78 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Mammilaria bicasand 
Phyllocactus flowers 
February, 1911 
A splendid mammilaria 
Cacti that will Flower 
By William R. Ludlow 
Vomiting KF LLATE years there has been a tremendous 
4 stimulus given to the cultivation of Cacti 
owing to a wider knowledge of the in- 
teresting nature of these plants. Hitherto 
much of their attractiveness has been held 
to lie inthe quaint shapes of the specimens; 
garden books have been careful to point 
out to the beginner that Cacti only produce their blossoms at 
rare intervals and only then under the influence of very 
favorable conditions. ‘The grower of today whilst he ad- 
mires the strange forms of the succulents is very naturally 
asking if it is not possible to have a collection of Cacti 
most of which may be expected to flower with reasonable 
treatment. ‘The answer is certainly, if in purchasing the 
examples one is careful to obtain special kinds, known to 
be regular bloomers, and faithfully follow a line of treat- 
ment which it is intended to outline in the present article. 
A goodly number of species which figure on the cata- 
logue of the Cactus dealer has never been known to flower 
in captivity, while others cannot be expected to throw bloom 
until they are of great age. Other kinds will blossom but 
only at irregular intervals, which may mean a wait of more 
than a few years. On the other hand there are a large 
number of sorts which will flower freely every year and 
sometimes even more often than this if they are really 
happy in their surroundings. It is these last which it 1s 
proposed to bring to the notice of the reader in the hope 
that still more people will be induced to take up the very 
delightful hobby of Cactus collecting. 
It can hardly be insisted too often that no great amount 
of heat is necessary or is even desirable for the Cacti in 
general cultivation. Of course, none can be really called 
hardy in the sense that they will flourish out of doors where 
the winter experienced is of any severity, but the heat re- 
quired in a glass house need not be more than is necessary 
to keep the temperature just above freezing point. Still 
better, nearly all Cacti are most excellent room subjects and 
in England, where the culture of these plants is fairly gen- 
eral, some of the finest examples are to be seen in the 
windows of cottages. There are really no subjects so well 
fitted to withstand the inevitable dust of the living apart- 
ment as are these accommodating succulents. For the best 
results a south window is really a necessity as a very great 
deal will depend upon the amount of sunshine which the 
plants receive. 
One very important point to bear in mind concerning 
the flowering of Cacti is that it is a grave mistake to put 
the plants in large pots. A short while ago the writer 
had brought under his notice a large plant of the Red 
Phyllocactus ; the owner of this specimen had never been 
successful in inducing the example to flower. A pot half 
the size of the one in use was suggested, the advice being 
duly carried out. The following spring the Phyllocactus 
developed forty great blooms, each five inches in diameter. 
The average collection of Cacti will show an indifferent 
amount of bloom, and more than half the reason is that 
the pots of the plants are too commodious. Another cause 
of failure to bloom is to be found in an improper mixture 
of mold. This, if of a rich moist nature, encourages a 
very luxuriant growth of the succulent stems and keeps 
the whole plant in a very green condition. The stems do 
not ripen properly, and in such a state will never produce 
Phyllocacti 
Philicereus 
Phyllocacti 
