How to cultivate the Thelocactus
How to cultivate the Thelocactus
The Thelocactus are succulent plants of the Cactaceae family originating from Mexico and South America.
The thelocactus has a rounded or slightly ovoid shape with flattened ribs and covered with highly highlighted tubercles whose tops are equipped with large aureous spines.
Among the most known species of this genus we recall:
– Thelocactus beguinii;
– Thelocactus bicolor;
– Thelocactus conothelos;
– Thelocactus garciae;
– Thelocactus gielsdorfianus;
– Thelocactus hastifer;
– Thelocactus heterochromus;
– Thelocactus hexaedrophorus;
– Thelocactus horripilus;
– Thelocactus knuthianus;
– Thelocactus lausseri;
– Thelocactus leucacanthus;
– Thelocactus lophophoroides;
– Thelocactus macdowelii;
– Thelocactus mandragora;
– Thelocactus pseudopectinatus;
– Thelocactus rinconensis;
– Thelocactus saueri;
– Thelocactus setispinus;
– Thelocactus subterraneus;
– Thelocactus tulensis;
– Thelocactus viereckii;
– Thelocactus ysabelae.
In this card we will see how to grow the Thelocactus taking into account their climatic and soil needs.
For the cultivation of this plant it is necessary to prepare a very draining substratum, composed of a mixture of fertilized earth and coarse limestone sand, in the proportion 30-70% in order to allow a good drainage and prevent the stagnation of water that would cause the rot of stem.
If grown in pots the Thelocactus must be placed in not very large pots, of a size just above the plant: it should be remembered, however, that since they are fast-growing plants they need repotting that must be done in spring at least every two years.
The plants will then be placed in full light and full sun and in winter they must be stored at a temperature that never drops below 4 ° C.
On the merits of the irrigation supplies the waterings will have to be done only when the earth appears dry and suspended when the first winter colds arrive.
You can regulate watering every 3-4 days in spring and summer, decreasing the frequency in autumn until it stops completely in winter.
Furthermore, the Thelocactus reproduce almost always by seed, as these plants hardly produce suckers; the seed must be placed in a composition of very fine and moist soil and sand and stored at a temperature of 20-22 ° C and in a shady position.
For the fertilization it is possible to proceed fertilizing twice a year, with specific fertilizers for succulent plants, in early spring and early summer for plants cultivated in pots; for those grown in the open ground you can proceed with an organic fertilization just before the vegetative growth in early spring.