SELECTION OF SUCCULENTS

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS

This species is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and America. Succulents are plants in which leaves, stems or roots that have adapted for the storage of water, allowing them to maintain life during dry seasons.

 The peculiarity of accumulating water causes the need to include protection mechanisms against herbivores and organisms that seek water reserves to survive. Thorns or irritating latex are the most effective and common methods in the cactus family, the agavaceae, euphorbiaceae or apocinaceae.

Another protection method to avoid sunlight or low night or winter temperatures is the presence of silks or hairs, they usually have whitish colorations to take advantage of their reflective character, thus avoiding perspiration and loss of water due to evaporation.

DECORATION OF ... EXTERIOR OR INTERIOR?

They are perfect for interior decoration, due to the size in which we offer them, their colors, their leaves swollen due to water retention and their so variable shapes, make them very decorative in our home giving it a touch of color.

CARE FOR CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS

They are striking plants, very beautiful and that practically do not need much maintenance:

- They prefer places with direct light or that have good lighting, preferably next to a window, on a balcony, a terrace or in your Garden.

- It is essential that they have good drainage, both in the soil and in a pot.

- The ideal substrate for cacti has to be combined with sand and gravel, so that they have good drainage, humidity and excess water are not good.

- The temperatures should not be too low as they do not withstand the cold well, so the minimum temperatures should be 5ºC.

- Irrigation does not have to be excessive. From spring to autumn, which would be its growth period, water every 15 days, abundant watering and wait for the soil to be very dry again. In winter do not water or give one watering per month.

- Fertilizer. During the growing season (spring - autumn) you can fertilize them with worm humus. Eggshells are a good home fertilizer, they contain (Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium and Phosphorus) these nutrients are very important and favor their growth ... you must crush and mix them with the substrate, administer them a couple of times a year.

- Treatment against fungi due to excess humidity, disinfect the area with a copper-based fungicide.

- If you want to transplant them from the pot or the ground, the best time would be from Spring.

And don't forget that to work with cacti you have to wear good gloves.