Wednesday 18 May 2016

How to Grow Cactus



Cacti are fun to grow because of their eccentric, even comical shapes. They are extremely beautiful especially when they bloom. If your air is dry and you have trouble growing plants that like high humidity, put away your mister and pebble-filled trays and try cacti instead. They also need less attention than other houseplants. They are part of the large group of desert plants called “succulents” which store water in their fleshy leaves to get them through the long dry spells their native climates are known for. Cacti don’t have conventional leaves, just stems, which are often jointed. They also have “areoles” small holes from which tufts emerge. Sometimes the tufts are soft, like hairs; sometimes they are sharp and spiny. The tufts shelter them from the sun and if sharp, against creatures who might bite them to get at the water inside. The flowers which appear in spring and summer also emerge from the areoles.
Cacti are a large family, with several genera that make good houseplants. Here are some good ones to start with Mammillaria cacti are sometimes called “pincushion” or “nipple” cacti. Most look like small round globes covered with nipples and bear clusters of small, pretty flowers in a crown around the top. Some good ones to try are old lady cactus “Mammillaria hahniana” which is well covered with long white hairs, produces red flowers and generally grows well under 10 inches; the tiny golden star cactus “M. elongata” which is composed of a cluster of long projections with yellow spines and white flowers; M. zeilmanniana, which forms a little round ball and produces pinkish red flowers even at a young age.
Moreover, Easter lily cactus (Echinopsis multiplex) is a little round cactus with vertical ribs and large, pink flowers borne on tall stems; these open in the evening and have a lovely fragrance. Hybrids, which are crossed with species of Lobivia cactus, come in other colors such as red and orange, and may be day blooming. Among the many other good flowering cacti to try are species of Opuntia “prickly pear” Aporocactus “rattail”, Echinocereus “hedgehog”, Ferocactus “barrel” and Rebutia “crown”.
One of the most popular cacti is the Christmas cactus “Schlumbergera truncate or Zygocactus truncatus” a jungle epiphyte that sends out long, arching jointed stems. Lovely red or white tube shaped flowers dangle from the tips around Christmas time. The variety known as “Thanksgiving cactus” blooms a few weeks earlier and can be distinguished by the fact that the last joint on a stem has two prominent teeth. A similar plant, Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri), is spring blooming. Plants are long lived and can grow as tall as 3 feet and at least as wide.
Most cacti prefer full sun, so give them as much of it as you can. Some will do all right in bright light or under fluorescent lights. They like warm temperatures during the day but can tolerate 40 to 45 degrees at night but don’t let them freeze though and may even bloom better if you turn down your thermostat at night. They like dry air but will take average humidity. In spring and summer when growth is active they should be watered thoroughly. However, during the winter they go dormant for a time, a period they need in order to bloom. They perhaps won’t need water at all during this time unless they wrinkle. If your water is softened water them with bottled water, since they cannot tolerate salt.
Moreover, plant cacti in small, shallow clay pots, with a light, sandy soil except Christmas cacti. Repot in spring if you see roots in the drainage hole. Don’t feed new plants for a year, then feed about once a month during the growing season with a weak concentration of low nitrogen liquid fertilizer; don’t feed cacti at all while they are dormant. They love to be summered outdoors, in fact the cooler days and shorter nights at the end of summer can help to trigger bloom, but bring them indoors when temperatures start to get down into the 40s. Propagate them by transplanting offsets that have developed their own roots.
Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti need more water and fertilizer than other cacti, and they need a more organic soil. Feed them twice a month in spring and summer, and let the soil dry out a bit between watering. But starting eight weeks before the time you want them to bloom, give them a rest. Keep them in a cool place that gets no light at night 50 to 60 degree, give them no fertilizer and just enough water to keep them from wrinkling, and don’t repot them during this time do it in spring. Gradually introduce them to warmer temperatures. Water while blooming, and then keep the cacti on the dry side until spring. They are propagated easily by stem cuttings.    



Tuesday 10 May 2016

How to Grow Ranunculus



Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae and members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, and water crowfoots. Most of the ranunculus available is the showy hybrids that you see in florist shops. The beautiful flowers which are several inches across are round globes made up of several papery textured petals in bright, almost electric colors like red, pink, yellow, gold, white, and picotee that are with the petals edged in a contrasting color. The name Ranunculus is Late Latin for "little frog," the diminutive of rana and this may refers to several species being found near water, like frogs.

They grow 18 to 24 inches tall. They are hardy only in warm climates, blooming there in late winter and spring and going dormant in the summer; both the flowers and the attractive ferny foliage die back. In zones where there is frost they are grown outdoors for bloom in spring and summer until it gets very hot. They can be grown in beds, but they make a particularly fine show as container plants on a deck or terrace. The most ordinary use of Ranunculus species in traditional medicines are anti-rheumatism, intermittent fever and rubefacient.

The plants like full sun and need moisture around the roots, but they will rot if drainage is poor around their crowns. They are planted in late fall in warm climates in cool ones they are started indoors two months before the last frost. Furthermore, all Ranunculus species are poisonous when eaten fresh by horses, cattle, and other livestock, but their acrid taste and the blistering of the mouth caused by their poison means they are generally left uneaten.

Soak the claw shaped tubers in water for a few hours before planting them. Place them in the soil with the claw facing down. Start with small pots, filled with a light, rich potting soil, and move them up to larger pots as they grow, keeping them cool at night and keeping their soil moist. If you love unusual cut flower displays then Ranunculus are the plant is best for you, in vibrant, exciting and perfect for making a dramatic impact.

Moreover bring them outdoors only after danger of frost has passed. After they stop blooming in summer, let the foliage die down and the rubers dry out. Therefore some to have them in the bags of dry peat at about 50 degrees till the planting time. Even warm climate gardeners dig ranunculus up and store them over the summer. However, buttercups are mostly perpetual, but infrequently annual or biannual, herbaceous, aquatic or terrestrial plants, habitually with leafs in a rosette at the base of the stem.