Red cactus: names of plant species with colored needles, fruits, flowers, head, top or hat, as well as proper care and why it matters

For fans of catchy accents in the interior, red cacti will be an excellent decoration option.

Bright fruits and scarlet flowers not only attract attention here and now, but are also able to maintain their extraordinary appearance for a long time.

Such cacti do not contain chlorophyll, so they must be grafted onto a green base, which in turn will serve as a supplier of all the necessary organic substances.

Kinds

Names of plants with flowers of this shade

Rebucia (Rebutia)

If the main goal of the owner is to admire the original flowering of a cactus, then there is no better option than rebutia. The plant is unpretentious and blooms while maintaining the minimum necessary conditions for care. Flowering can last several months, there are repair forms.

Rebucius Flowers:

Sometimes they appear already in the second year of life of a cactus.
Numerous. In adult plants, their number can reach hundreds.
Not small (3-6 cm in length and the same in diameter) and bright red color.
Each flower lasts about three days.

About the Rebucius cactus, you can read other useful information in this material.

Parody (Parodia)

The genus of miniature, highly decorative cacti:

flowering begins in spring or summer;
peduncle is a scaly, hairy tube of small length;
the flowers are quite large, up to 7 cm in diameter, mainly of red color;
up to ten pieces bloom piecewise or simultaneously, localizing on the top of the stem.

Phyllocactus (Phyllocactus)

Forest cactus with gorgeous red satin flowers:

blooms in April, secondly - at the end of summer;
each flowering lasts a little less than two months;
single flowers appear year-round;
the flower lasts for several days.

Gymnocalycium - with a painted top (Gymnocalycium)

A spherical cactus with a colored head, represented by several species, the sizes of which can vary from 2.5 cm to 25-30 cm. The stem can be round or ploskosharovidny. Flower tubes are elongated, not prickly and not fleecy, covered with smooth scales-leaves. Flowering begins at two or three years of age. The first flowers appear in spring and continue to open until late autumn.

Prickly pear - with burgundy fruits

Cactus with edible, tasty, berry-like fruits, originally having a green color, acquiring a rich red-burgundy shade as it ripens. The fruits of prickly pear are covered with small thorns, so gloves are required to collect. The taste of the fruit is sweet, with a sour taste.

Fully painted

Red cactus is the brainchild of Japanese biologist Watanabi, which was taken by a seedling of a hymnocalicium with red spots, cut out a red areola and planted an echinopsis cactus on it. I took the areola again with redness from the new, resulting specimen, and again planted it on the green cactus. Repeated repetition of this procedure made it possible to obtain a completely red cactus grafted on a green echinopsis. The resulting creation reproduces well, but there is a growing feature: a red child cannot be planted in the ground, it must be planted on a green cactus.

What is the name of a plant with needles of this color?

A cactus with red needles is not a creation of nature, but the work of human hands. Why does an ordinary plant blush? To give the prickly desert inhabitant an extraordinary look, just put it in a pot with a substrate for a cactus mixed with food coloring (learn about this cactus that grows in the desert). At each watering, the cactus will absorb part of the dye and after 3-4 months its spines will acquire the corresponding color.

When buying such an instance in the store, it should be borne in mind that over time the thorns will acquire the usual shade. It is generally accepted that dyes are relatively harmless to the plant, but such a cactus will most likely not bloom, which could negatively affect its general health and life expectancy.

You can read about different types of cacti here.

Home Care

Temperature

In summer time comfortable for cactus temperature from +15 to +30 degrees, in winter +10 - +15.

If possible, the plant should be taken out to fresh air in the summer.

When kept indoors, when ventilating, the cactus must be protected from cold air currents, the temperature should be constant, without sudden changes and drafts.

Watering

Watering the cactus requires moderate and the soil between them should dry well. The plant will tolerate excess moisture harder than its lack. Overflows entail rotting of the root system. Water for irrigation is best to use a settled, soft, room temperature. Excess moisture formed in the pallet must be removed.

Shine

The plant needs diffused light, so it is best to keep it on the east or west windowsill. On the south side, a cactus can get burns from direct sunlight.

Priming

The soil for the cactus should be loose and slightly acidic.. You can buy a ready-made substrate for cacti and succulents or prepare the soil mixture yourself. This will require equal proportions of turf and leafy land, humus, peat and sand. Be sure to lay a drain at the bottom of the pot.

Pruning

Cactus needs pruning only if its body is damaged by an illness. Also, the red cap of the plant is cut off, if necessary, to plant it on another cactus.

Top dressing

Cactus can be fed from the beginning of spring to mid-autumn, twice a month. For this, special fertilizers for succulents are suitable.

Pot

When planting, you need to focus on the size of the root system of the cactus, on which a chlorophyll-free instance is grafted. Capacity should not be too spacious. When transplanting, you should choose a pot whose diameter will be several centimeters larger than the previous one.

Transfer

Young specimens grow more intensively, so they need more frequent transplants, while adult plants are transplanted once every three to four years. The procedure should be carried out in the warm season according to the following scheme:

The new pot should be several centimeters larger than the previous one and must have drainage holes.
The cactus is carefully removed from the old soil, while monitoring the safety of the roots. If they are partially damaged or rotten, then all affected areas must be removed by sprinkling the wounds with wood ash or activated carbon powder. After this procedure, the roots should dry for several hours.
An earth ball is cleaned with a wooden stick or a toothpick.
The new soil for the cactus must be dry.
The cactus is buried in the soil no higher than the level of the root neck.
The first watering can be carried out only after 1-2 weeks.

Important! A red cactus can be transplanted only with the cactus on which it is grafted. It is not capable of growing independently in the soil.

Wintering

How to care in winter? Winter is the period of hibernation for a cactus - watering is reduced at this time, feeding is not done, and the room temperature should be maintained at a level not exceeding +15 degrees.

Graft

Chlorophyll-free red cacti must be vaccinatedsince they can’t grow on their own. The procedure is as follows:

a sharp sterile instrument on the surface of the stock and scion make an even cut;
the sections are connected as quickly and tightly as possible so that the conducting beams coincide at least partially;
parts are connected with an elastic band or garters and stored in this form for a week.

Diseases and Pests

Flat red tick - a dangerous pest of a cactus. Symptoms of infection appear as rust spots in areas near the growth point, where the skin of the plant is quite tender.
Another pest that often infects a red cactus is worm. It is easy to notice with the naked eye - the parasite has a pink body, as if covered with a white fur coat. On the cactus there are pest vital products that visually resemble lumps of cotton wool. A harmful insect can also infect the roots.
Root rot - occurs with excessive watering or improperly selected, too nutritious soil.

Subject to proper care, subject to all the characteristics of the variety, a red cactus will give its owner the joy of owning an unusual representative of the flora world.