cultivate your prickly pear cactus - tips and tricks
The prickly prickly pear cactus (bot. Opuntia ficus indica) or the prickly pear belongs to the Opuntia family, which comprises more than 190 species. With a size of about one to six meters, it is not exactly a small plant.
The right location and the best floor
The Opuntia ficus indica is native to the deserts of Mexico, the Opuntia tuna in the Caribbean. Accordingly, the prickly pear requires a rather lean and dry soil for good growth, which may like to contain sand and / or stones. Plant it in special cactus soil or a mixture of sand / gravel, soil and peat or coconut fibers.
As the prickly pear cactus can grow up to six meters high, you should plant it in a large and heavy vessel. A planting in the garden bed is not recommended, because the prickly pear cactus can not stand a long frosty winter. He likes light, sun and warmth, so he can stand outside well during the summer.
Pour the prickly pear properly and fertilize
As a desert plant, the prickly pear cactus does not need a lot of water, but should still be poured regularly, preferably always when the top layer of earth has become slightly dry. However, he does not tolerate waterlogging or rain.
In the event of prolonged rain, it is better to put your prickly pear cactus back in the apartment or in a greenhouse. During the summer months, give him a dose of potash fertilizer about every 14 days, often mixed with liquid water as a liquid fertilizer.
The prickly pear cactus in winter
In winter the prickly pear keeps hibernation. Therefore, it should be kept in a cool winter, ideally at about 6 ° C. During this time he needs no fertilizer and should only be watered when the soil is very dry.
The essentials in brief:
Tips
The decorative fruits of prickly pear are edible and very aromatic.