274 
The Garden Magazine, January, 1924 
notice as it grows very easily, 
flowers when very small, and 
keeps flowering for ten months 
in succession from September 
until the following June, in 
masses of small bright red 
bloom. The flowers come in 
pairs at the beginning of the 
blooming season, then by fours, 
by eights, and finally in 
bunches of twelves, then in 
midsummer it stops flowering 
for six to eight weeks, and then 
begins again.” 
MAKING CACTUS BLOOM 
T HERE is a popular fallacy 
that a Cactus plant rarely 
flowers, but a large number of 
species blossom regularly, 
though the habit may be true 
of certain interesting kinds. By 
attending to the few simple 
wants of the succulents, as this 
group of thick, fleshy plants is 
called, it is quite practical to 
secure a wonderful blaze of 
flowers. 
Most of the Phyllocactus 
(among which the so-called 
Night-blooming Cereus be¬ 
longs) flower regularly; a few of 
these do best in a greenhouse, 
but many are quite happy in a 
sunny window and, in fact, 
the Leaf Cactus will often do 
better in the ordinary dwelling 
or window. Echinopsis and 
Echinocereus are genera which 
bloom freely even when the 
plants are of small size. The 
same can be said of some of the 
Prickly Pears (Opuntias) though 
a few of these do not flower until 
they have attained a large size. 
The Epiphyllums (Christmas 
Cactus, etc.) are valuable because 
they blossom in the autumn and 
winter. 
It is important to bear in mind 
that Cactus are desert plants. 
True they are not easy to kill, 
but they will never give the best 
results if they are treated like or¬ 
dinary plants. First of all they 
should be potted up in the right 
manner, fibrous loam forming the 
larger part of the potting material 
with sand and broken pieces of 
brick added. All the pots should 
be filled to a third of their extent 
with crocks. Cactus should be 
potted “hard”; that is, the soil 
must be pressed very firmly about 
the roots and the pots should be 
small in relation to the size of the 
plant. Removals are rarely needed. A move is imperative, 
however, if the continued dampness of the soil shows a defective 
drainage. In such a case use a fresh, clean pot and take great 
care to get the drainage in order. 
Water is to be given some¬ 
what sparingly at all times; 
with the majority of species 
none will be required during the 
winter. The exceptions are the 
Epiphyllums, which may re¬ 
quire a small amount when 
they are coming into bud. A 
stimulant, such as;a solution of 
any of the common fertilizers, 
is helpful when the buds are 
forming in the case of all Cac¬ 
tus, but an abundance of sun¬ 
shine is the best guarantee of 
success in the flowering. Sim¬ 
ply bake the plants in the hot 
rays until the thick stems are 
thoroughly ripe. I remember 
examining a collection of Cac¬ 
tus with a view to telling the 
owner why the specimens re¬ 
fused to flower. The plants 
were astonishingly green and 
healthy in appearance. A 
glance showed that the trouble 
was that they had never had a 
chance to ripen their stems; 
the sun had been screened away 
and too much water had been 
given. Really healthy Cactus, 
that are going to flower well, do 
not look green and juicy; the 
most hopeful sign of a fine dis¬ 
play of blossom is when the 
stems take on a brownish color. 
This comes about after months 
of roasting in the sun. 
By far the greater number of 
Cactus can be grown in a sunny 
window, and some of the finest 
examples have been produced 
under these conditions. During 
the summer the pots may be 
placed outdoors, although care 
should be taken to see that slugs 
and snails do not attack the juicy 
stems in dry weather. Fine plants 
are easily damaged in this way. 
Most of the Cactus are readily 
increased by means of cuttings— 
practically any parts of the stems 
will grow. It is a good plan to 
take the cuttings and then leave 
them on a sunny shelf for about a 
week. At the end of this time the 
cuttings should be inserted in a 
mixture of loam, leaf mould, and 
sand; a liberal allowance of the 
latter being given. Until the 
cuttings have actually taken root, 
little or no water will be required. 
After a root-hold has been se¬ 
cured, it will be found to be a 
good plan to allow rather more 
water than is given to the mature 
plants so as to encourage a free 
production of stems. In this way 
the young plants are brought rapidly to a flowering size. For 
instance, by adopting this mode in the case of the Phyllocactus 
it is possible to raise large plants of a flowering size within the 
third year. G. Leonard Bastin. 
SEA-URCHIN CACTUS 
The beautiful pink double flower of the hybrid E. triumphans above 
PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS (Opuntia) 
Its showy flowers, usually in various shades of yellow and orange, rapid 
growth, and fondness for arid conditions of living make the Opuntia an 
ideal plant for the sunny side of the rockery as well as for the sunny window 
