Red Hibibcus flower and the year of Ox

The Chinese New Year is from January 26,2009 and this year is the year of Ox. Let this Red Hibiscus flower and the Chinese New Year be the start to bring you and your family all thing wonderful...

Gong Xi Fa Cai and a Happy New Year.

Growing cacti that you have to understand

Cacti or cactus plants have many shapes.The ideal environment for a cactus is not of course solely dependant on its genetic predispositions. There are several factors that contribute to how well or not well a particular cactus will do under certain conditions.

The first factor is how it was raised before you acquired it. Most of the cacti we purchase where probably grown in a greenhouse where conditions are more or less kept within a particular range of light, heat, moisture. Seedlings are kept cooler and in higher humidity conditions with a more limited amount of light than your standard commercial greenhouse. As the plants grow larger they will be moved into a greenhouse where they receive light through opaque plastic and depending on the location of the nursery probably a much hotter and drier climate.

So now you've bought your new little pride and joy from your local nursery, cactus farm. You take it home and immediately place it outside in the hot sun; probably not a good idea.

Cacti aren't able to move or put on sun screen so they may need our help when dealing with the elements. So don't let the sun be an enemy of your cacti.

Cactus Plants from Cameron Highlands

Cactus Plants are distinguished by their enlarged stems that serve to store water and air, as well as make carbohydrates for the plant through photosynthesis. Leaves are replaced by needles or spines.

How to take care Cactus Plant in your garden

There are many types of cactus which I saw in the Cactus Point and Cactus Valley in Cameron Highlands. But I noticed that some of these cactus plants are blooming with flowers.

Cactus or Cacti are also known as low maintenance plants. It is the best indoor plant type, as they require little attention for their healthy growth. There is a wide variety of shapes, sizes and color of cactus. Cacti are called as perennial plants because they will be growing year after year.

Cactus plant care

Potting

* Cactus should be placed under adequate sunlight.
* They should be sowed in pots having a good drainage system.
* Remove one inch of soil form the top. Replace it with gravel.
* The soil should be a mixture of sand, peat and perlite.
* Cactus growing vertically should be sowed in container whose diameter is half the height of the plant.
* Cacti that are growing breadth wise should be grown on containers, which are having 2 inches of diameter extra than the plant.
* Recently sowed or repotted plants have more chances of getting rot.
* The soil should be dry enough while the sowing or repotting is been done. Watering should be done after a week so that the roots are healed within the time.

Cactus grows very slowly. Some cactus takes a year to germinate and to know how they look like it takes again some years. They can breed through branches or from a part of the plant. The part of the plant is removed from the main plant and dried for 2 weeks. After the cut portion is healed then it is planted in shallow soil.

Watering

Cactus needs less watering so water them when they dry out. It is better to use clay pots without any glaze, as it needs less water than glazed or plastic pots.

Most of the cactus plant type requires a period for rest so that they can flower the rest of the year. The exact time required for cactus plant keeps varying but in general it is within three months. They are quite friendly to the chill weather and during the winter they should be watered less with no fertilizer application.