Cut a segment of crab claw cactus stem and root it in water to grow a small potted plant

Have you ever tried propagating crab claw cactus by water cuttings? Crab claw cactus is a common potted plant in daily life. It likes a warm and humid environment, needs to stay cool in summer, and should avoid strong sun exposure. It is a short-day cactus plant, and just a little scattered light each day is enough for it to grow well.

The spot where crab claw cactus is kept should maintain a certain level of air humidity, avoiding dry air. The minimum care temperature should stay above 7°C. In autumn and winter, keep the temperature between 12 and 18°C, which is most suitable. Avoid too high a care temperature, otherwise flowering will also be affected.

Crab claw cactus blooms in winter and spring. After the weather turns cool in late autumn, it begins to form flower buds. If you want to promote flowering, when it turns cool in autumn, give potassium dihydrogen phosphate once every 1 to 2 weeks, and the concentration must not be too high.

After it turns cool in autumn, keep a completely dark environment at night. Regularly maintaining a completely dark environment is beneficial for forming flower buds.

Crab claw cactus is generally propagated by cuttings. You can cut a stem segment about 7 to 9 cm long, and one with 3 to 4 leaves is most suitable. The propagation time is generally chosen after the flowers fade.

After the flowers fade, remove the spent flowers in time, then you can break it off at its growth node. Use sharp scissors to cut it directly. You can leave it in a cool place to let the wound dry, avoiding inserting it straight into the pot. After the wound has healed, you can proceed to the next step.

Here, directly prepare a transparent glass bottle, place some pebbles at the bottom of the container, with some beautiful glass patterns on top. The pebbles are arranged to about five cm.

Then pour some clean water into the container. The water level must not be too deep, only about 1 to 2 cm above the pebbles.

Finally, soak the crab claw cactus stem segment with the dried wound in water, place it in a suitable position, keep the light bright, the environment ventilated, with a certain level of air humidity. A temperature of about 18 to 20°C is most suitable.

With some water in the container, it can maintain a certain humidity, but do not worry that it will rot. Avoid soaking the stem segment too deeply in water.

When the roots of the crab claw cactus stem segment soaked in water grow to about 3 to 5 cm, it can be transplanted into a pot. You can first place it in perlite and vermiculite and grow it for a period, and finally transplant it into loose, well-drained sandy soil. For the soil, you can directly use peat soil and perlite at a 2:1 ratio. After transplanting, water a little after 3 days, and do not put it in the sun at first.