530 



THE PROPAGATION OF CACTUSES. 



A phyllocactus should bloom when two or three years 

 old ; many of them bloom the first year from cutting, 

 depending on the care which the plant has had. In 

 order to induce blooming, the plants must not be kept 

 too hot in winter, and yet be fully exposed to the sun 

 without changing their position. The well-ripened 

 wood is that which blooms. The cellar is a poor place 

 for them. The idea that a cactus must be seven years 

 old before it blooms is nonsensical. 



Phyllocactiis /atifroiis (broad-leaved cactus) "the 

 night-blooming cactus," often erroneously called night- 

 blooming cereus, will, if well grown the first season, 

 bloom the second year. It is undoubtedly one of the 

 very freest blooming cactuses known, if not the very 

 best, and perhaps the easiest plant to manage, as it grows 

 in almost any soil, does not require a greenhouse, and 

 will give more flowers in a season than any other cactus 

 we know. It should never be grown in full sunlight. 

 To any one who wishes to grow only one cactus, we 

 would recommend it. Most of the other phyllocactuses 

 are very desirable as show plants when in bloom, and 

 will reward the grower with a more or less number of 

 flowers every season. A friend sends us a photograph 

 of one that is 40 years old and bears hundreds of 

 flowers every season. 



The pink-flowering ones are free bloomers, but the 

 white and vellovv ones are rather shy. ' I have grown 

 nearly 100 different named varieties of phyllocactuses, 

 but think that they might be cut down to 30 sorts, as 

 many are so near alike. 



The few anhaloniums should receive a line or two, as 

 they are so curious and easy to manage. A . prisiiiaticuiu , 

 which we grow in red gravel, never fails us, although in 

 Europe it is impossible to keep it. A. fissuratiim, which 

 we may perhaps be pardoned for christening "The 

 Living Rock," is a great curiosity indeed, unfortunately 

 becoming scarce, as we are informed that they only 

 grow on a very limited area and have there entirely 



disappeared, A new form of this species has been dis- 

 covered this year. It is remarkably beautiful and 

 scarce, and has not yet been named. A. Williamsi is 

 also a curious sort, entirely distinct from either of the 

 above. 



Another curious and exceedingly rare cactus is Pele- 

 cyphora aselHformis , called the "Hatchet cactus," 

 probably for the reason that the tubercles, when de- 

 tached from the plant, resemble the head of a hatchet. 

 It is very peculiar. The plant generally looks like a 

 piece of carved wood. 



A very handsome opuntia is O. rnonacantha, var. varie- 

 gi'i/a, the joints of which, as shown in Fig. 3, are 

 mottled, splashed and streaked with white, gray and 

 green. When growing, it is particularly remarkable, as 

 the young branches are of a very bright pink and con- 

 trast agreeably with the rest of the plant. It is scarce. 

 Another very fine opuntia is O. Emoryi. Its pure white, 

 broad, flat spines, covering the plant closely, usually 

 attract attention among the duller colors of other 

 opuntias. Large clumps of it, when covered with their 

 large yellow flowers, are particularly fine. (Fig. 4.) 



Opuntia iiiicrodasys is already well known. Its 

 minute tufts of yellow velvet-like spines, which prove so 

 deceiving to the touch, give it a unique appearance. We 

 have been struck with its remarkable free-blooming 

 qualities. Last year we cut off some large single 

 joints, put them in boxes of sand to root, and they 

 almost immediately began to bloom, some joints having 

 as many as nine flowers. This year, after taking off 

 the young joints for propagating, the old ones again 

 began to bloom immediately, excepting, however, those 

 that had not been fully exposed to the sun all winter. 



Fig. 5 (page 533) shows a curious collection of fasci- 

 ated and flattened cactuses of various species. It is a 

 striking illustration of the variation of these singular 

 plants under culture. 



PhilaJelphia. A. Blanc. 



THE PROPAGATION OF CACTUSES. 



EW plants are more easily 

 propagated than cactuses. 

 Although they are in some 

 ways slow growers, the pro- 

 cess of reproduction in large 

 quantities is not at all dif- 

 ficult. 



Probably the least used 

 method o f increase is b y 

 seeds. If the seeds are fresh they will come on easily, 

 and in all cases which have come within my observation, 

 within a comparatively reasonable time. Sow in sandy 

 soil, the sand being rather coarse, and give as much 

 water both before and after germination as would be 

 given any ordinary seeds. They should by no means 

 be kept dry. They should be pricked off in pots or 



pans, when large enough to handle, still using a coarse 

 sandy soil with plenty of drainage, and a quick growth 

 encouraged in every way. This growth is good in most 

 cases if a fairly warm temperature is maintained and 

 too much dryness is avoided while the plants are grow- 

 ing. February is a good time to sow, and they can be 

 kept growmg for nearly twelve months. 



In propagating by cuttings, some kinds of cacti pre- 

 sent difficulties in obtaining the cuttings ; otherwise this 

 method is simple and probably the easiest of all, par- 

 ticularly where the conveniences are limited. All that 

 is required when cuttings can be obtained is a well 

 drained propagating bed with two or three inches of 

 good sharp sand, and the bed may be large or small, 

 depending on the number of plants required. Our prac- 

 tice is to gather the cuttings a week or two before the 

 new growth begins, any time from February to July or 



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