When Do Cacti Bloom? A Detailed Guide to the Blooming Season
The cactus is also known as the immortal palm, Guanyin palm and so on. It is a clumping succulent shrub of the genus Opuntia in the family Cactaceae, with a great many species that can be divided specifically into the prickly pear cactus group, the segmented cactus group, the crab claw cactus, the leaf-type forest cactus group, the globular cactus and others. Because it often grows in dry environments such as deserts, it is called the “desert hero flower”. Now let us take a look together at when cacti bloom!
When Do Cacti Bloom?
Cactus blooming is most concentrated from March to May, and there are not many species that bloom in autumn, but quite a few species can be grafted with offsets in spring to make them bloom in autumn. A cactus can only possibly bloom when it is cultivated properly, and cactus flowers are very beautiful. The flowers generally grow on the areoles of the plant, the flower shape is relatively large, and the flower colors are also very brilliant.
What Do Cactus Flowers Symbolize?
1. Strength: The very existence of the cactus is in fact synonymous with strength. The bright and beautiful cactus flower looks very soft, as if even a gentle breeze passing by could hurt it, yet no matter wind, rain or sun, the flower remains beautiful as ever.
2. Hope: A cactus blooming is a miracle both expected and unexpected, because although everyone knows that a cactus can bloom, it is actually very rare to truly get a cactus grown at home to bloom.
How Can a Cactus Be Made to Bloom?
1. Watering: Cactus flower buds form more easily under water-deficient conditions. Watering too much leads to excessive vegetative growth, and the flower buds cannot differentiate smoothly. A relatively suitable watering interval is once every 3 to 7 days in summer, and about once every half a month in winter.
2. Fertilizing: Apart from placing a few pieces of horseshoe chip at the bottom of the pot as a base fertilizer when repotting, the cactus needs no excessive fertilizing at other times; just apply a few light doses of dilute fertilizer solution as appropriate. However, cacti very much like calcium fertilizer, so when preparing the potting soil you can mix in some wall plaster soil.
3. Light: Cacti bloom easily under full-sun conditions. If the environment is shady, the growth and development of the flower buds is easily hindered. Therefore, if you want a cactus to bloom normally, it is necessary to ensure that it receives more than 8 hours of sunlight every day.
4. Pruning: Cactus flower buds are borne on old stems, not on tender stems. Therefore, in late spring and early summer, and in late autumn and early winter, the newly grown fleshy stems must be cut off, otherwise the plant will consume more nutrients and this will affect blooming.
5. Plant age: A cactus must grow to 60 to 90 cm tall and itself have about 7 segments of fleshy stem before it blooms easily. In terms of cultivation years, reaching this standard takes about 3 years of planting, and the longer the cultivation period, the better and more numerous the blooms.