Features of caring for a hatiora at home

Cacti are a family loved by many plant breeders. It is quite simple to care for cacti, they are of various types - they can differ in shape, size, length of thorns, shape of leaves and the presence or absence of flowers. And sometimes it is completely difficult to recognize a cactus in a plant - before that it has a bizarre shape, and the thorns are completely invisible. This also applies to succulents, there are no identical representatives in their genus. The most unusual cactus is hatiora. Caring for him at home is very simple. You can decorate the room with different types of hatiors.

Description and types

The main feature of the hatiora is its stems. They look like sticks, divided into segments. But some subspecies have flat stems, also consisting of several parts. This cactus in many ways resembles its relative - Ripsalis. But there is a detail by which you can distinguish them - the stems of the hatiora stretch up. Rhipsalis is thrown to the sides. In addition, flowers only grow on the tops of the hatiora stems. At ripsalis - along the entire length.

In nature, a hatiora can grow up to one meter in height. At home, its dimensions are much more modest - about thirty centimeters.

Hatiora is not limited to one species, but includes a whole group of plants.

• Hatior Gertner. It differs from other species in that the stems are flat segments. Also, these stems are distinguished by their rich dark green color. The edges of the segments are serrated. Beautiful flowers grow on the tops of the stems of this species. The buds are pink in color, their diameter is from four to five centimeters. The petals are elongated.
• Hatiora germina has a much more classic structure for this type. We are talking, of course, about the stems - in the germina, they look like sticks. The length of the stems is no more than thirty centimeters. They can grow straight or bend. Individual segments are no more than five centimeters long and less than half a centimeter in diameter. The flowers are smaller than those of the predecessor - no more than two and a half centimeters. But they attract attention with a crimson color.
• Hatiora is pink. Its stems are dark green in color, but sometimes a reddish tint appears on them. Stem segments are no more than two and a half centimeters in length. The flowers are quite large, light pink.
• Hatiora is salicorniform. This is the most common type. Its peculiarity is the shape of the stem segments. They resemble a bottle - the same curved. This plant has many nicknames. It is often compared to a skeleton. Hatiora salicornioides blooms with small, bright yellow flowers.

Care

Hatiore needs the same care as other indoor plants that came to us from hot countries.

• Lighting is one of the most delicate moments. A cactus needs a lot of light, but the rays should not be straight, but scattered. The ideal location is the east or west side of the house. It is not enough from the north side of the world, so the flower will grow slowly. In the south, the sun is too bright, it can damage the stems. To protect the cactus, the window needs to be covered with a special film or tulle.
• Since this plant is native to Brazil, it is used to high temperatures. The ideal indicator is from plus eighteen to plus twenty-two degrees. This temperature is needed by the flower during the period of active growth. In the fall, you need to gradually lower the temperature in order to prepare the house for the period of winter dormancy. In the cold season, the temperature in the room should not drop below twelve degrees. But too high - more than seventeen - will not do any good either.
• Watering also requires special attention.The most important thing is that the water should be settled and warm. Cold water can cause root rot. Abundant watering also causes this problem. Often watering the hathiora is necessary only during flowering. After its completion, the plant requires little water. In winter, watering the cactus is enough every three weeks. In this case, it is extremely important to get rid of excess fluid.
• After the beginning of flowering, fertilizing needs to be applied twice a month. For hatiors, fertilizers are used that do not contain calcium. The ideal composition contains a lot of potassium, slightly less phosphorus and a little nitrogen. In winter, the plant does not need fertilizers.

Advice

Monitor the humidity of the air. Many people think that the stems of the hatior are beginning to dry out due to a lack of watering. In fact, the problem can be solved with a spray bottle, moisturizing the stems in the summer. This procedure is not required in winter.

Transplant and reproduction

One of the most important procedures in a plant's life is transplantation. A young cactus grows rapidly. Every year he needs a new, larger pot. For the first years, the hathior needs to be replanted every spring, immediately after the end of the flowering period. Then you can change the regimen and carry out a transplant every two years. A plant that has reached its maximum size needs to change its pot every five years.

Pay special attention to the composition of the soil into which you transplant the hatiora. The mixture should include 4 main components:

• leafy land;
• coarse sand;
• peat;
• charcoal.

You also need to take care of the drainage layer.

Hatiory breeding can be done in two ways.

1. The simplest one is cuttings. The simplicity of this method is also explained by the peculiarity of the structure of the hatiora - each segment of the stem can be used for reproduction. Ideally, however, you should use a line of three to four segments. Reproduction must be done after the end of the flowering period. To do this, cut off a portion of the stem to the required size. The place of the cut must be treated with chopped coal and left for five days to dry the stem. Then you can start planting, but it is better to first apply a special agent to accelerate growth on the same place of the cut. Then stick the cutting into the substrate. It needs to be watered regularly.
2. Another way is vaccination. Hatiory stalk is grafted onto another plant. Usually, for these purposes, they use a prickly pereskiy. This procedure is carried out in the summer. It is necessary to cut the trunk of the pereskii. A hatior stalk is inserted into the resulting slit, consisting of two or three segments. It can be secured with a plaster. After about two weeks, the stalk will begin to grow and the patch will need to be removed.

Diseases and pests

If you know how to care for a hatiora, then there should be no problems with her. The plant does not have any specific diseases, and all ailments are caused by mistakes in care.

• The stems turn brown and shrink. Many assume that this is caused by a lack of watering, and begin to intensively moisten the soil. But in this way you can only cause another problem - root rot. But the drying out of the stems is caused by dry air. Therefore, the only way to fix the situation is to spray the plant with a spray bottle.
• The cactus does not bloom. This problem can be caused by a variety of reasons. The first is too small a pot. If you neglect to transplant the plant into a larger vessel, then prepare for the fact that it will not grow and bloom. Another reason is lack of nutrients. Top dressing will help to cope with this. Remember that it should not contain calcium. Also, you should not count on flowering if you do not create suitable conditions for the plant during the dormant period.
• Flowers and individual parts of the stems begin to fall off due to rotting of the cactus roots.The root system can suffer from too abundant watering (it will protect the drainage layer from waterlogging) and low temperatures (remember that the water for irrigation must be warm). In this case, the plant can no longer be helped. It is best to select healthy stems and plant them.

Not many insect pests are interested in hatiora. Among them:

• shield;
• spider mite;
• mealybug.

It is not so easy to notice them on a plant. Small lesions on the stems signal their appearance. Brown spots appear on them, as the segments begin to dry out.

The first thing to do is to replace the top layer of the earth. Then it is worth treating the plant with special means. There are several substances for pest control, but almost all of them include acaricides.

Output

Hatiora is a plant from Brazil. Few will determine by its appearance that it belongs to the cactus family. There are several types of hatiora, which differ in the shape of the stems and flowers. But for all species, the division of the stems into segments is characteristic.

It is simple to care for a hatiora - it needs a lot of diffused light, abundant watering during the flowering period, a high level of humidity and fertilization. If you follow these conditions, the plant will never undergo diseases.

Hatiora can be propagated using cuttings - this is the easiest way. Another option is to plant it on the prickly one.