It’s been a good spring for the cactus garden on my balcony in Marseille; the new little plants that I was given for Christmas have grown amazingly in size whilst the previous generations have made good progress too. The oldest plants are pot-bound, cacti that I’ve been looking after for ten years or more. So time to get the gloves on and take on the spikes. There’s a handling technique and it’s not as daunting as it maybe looks, though best not to rush, so it took several sessions.
Cactus plants have extensive root systems plus they are able to form a dense root mat clinging to the surface of terracotta or rock, I guess this is both for physical stability, holding on to their place, and to extract maximum moisture in the desert situation, including overnight condensation (dew). Several of these cacti dropped sub-plants during their move, I planted these in my smallest pots (just vacated) with the hope of propagating full new plants. Time will tell. I’m using a compost of fine sand with plenty of humus.
There was a good response within days, fluff and spikes particularly at the top of the plants. Another characteristic of these highly-evolved plants are growth spurts when water and nutrients are available, followed by long periods of inactivity as resistance to drought. So colourful flowers a couple of days later.
