Gimnokalitsium (Japanese cactus) has ribbed stems, and on the ribs are located chin-like tubercles. The flowers of this plant have a short flower tube, and its flowers can have a variety of shades: pink, yellow, red, greenish, and brownish with an admixture of yellow. As mentioned above, it grows mainly in South America: in Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil. It can be found at an altitude of 3000 meters above the sea level. The plant likes granite, clay, compost and gneiss soils. This plant today has about six dozen species, many of them belong to plants of a self-sterile species. Cactus gimnokalitsium appreciated for large flowers and beautifully looking stems.
Gimnokalitsium: requirements for care and growing conditions
Location
These cacti are very fond of light, they need it a lot, especially in the winter months. If he grows in a greenhouse in the summer, then he might need a shadow. It grows well at moderate temperatures, this applies to the whole season. In the winter season it is necessary to maintain an average temperature of about 18 degrees, but it can grow at a temperature much lower, for example, at 5 degrees. If cacti are kept on windowsills or in rooms without heating, then in winter they, of course, must be brought into the rooms.
Watering
As for watering, in the spring the Japanese cactus should be watered more, and in other seasons the watering is normal, it does not differ from the watering of other indoor flowers, which are watered, if necessary, with cold water. At the end of summer, water for irrigation and periodicity is reduced, and by the middle of the autumn they are generally restricted. At this time it should be watered very rarely and slightly. Humidity must be low. In the summer it should not be sprayed. He likes fresh air: when hot days come, the room with him should be ventilated.
Reproduction
Cuttings of most species of cactus can easily take root at any time of the year. Before planting cuttings in a substrate with peat basis, they should be dried for several days, and large ones - several weeks (one or two). When multiplying, in order to avoid the depletion of the mother plant, the children must be separated and planted in separate pots during transplantation.
The plant can reproduce and seeds, this requires an average temperature of 17 to 25 degrees. Seeds are formed by cross-pollination created by artificial means. Progeny when propagating with the help of seeds has the property to inherit all the characteristics of a given variety. For this reason, this breed is used by breeders in their work.
Transfer
Cactus Japanese should be transplanted every year, but only while the plant is young, and then it is transplanted, when it is required, preferably in the spring. When transplanting, pick pots that are slightly larger than the previous ones. Soil is taken from sheet, turf, peat, sand with large grains in almost equal proportions. In the soil add charcoal, crumbs of bricks. The soil should not be fresh, it should not be lime, water the plant with a bit of acidic water.
Care
Cultivation of most species of this plant does not require any special conditions. Here the same rules apply, that when caring for ordinary plants. Soil should have a standard set (in the same amount of leaf land, turf, sand and gravel), there must be drainage, watering - moderate, good light, no direct sunlight. The rest period requires a rare watering, the temperature is about 10 degrees. Only some species require warmer wintering and additional lighting.
Diseases and pests
Flat red tick
This is the most pernicious parasite, which very much likes to settle on all cacti, except for the hymnocalitsiums. Probably, the reason is in a thick peel of a plant that is difficult to pierce. But often this tick can be seen on them. These red mites do not reach a size of more than 1 mm, but the trace of their activity - rusty dry spots on the cactus bodies - are immediately visible. Hymnocalitsiums are affected by this pest, mainly at a young age. The mites settle where the skin has not yet grown strong: next to the growth point.
It is very simple to fight this kind of ticks, especially on the hymnocalitsia. They have little spines, and they are simply washed with warm water and wiped with a weak solution of alcohol (ethyl). More effective in this regard are universal pesticides, as well as acaricides. This treatment will give results if you have a lot of cactus, if you only have a couple of cacti, then water and ethyl alcohol will be a sufficient measure.
CEREBRAMS
These insects are small in size. Females of these pests settle on stems and roots and suck out all vital juices. They parasitize on all kinds of cacti, including on hymnocalitsiums. Identify the infection of these insects is fairly simple. The bodies of the parasites are pinkish in color, from above they are covered with a cotton-like coating resembling a kind of fur coat. They are easy to see on an even body of a cactus with sparse needles.
The worms settle on the roots, then they are more difficult to detect. If the growth of the plant stopped, and there is no flowering, then this should be a signal for the beginning of the fight against the pest. If there are such signs, then we need to examine the roots, where the coat of the worms is clearly visible. Roots should be washed with hot water or make a root bath for 15 minutes. The temperature should be as high as the hand will bear. It is possible to resort to the help of intecicidal or universal agents for the addition to water. You can add the granulated product to the ground.
Root rot
If it is wrong to take care of the hynomalicium: it is a lot of watering, planting in too "greasy" land, flooding it with water in cold weather, then the roots of the plant can hit different kinds of rot. Often the process only affects the root part. Defeat can only be detected during plant transplantation, which for a long time do not bloom or grow. Cacti can often be saved. They are recommended to be washed with high-temperature water, cut off the root part to healthy areas, washed with alcohol, fungicidal agents, then dried and left to take root, just like children when propagating in a vegetative manner.