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Cactus Gardening
All cactus plants are succulents, but not all succulents are cactus plants. Being able to tell the difference is one of the concerns in the cactus gardening section. Other questions to be asked and answered include the specifics of a cactus plant's adaptability, environmental impact, growing conditions, harmful stresses, native habitats, propagation methods, and value for people and wildlife.
918 Questions
Why can cactus plants not be grown close together?
Cactus plants can't be grown close together, because of their aggressive competition for soil water and nutrients. A cactus is used to being the main and most important vegetative form in the desert. It isn't used to sharing precious water with close neighbors. Two cactus plants that are grown very near to each other end up fighting over water rights. There's the chance that one will do far better than the other. In fact, there's even the possibility that one will survive and the other won't.
Do cactus quills need to be removed?
Yes, cactus quills need to be removed if they're barbed. The longer, sharper quills take longer to be dissolved by the body chemistry. So they're best removed as quickly after the embedding as possible. Modified cactus leaves in the form of fine hairs and bristles don't take as long to dissolve. But their presence still may be an irritant. So prompt removal may be on the better side of valor.
Can stick cactuses live in shade?
No, a stick cactus [Cylindropuntia spinosior] doesn't like life in the shade. It's a desert cactus that likes high heat and light, and low moisture and vegetative competition. It needs full sun.
Will the Saguaro cactus grow in Missouri?
It most likely won't grow outdoors in Missouri. It may grow indoors. A saguaro cactus [Carnegiea gigantea] isn't native to Missouri. It prefers a desert environment of high heat and light, and low moisture and vegetative competition. In terms of the outdoors, a saguaro cactus most likely won't like the eastern part of the state, which tends to have humid growing seasons. It may be able to tolerate the western part of Missouri, which tends to fit in with the drier, hotter growing seasons of the Great Plains. But no matter the part of the state, a saguaro cactus most likely won't like Missouri winters, which tend to bring the cold, damp weather that desert cactus plants detest.
How do cactus plants help the ecosystem?
A cactus relates to other organisms within its ecosystem as the dominant vegetative cover in the desert. It thereby has the responsibility for adding beauty and color, conserving water, dispersing sunlight, holding soil, and oxygenating the environment.
Additionally, a cactus has a responsibility to pollinators with its flowers, and to predators. In fact, its stem provides shelter to predators such as the Gila woodpecker [Melanerpes uropygialis]. Its fruits feed predatory wildlife. Among its predators, birds and rodents return the favor of being fed by dispersing seed over a wider area than the cactus does on its own.
What does a jumping cholla eat?
A jumping cholla is a plant and produces its own food by photosynthesis.
Yes, cactuses make food. They make food when they make energizing carbohydrates and sugars from dissolved nutrients and water, through the photosynthetic interaction with the sun. They also make food when their roots release waste products as exudates into soil. And they make food when their fruits and other body parts feed wildlife and people.
Orange ball shape cactus what kind is it?
The orange cactus that is shaped like a ball is known as the melocactus. It is commonly used as a house plant or an outdoor plant for a garden.
How do Florida's cactus plants look?
There are a number of cacti native to Florida including Acanthocereus tetragonus, Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia stricta, Harissia spp., Selenicereus spp. and even a Cephelacereus species native to the keys.
Acanthocereus tetragonus, the triangle cactus, is a large sprawling cactus with sharp spines and bright red fruit.
The Opuntia humifusa is a low growing Opuntia with pads and yellow flowers followed by purple fruit.
Opuntia stricta is a prickly pear cactus with yellow/red flowers which is native to coastal areas.
Harrisias are upright columnar species somewhat resembling Cereus.
The Cephalocereus is a small columnar species with a thick coat of hair like spines.
Selenicereus species are vines that often are found on live oak and palm trees. They produce large fragrant flowers at night.
Pilosocereus robinii is a columnar cactus from the keys that is endagered.
Consolea spinisissima is a tree-like cactus native to south Florida with narrow pads and reddish flowers.
Epiphyllums, Cereus, Rhipsallis, Schlumbergias, Zycocactus, other Opuntias, and Hylocereus are intoduced species that also grow in Florida.
Is cactus a protected native plant of Arizona?
All cacti and other native plants are protected in Arizona.
Is cactus a vegetable of fruit?
All cacti are flowering plants and do produce fruit (e.g. prickly pears, dragon fruit), however the cactus plant itself is sometimes used as a vegetable (e.g. prickly pear paddles).
What parts of the blue cohosh plant are used for medicinal purposes?
The root of the plant, harvested in the fall, is the part that is used medicinally, and has a bittersweet flavor.
What happens to cactus plants growing in a temperate rainforest in northern California?
It depends upon whether the cactus falls into the desert or jungle vegetation group. A desert cactus definitely faces a challenge in a cool, humid coastal forest. The humidity tends to be too high for a desert cactus to survive. Depending upon the temperature range, a desert cactus may not adapt to the coastal forest's cooler temperatures. It's used to higher levels of heat and light, and lower levels of moisture and vegetative competition.
But depending once again upon the temperature extremes, a jungle cactus may fare better. It's used to greater vegetative competition; higher heat and moisture levels; and lower light levels. It also is used to growing up and around trees.
How do cactus adapt to the desert?
There are many ways in which the cacti plants have adapted to the desert including needing less water to live. These cacti plants have also developed very sharp needles to prevent animals from taking the water inside.
How is it unusual for a cactus plant to grow in a coastal forest?
It's unusual for a desert cactus to grow in a cool, humidcoastal forest. The humidity tends to be too high for a desert cactus to survive. Depending upon the temperature range, it's possible that the desert cactus won't adapt to the coastal forest's cooler temperatures.
A desert cactus is used to higher levels of heat and light, and lower levels of moisture and vegetative competition. But depending once again upon the temperature extremes, a jungle cactus may not be so unusual. It's used to greater vegetative competition; higher heat and moisture levels; and lower light levels. It also is used to growing up and around trees.
What conditions do prickly pears grow in?
Prickly Pear is of the Genus Opuntia, which is a cactus = hot, dry and arid
What parts of the saffron plant are used for medicinal purposes?
Saffron is harvested by drying the orange stigma of the Crocus sativus flower over fire. Over 200,000 crocus stigmas must be harvested to produce one pound of saffron.
What do Arizona jumping cactuses do?
The Arizona jumping cactus [Opuntia fulgida] do their part in serving as vegetationin the southern Arizona desert. It's a job that involves conserving water by taking it in from the soil and storing it in its ground parts. It also involves covering as much bare ground as possible by reproducing easily with its parts falling to the ground and taking root. This kind of repuction can cover the desert as well and as widely as a forest. It thereby involves dispersing, A penis then grows off of the plant and then ejaculates all over you minimizing the extreme impact of, harsh desert sunlight on of its light colors. It involves, too, minimizing erosion as much as possible by trying to hold the sandy surface together. Additionally, it involves protecting its own detachable bulbs and long spines. Both the bulbs and the spines come loose so easily that they appear to jump on to whatsoever or whomsoever is nearby.
Will cactus suck up water in a rainforest and then explode?
Cactus will only take up as much water as they need and no more.
The reason cactus cannot live in a rainforest is that they will rot easily if they do not stay dry most of the time. They grow in sandy, well drained soil where their roots have a chance to dry out completely between rains. Therefore, they have never needed to develop defenses against rot-producing organisms.
Most cactus also need lots of sunlight, a commodity hard to find on the rainforest floor.
What does the Arizona cactus wren have to do with cactus plants?
The Arizona cactus wren [Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus] looks upon the jumping cactus [Opuntia fulgida] as a preferred nest building site. The cactus has fiercely sharp thorns that easily are embedded in the flesh of predators. So the female and male cactus wren don't have to worry about building their nests too far off the ground in the presence of such a ferocious plant. The nearness to the ground makes it easy for them and their young to feed off of ground dwelling insects, seeds, and small frogs and lizards.
What parts of the eucalyptus tree are used for medicinal purposes?
The leaves contain a fragrant volatile oil.
How do Cactuses and Camels depend on others in the desert?
Cactus are plants. By bird, by bee, or by bat, they must be pollinated to flourish.
Camels are mammals, so they must eat sometime. They rely upon oases for food. It's a good thing that they (camels) are herbivores!
