Three Cactus Cutting Fundamentals

By Jiraiya Morgan

Cactus cutting is a great way to increase your number of cactus quickly and cheaply. It’s free which is much cheaper than buying another cactus. When cutting your cactus there are three things you need to know. These three things you need to know when cutting cactus are how to take a cutting, how to plant, and how to water your new cactus cutting. If you follow these three fundamentals part of your own cactus should make you a brand new one. Why says that you can’t get something for nothing?

First of all we must cut the cactus correctly in order to have a healthy new cactus. It is important to use a clean, sharp knife when making our cut. Most importantly we have to make sure that the cactus we are cutting is in very good health if it’s not a cutting could kill your original cactus which would defeat the whole point of trying to make another one. When making our cut it’s important to cut at a segment. Also if we are making several cuttings out of one cactus stem we have to make sure that we know which side is the top and which side is the bottom. This is because if you plant our cactus cuttings upside down it won’t grow. Now that we have successfully cut our cactus cutting we have to successfully plant it.

This step is where most people make a mistake, so pay close attention. First let your cactus cutting dry out until it has ‘calloused over.’ You know that the cutting has calloused over when the cut end has dried and sealed itself over. When you plant the cutting you want to plant it about 1 or 2 inches into the soil. Another good tip to use before you plant your cutting is to dip it in fungicide / rooting hormone. Now that we our cactus has ‘calloused over’ and is planted we have to water it right, WRONG.

Did I say that planting your cactus cutting is the most important I lied. The most common cause of death of all cacti is not watering them properly. When you plant your cactus cutting, do not water it for about two to four weeks. Then, water you cactus cutting every 2-3 weeks. It’s important to remember that cacti thrive in the desert and that there’s not much water in the desert. So, do your cactus a favor and treat it like it’s in the desert.

Cactus cutting like all gardening can be a lot of fun. As you may have already guessed there are some other things that I didn’t include like how to water your cactus during the winter, how to avoid fungal soft rot. But, these things aren’t really about planting your cactus cutting and if I including everything I know about cacti I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in this article. But, now you know how to successfully perform a cactus cutting.

About the Author: While cacti are beautiful plants my favorite plant would have to be the bonsai tree. The bonsai tree is a beautiful addition to any garden. Find out the step by step secrets to creating beautiful bonsai trees. => japanesebonsai.info P.S. Also contains a free gardening tips newsletter.

Source: isnare.com

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