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Is this a flower stalk on my cacti?

JetmorganJetmorgan Posts: 79
in Plants
My dad gave me some cacti over the Christmas period as I have fancied growing some on the window sill. I don't know a great deal about them but one has been flowering and the other has grown what looks like a flowering stalk. Is that what it is?



Also I'm looking to build a wooden tray to plant these and other cacti and succulents in. What are the best soils for this. I'm thinking about getting some lithops to go alongside the cacti.

Posts

  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    Yes it is a flower spike. However, it is not a cactus, it is a Haworthia.

    John Innes number 3, plus lots of coarse grit and/or sand, is good for cacti and other succulents.
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    PS, do not plant Lithops with other succulents as they require a different watering regime. Lithops should never be watered until the old leaves have shrivelled completely and have been replaced by the new leaves. This will not be until well into summer, while you can start watering cacti and most succulents in April.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    That's a nice unusual haworthia.

    You can plant lithops in a mixed tray like you're suggesting but like Alan suggests the watering needs to be different. You can either leave the lithops in a pot buried under the gravel so it stays dry or put some other kind of barrier between them and the other plants. If you water the plants at their bases with a big syringe or something anyway then they will have fairly localised and controlled watering. I've done it before with outdoor planters by leaving all the plants in pots in the planter and just filling in between with gravel and sand. Then in the winter I can take it apart easily and put the pots on the window cills inside.

    I would buy a proper cactus soil mix personally if it's just for a small planter or you'll end up with loads left over. Buy a proper succulent liquid feed rather than add feed granules.

    Have a good look around for gravel to top dress the pot too as lithops look more natural with a large gravel/pebble size of a similar size to the plants as if they're hiding in the pebbles around them. I like to take 3 different types of gravel of different colours and size and mix them for a more natural look.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    The easy way to tell a cactus from a succulent, as some succulents do have spines, is that true cacti will have a little cushion where the spines come out of - succulents don't.
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
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