Cacti & Succulents

How to Recognize and Grow Cacti and Succulents

Raising succulents and cacti can be enjoyable, but for the most pleasant growth, the right circumstances must be created. Although growing succulents is generally simple, growing exceptional specimens can be challenging. Cacti and succulents need intense light, good drainage, and enough dryness during any inactive season as their primary needs. Each session ends with an assignment that is sent in to the school, graded by the tutors there, and returned to you with any pertinent comments and suggestions—and, if necessary, additional reading—if they are applicable.

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction
   • Review of the system of plant identification
   • Physiology
   • Information sources
   • Three Cacti tribes -Perskia, Opuntia, Cerus
   • Main succulent genera
   • Pronouncing Names
2. Culture A.
   • Planting
   • Staking
   • Mulching
   • Soils
   • Feeding
   • Pruning etc.
3. Propagation
   • Methods of propagating cacti & succulent plants
   • Propagation of selected varieties
   • Seed, Cuttings, Grafting
4. Using Cacti & Succulents
   • Edible succulents
   • Garden Design
   • Garden Styles
   • Mexican gardens
   • Using Colour
   • Rock Gardens
   • Growing Cacti or Succulents in containers
5. Culture B.
   • Pest & Disease
   • Irrigation
   • Greenhouse growing
6. Cacti developing your plant knowledge.
   • General guidelines for growing cacti
   • Review of Cacti Genera
   • Zygocactus -featured plant
7. Succulents developing your plant knowledge.
   • Review of Succulent Families
   • Bromeliads -featured plants
   • Kalanchoe
   • Sansevieria
8. Special Project
   • PBL – Plan the establishment of a collection of different cultivars of either Cacti OR Succulents suited to growing in a specified locality.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Learn about botanical naming practises and how to use them to comprehend the horticultural potential of cacti and succulents.
• Determine requirements, then choose or create improved growing media for cacti and succulents.
• propagate many cactus and succulent species.
• Describe several applications for cactus and succulents.
• Control the environment so that cactus and succulents can flourish
• A variety of cacti’s cultivation should be explained.
• Describe how to grow various succulents.

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Many cacti and succulents thrive in containers because container gardening may offer the well-drained conditions and dry spells to which they are used in the wild.Typically, cacti and succulents have a lot of fleshy or liquid tissue. As a result, when the soil experiences prolonged periods of extreme dryness, these tissues may be able to draw on their stored water reserves. Several of these plants may be able to live as a result if they are cultivated under a roof, for an extended period of time, or without water (When many other plants may well dry up and die).These plants can be grown in tubs or other containers, which has both benefits and drawbacks. Above all, plants in containers are adaptable; they enable interior or outside décor to be changed. When unwell, tub plants can be removed from view and later put back when they recover. Compared to plants in soil, tub plants require more watering and fertilisation. The bathtub has to be properly emptied. There should be enough holes in the bottom of the tub, and perhaps some big stones to create a layer beneath the soil. Non-glazed ceramic pots will typically need a soil mix that holds more moisture since they will drain through the water-absorbent walls. Glazed ceramics and plastics don’t absorb any moisture through the pot’s sides, so larger holes in the bottom are required.If planted in pots, cacti and succulents can receive good drainage. These plants, like the majority of plants, benefit from watering when they are growing; however, as the weather turns cold and growth slows, irrigation might increase the risk of root rots. If a cactus in a pot is placed in a dry location and watering is discontinued over the winter, the risk of disease attack can be decreased. It can be watered once more when the temperature heats up, which promotes growth. This makes managing a plant in a container easier than managing one in the ground.

WHERE CAN CACTI AND SUCCULENTS BE USED?

In most garden settings, succulents or cacti can be used if you pick the right species. Despite being frequently planted in “succulent” areas in gardens, many plants can also be mixed in with non-succulent ones. For instance, plants like Sedums perform well and are frequently used in garden borders with other plants.Think about selecting and utilising succulents or cacti in the following ways:

• As a ground cover, at the front of a garden bed, in bare spots between taller plants, or in the spaces between pavers on a patio or pathway.
• Single plants in pots or tubs, multiple plants in a big container, such as a trough or a hanging basket, or as a container plant.
• a road or garden bed as a border plant.
• as a plant used in architecture. Garden designers and landscape builders frequently utilise taller-growing succulents or cacti (such as some agaves, yucca), and species with longer strap-like leaves, to generate intriguing or contracting patterns in a landscape.
• About vertical gardens or roof gardens
• The variety of colours found in leaves can be utilised to produce stable, year-round colourful effects.
• Think about it: if you plant a mass of azaleas, the mass will only be colourful while the plants are in full bloom; however, if you plant a mass of succulents, you can have a splash of red, blue, or gold in a garden area for 12 months out of the year.
• The majority of non-succulent plants burn, while the majority of succulents do not, making them fire-resistant plants.

 

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