In this post i’m taking few question which i got on daily basis and trying to answer them on my personal experience. May be other growers have different opinion on that.

Question – My cactus plant is not flowering ?
Answer – All cactus produce flower in their lifespan, we can enhance flowering by giving 0 52 34 in diluted form. 2gm in one ltr water, once in a month. Give after sunset.

Question – How often should Cactus be watered?
Answer – Them them whenever your media got dry, These are drought torrent plant but they need water to grow. Don’t water them if your media is moist.

Question – Do cacti need direct sunlight?
Answer – Cactus need full bright sunlight to grow, many cactus grow well in full direct sunlight but few like Gymnocalycium grow well in bright indirect sunlight. So choose the plant location as per the need.

Question : Can cactus be grow indoor?
Answer : In my personal opinion, NO !! they are purely outdoor plants, if you can provide bright sunny location to them then you can grow.

Question – Are cacti also succulent?
Answer – Yes, all cacti are succulent. All those plant who store water in their body are succulent. Few store water in the body itself, few in leafs and few in caudex.

Question – What is the Ideal potting for cacti
Answer – Its very simple, not focusing on a special type of media. Just take well drained media as per availability.  Any media which doesnt hold too much water and drain out the access water is good to grow cacti.

Question – Does cactus need fertilization?
Answer – Although cactus dosn’t need high nutrition but you give low nitrogen base fertilizer once in a month to make them make and blooming.

Question – Can we grow cactus in normal garden soil ?
Answer– Yes, we can. I’m growing many cactus in normal garden soil and they are growing well, just keep in mind it should be well drain. My garden Soil mix – Equal ratio of garden soil+Sand+Vermicompost and 1 tsp neem cake + 1 tsp bonemeal.

Question – My cactus is rotting at its base, How can I save it?
Answer – Just uproot your plant and cut all the rotted part, apply fungicide and keep it dry in fresh air (not in direct sunlight). After 10-15 days put it on moist sand or cocopeat, it will root again.

Question – I bought a few cactus plants only, when can I pot them?
Answer – Depends upon the plant condition, if these are healthy you can pot them immediately, no issues in that. Just Remember dont do deep watering at the time of potting just spray some water and keep in shade for 10-15 days then gradually move to sunlight. If you place directly into the sun your plant may get sunburn. And do first watering with any fungicide. 

Question – Does cactus require re-potting frequently?
Answer – No, Depends upon the pot selection and growth of the plant. If your plant is not growing properly in the same pot, you can re-pot into fresh media. Usually cactus doesn’t need frequent re-potting. 

Question – Colour of my cactus changed ? Why
Answer – It’s natural, nothing to worry about. They change the color as per the climate, mostly in winter they become reddish and in summer again become green.

Question – Do I have to take off the faded flowers?
Answer – Not at all, Maybe you lose some seedpods so please don’t remove them if seeds not developing it will automatically be detached. 

Question – From where i can buy cactus plants ?
Answer – if you are not getting them from your local nursery, there are various sell group over facebook, you can buy from there or you can check with most reliable source of India – Plantae Paradise (plantaeparadise.com)

Question – How can I start a collection?
Answer – I would suggest starting with some basic/hardy cactus like echinopsis, ferocactus, Gymnocalycium Damsii, opuntia and so on. First grow them, experience them and learn from them then move to some exotic ones.