General description and types of cactus, recommendations for the cultivation of Ripsalidopsis at home, the choice of soil, dressing, advice on reproduction. Rhipsalidopsis belongs to the extensive Cactaceae family, which also includes 4 subfamilies. This plant can be found under the name Hatiora (Hatiora Britton & Rose). The literal translation of the word Rhipsalidopsis means "whip-like berry cactus". The homeland of this plant is considered to be the forests of South America (the territories of Brazil and Ecuador), where a tropical climate prevails. The cactus is an epiphyte - it grows like a parasite on nearby trees, attaching aerial roots to trunks and branches, but can grow into the moss that covers the stones.
The plant owes its second name to the time of flowering, since it falls just in the spring months (all of April and May), so Ripsalidopsis is called "Easter cactus". Sometimes, however, this flower is confused with Schlumberger (popularly the Decembrist), but this plant opens its buds in New Year's time. Also, the "Easter" has the smoothness of the protrusions of the shoots, and the "Decembrist" has serrated stems. This is followed by a difference in flowers, which are slightly beveled in Schlumberger, when the hatiora is distinguished by the radial symmetry of the flower petals. The periods of rest corresponding to flowering differ: in Ripsalidopsis it is from mid-autumn to January, and the Decembrist needs rest from February to March.
The height of the Easter egg rarely exceeds 30 cm. The stems of the cactus are branchy and consist of flat or ribbed segmental segments. These segments are fleshy in appearance and have an oval-elongated outline. Their length can be measured 4-6 cm with a width of 3 cm. The color of the stems is pale green, but if the plant is exposed to bright sunlight, then reddish shades will appear. At the edges of the segments, insignificant protrusions are visible, which seem to be smoothed out. Like all cacti, Ripsalidopsis has areola on the tops of the shoots. This is a special organ, which is a modified axillary bud, on which the kidney scales are located, transformed into hairs or spines, but sometimes both grow together. Areoles are located at the tops of the segments, from which spines emerge, resembling thick bristles.
Aerial root processes are always located in the joints. Although they are thin in appearance, they can successfully attach to any material in their natural environment, for further rooting - to the bark of a tree, moss or soil. The buds are also placed at the ends of the segments. When released, they open their petals wide and can vary from 4 cm to 8 cm across. Their shape is stellate, semi-double, each petal of the corolla is separated from the others. A single areola can contain from one to three buds. The color of the flowers is very diverse: from burgundy red through shades of pink to white. At the end of the flowering time, soft fruits appear in the form of berries. The flowering process of each bud is very short, only 2–3 days, but since the flowers unfold in waves, it seems that the plant does not bloom for a long time. All varieties of Ripsalidopsis are similar in structure, they are distinguished only by the color scheme of the color of the buds. If flowering does not come on time, it means that mistakes were made when caring for the hatiora.
Recommendations for caring for Ripsalidopsis at home
- Lighting for a cactus. The plant does not like it when direct sunlight falls on it at lunchtime. In order for the hatiora to feel comfortable, it is necessary to put the pot with the plant on the windowsills of those windows, into which only the rays of the sun fall at sunset or sunrise. If the plant stands on the windows of the southern exposure, then you should definitely arrange shading with curtains made of light fabric or use gauze or tracing paper. When the Ripsalidopsis pot is installed on the windowsill of a window facing the north side, the plant will also not be severely damaged. The only thing is that the flowering will not be so abundant. To form a uniformly grown bush, it is necessary to rotate the pot slightly around its axis, and the stems will be equally stretched towards the light. Only all these actions must be carried out before the buds appear. The plant during the budding period does not tolerate the turns and movements of the pot and this can lead to their dropping. In insufficient light, the stems can be very stretched and become underdeveloped.
- Content temperature. Ripsalidopsis feels best at moderate temperatures. During the spring-summer months, it is necessary that the temperature indicators fluctuate within the range of 17-20 degrees. As soon as autumn comes, the temperature must be reduced to 10-12 degrees. At this time, a dormant period begins for the hatior and a decrease in temperatures is simply necessary for the successful laying of buds. As soon as the first spring days come, heat indicators should be gradually increased to moderate. At elevated temperatures, as well as with a lack of light, the shoots will not be as strong and grown.
- Indoor humidity … Since this cactus grows in humid and warm areas, it is very often washed by abundant tropical rains. The plant therefore loves high humidity levels and responds very well to frequent spraying and washing under a warm shower. Spraying should be carried out in the morning or in the evening so that the moisture droplets can dry out before the plant is illuminated by the sun, so that their influence does not lead to sunburn on the shoots. The water for spraying is soft. During rest, especially if Ripsalidopsis is kept at low temperatures, then spraying is carried out with great care. If the hatiora blooms, then it is necessary to ensure that moisture does not fall on the petals of the buds, otherwise ugly brown spots will form on them. Also, to increase humidity, the pot can be installed in a pallet, which is larger than the pot itself, and expanded clay or chopped moss can be placed on its bottom. When moistening these components, care must be taken that the bottom of the flower pot does not touch moisture. When evaporated, the water in the sump will humidify the dry air.
- Watering Ripsalidopsis. As soon as it is time for flowering, it is necessary to water the plant very abundantly. The signal for watering is the drying of the top layer of the substrate in the pot. With the arrival of cold weather, the moisture of the plant is reduced, and watering becomes moderate, especially this must be treated with scrupulousness if Ripsalidopsis is kept at low rest temperatures. As soon as the flowering period is over, the hatiora enters the rest period and watering is reduced by a month. However, it should be remembered that overdrying the soil in a pot, just like waterlogging it, threatens to lose the plant. In order to moisten the soil, it is necessary to use rain or melt water. If there is none, then it is worth settling tap water, filtering or boiling it is suitable - this will give the water the desired softness and remove harmful impurities and salts from it. When watering, it is important to immediately remove the leaked moisture into the pot holder, since an excess of moisture can provoke rotting of the root system.
- Introduction of dressings for the hatiora. Since Ripsalidopsis is a cactus, fertilizers that match the succulents can be used. It is recommended to apply fertilizing with mineral supplements with a low nitrogen content, as its overdose can contribute to root decay. The optimal ratio of chemicals in fertilizers (NPK - nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) such as nitrogen - 9, phosphorus - 18, potassium - 24. This operation should be performed with two-week regularity, during the period of active growth of the cactus. During rest, the plant is stopped feeding.
- Recommendations for replanting and selection of soil for Ripsalidopsis. It is best to change the pot or soil at a time when flowering has not yet begun or the plant has already faded. Young cacti need to be replanted every year, and older hatiors should change containers and soil once every 2-3 seasons. It is better to choose a new pot that is shallow, but of sufficient width, since the roots of the plant, like those of other cacti, are superficial. If the root system is healthy and sufficiently overgrown, then the container is increased by one and a half times the size of the previous one, but if the roots are underdeveloped and small, then you can simply change the soil in the old pot. The succulent root shoots must be carefully freed from the old substrate and planted in new soil, at the same depth at which the plant grew. If the stem of Ripsalidopsis is deeply deepened, then this can lead to its decay.
The composition of the soil should be sufficiently loose, coarse and with good air and water permeability. The acidity of the substrate should be in the range of pH 5, 5–6. For transplanting, you can take purchased soil for cacti and succulents or make up a soil mixture yourself:
- sod land, sheet land, fine gravel (or expanded clay) (in proportions 1: 2: 1), and it is also recommended to add a little crushed brick;
- turf, garden land, peat, river sand (all parts of the components are equal) and add more brick chips;
- leafy soil, sod, humus soil, peat, river sand (in proportions 6: 1: 4: 2: 2);
- coarse sand mixed with crushed stone (free of dust), sod land with the addition of clay with lumps, but devoid of root and grass residues, crushed charcoal and brick (but dust must be removed from these components) - everything is taken in equal parts.
You can add superphosphate to any soil mixture, which will slightly acidify the soil; it is also recommended to add detailed plaster, chalk or hydrated lime.
Breeding tips for Ripsalidopsis
You can get a new hatiory plant by planting the seeds of this cactus, grafting the plant and using the cuttings method.
Seed propagation is not as laborious as that of some other representatives of cactus. It is necessary to take seeds of plants that are not related to each other. You can choose seeds of different varieties of Ripsalidopsis and even species. Using a soft brush, pollen from the flowers of one plant is gently transferred to the flowers of another. If pollination is successful, then after some time after the end of flowering, a fruit in the form of a red berry will be formed. Only when the fruit begins to become covered with wrinkles, it signals that the seeds have already ripened. The similarity of the seeds is very long, they can persist for many seasons. In order to plant the seed, it is necessary to use a bowl with soil consisting of sand and leafy earth, taken in equal proportions. When the Ripsalidopsis clumps are strong enough, they are transplanted into large pots for constant growth, several pieces at a time, so that the cactus bush looks more magnificent in the future.
In order to graft a plant, it is necessary to have a representative of the pereskia prickly - this is a genus of cacti, which is the so-called "leaf cactus". This is the oldest cactus that has not gotten rid of true leaf blades. Vaccination time is during the summer months. At the pereskia, it is necessary to remove the branched top of the shoot with leaf plates. The stalk that remains bare needs to be split. After that, a piece of the shoot with 2-3 segments is cut off from the Ripsalidopsis, on which a small sharpening is made, and then inserted into the cleavage on the cut of the rootstock made. The grafted stalk needs to be fixed with a needle, an elongated thorn or thorn, and then the graft is strengthened with a thread or plaster. A plant with a grafted cuttings does not need to be covered with anything; at temperatures of 18–20 degrees, these two parts of the plants will grow together. A sign of a successful operation is the growth of the grafted piece of hatiora. The improvised means of strengthening the scion remove and remove in a timely manner the excess twigs or leaves that are formed below the grafting.
For reproduction with the help of stem cuttings, it is necessary to separate 2-3 segments (segments) from the shoot with the help of a rotational movement. After that, part of the stem is dried for 2-3 days. Then you just need to put the plucked stalk vertically on moistened soil (a mixture of peat and sand), without burying it, but it is better to lean it against the wall of the pot or against some kind of support. As soon as root shoots appear at the cutting, it can be planted in soil suitable for further growth.
Pests and difficulties in caring for a hatiora
Of the harmful insects that infect ripsalidopsis, the following can be distinguished: spider mite, mealybug, scale insects, false scale insects. They are fought by spraying and rubbing the stem segments with soap, oil or alcohol solutions. Also, to consolidate the result, it is necessary to treat the plant with modern insecticides.
The cactus can be susceptible to various fungal and bacterial diseases. They can show up as wet and slippery spots on the stems. The color of the shoots becomes pale or grayish. Fungicides are used to combat these problems. If, nevertheless, the hatiora is severely affected and healthy pieces of stems can be found, then they try to root them so as not to lose the entire plant, and the affected bush is destroyed.
The main problems in caring for Ripsalidopsis are:
- the cactus does not grow and does not bloom if it lacks light or nutrients, the same is observed if the conditions of detention were violated;
- the segments of the stems turn pale, a red tint appears on them, brown spotting appears - this is evidence of a large dose of illumination and burns from direct rays of the sun;
- blackening of the stem base, drooping and sluggish appearance of the shoots, indicates waterlogged soil during the period of low temperatures;
- the fall of flowers and segments can occur from waterlogging of the substrate, an excess of fertilizing, increased dryness of the air, low temperatures, or frequent movements of the pot with a flower.
Types of Ripsalidopsis
- Rhipsalidopsis Gartner (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri). A plant reaching 15–20 cm in height, which is an epiphyte with the shape of a bush that does not change the color of its shoots. Stems can be creeping or drooping, have shiny flat branches. Segments of deep green color are 4–7 cm long and 2–2.5 cm wide. The edges of the segments are distinguished by 3–5 rounded projections with pubescent areoles, in which there are 1–2 brownish-yellow setae. At the tops of the extreme segments in the middle of spring and before its end, flower buds begin to bloom, reaching 4–8 cm in length. The buds have a short tube and bright scarlet petals.
- Rhipsalidopsis rosea (Rhipsalidopsis rosea). Bush-shaped cactus, with invariably green shoots. The segments that make up the stem are not large in size, they can be flat or with ribs. The edges of the segments are dentate-crenate. Flowers in diameter can reach 5 cm and are pinkish.
For more information on flowering and caring for Ripsalidopsis, see this video:
