How to propagate the pencil cactus? A few simple and practical methods to teach you

The pencil cactus is a succulent plant. We may be quite unfamiliar with this plant. Because of its peculiar shape, the whole plant has no flowers and no leaves, only branches, and it gets its name because it looks like sticks inserted into a tree. As for its propagation methods, presumably many people do not know them either. Below we will talk about some aspects of its propagation.

Morphological characteristics

Also known as the green spurge, dragon-bone tree, and immortal stick, it is a tropical shrub or small tree, with a plant height of about 2-6 m. Its leaves are small, alternate, and round-linear, but the leaves are sparse and easily fall off, so the plant remains leafless all year round. It has many branches, mostly opposite or whorled, which replace the leaves in photosynthesis. The flowers are cymose at the branch tips, yellow-white in color, with small bracts. The fruit is a capsule, dark black in color, with the epidermis closely covered in soft hairs. The plant is green when young and gray when old.

How to propagate

The pencil cactus rarely blooms and bears fruit, so the propagation method is mostly cuttings. Before propagation, good soil must be selected, soil with good drainage. The soil can be prepared with leaf mold, garden soil, and river sand. A little slow-release fertilizer can be placed at the bottom of the pot as base fertilizer. For convenient drainage, some crushed stone or tiles can be placed at the bottom of the pot.

Propagation steps

1. Prepare scissors, a pencil cactus branch, water, a soil-loosening tool, and the prepared potting soil.

2. Use the scissors to cut a branch from the pencil cactus branch.

3. Loosen the potting soil.

4. Dig a hole in the center of the loosened potting soil.

5. Place the pencil cactus branch to be cuttings into the shallow hole.

6. Fill with soil, secure the branch, and water until the soil is moist.

It can take root after about three weeks. Warm conditions are favorable for rooting. After 4 weeks, it can be transplanted into a large pot for permanent planting.

Precautions

The milky sap of the pencil cactus is toxic, has carcinogenic effects and promotes tumor growth. Contact with the skin can cause redness and swelling, and getting it into the eyes can cause temporary blindness. Be very careful when pruning branches. Also, do not wait for its sap to dry before inserting it into the soil for cuttings, as this will result in a low survival rate.

The above is all the content on the propagation methods of the pencil cactus. In addition, the morphological characteristics of the pencil cactus were also introduced. Everyone can also observe it in daily life, so as to avoid poisoning from touching its sap out of momentary curiosity.