General description of the traits and places of natural growth of non-cuttings, rules for the care and reproduction of a cactus in indoor conditions, diseases and pests, species. Neochilenia (Neochilenia) belongs to the vast and oldest family of Cactaceae (Cactaceae), and under natural conditions it is possible to meet this representative of the flora only in the northern mountainous regions of Chile (in Atacama) or in Peru, but they also grow in Bolivia. It also included the western slopes of the Andes and the Pacific coast. In these regions of the globe, there are quite specific climatic conditions, since all rainfall falls on the eastern side of the Andes, but the western regions can only be content with abundant fogs that bring Pacific winds.
In all likelihood, this cactus bears its name because of the areas of its natural growth - the name of the plant consists of a combination of the words "neo", which means "new" in Latin, and the second component reflects the location of areas of natural growth - Chile. And as a result, we get a “new chileniation”, since descriptions of the genus Chilenia have already been found in botanical sources.
The cactus received this name in 1942, when it was described by scientists. There are up to 60 varieties in the genus today. The famous German botanist and collector Kurt Bakkeberg (1894-1866) was engaged in taxonomy and division into types of all cacti in the Chilean and Peruvian region.
This cactus is a small plant that has a spherical or slightly elongated shape. The stems of non-milling to the touch are quite hard, if it is in direct sunlight, then the color of the stems takes on dark tones - brownish-greenish or blue-purple. But usually the color of the stems varies from ash-white and gray-greenish to brown-red, chocolate and even purple-black. The entire surface of the cactus is covered with multiple tuberous outgrowths, ribs of different sizes and thorns of unequal shape. The height of the stems can vary within 6–25 cm. The top has a slight depression.
Areoles on the surface of the stem in most of the species are elongated, with whitish pubescence in the form of a felt. There are 5-14 radial spines, their color varies from gray and brownish to almost black. These spines are thin, the length is 0.2–1 cm and only occasionally they can approach the parameters of 2–3 cm. However, there are practically no central spines. The root system is usually quite thickened.
When blooming, neochilleniya forms beautiful flowers with pubescent petals. Their color can be either red or orange-reddish, or yellow, snow-white, pale pink or pearlescent-whitish. The corolla tube is rather short and covered with pubescence, among which one can see thin and soft spines. The tube of the flower is often wide open with a funnel-shaped outline. The petals have lanceolate contours. The flower is about 2.5 cm long with a diameter of 3 to 7 cm. The ovary is also covered with pubescence in the form of thick hairs. During the entire period of vegetative activity, the flowering process can be repeated many times, while up to 15 buds are formed and opened on the stem. They do not fade for several days.
The fruit of non-chilling may also have a sparse hairy pubescence, its color is brown-reddish, it reaches 3 cm in length with a diameter of about 1 cm. Inside there are relatively large seeds, rounded in black color, their surface is dull.
Non-harvesting requires certain knowledge and skills in the cultivation of cacti, although all the difficulties are made up for by the general ornamental type of plant from the Chilean territories.
Cultivation rules for non-milling, indoor care
- Lighting and location selection. A fairly well-lit place is suitable for this cactus, only with a little shading in the summer during lunch hours. However, the question arises: "Why does non-refining in nature live without problems in the sun, and in the rooms you need protection from direct sunlight?" The answer is rather trivial - since under natural conditions there is a constant circulation of air masses, therefore high temperatures and bright sunlight do not harm the cactus, but in the conditions of rooms such air movement is almost impossible to ensure, then the ingress of direct ultraviolet streams will negatively affect any plant, and not only on cacti. Therefore, it is recommended that with the arrival of spring, begin to teach non-curing gradually to the sun, and already in the summer, boldly put on the sunny side of the rooms, pulling the window with a light curtain only at noon, otherwise sunburn is inevitable.
- Air humidity when growing this cactus, moderate is needed. Even when the temperature indicators are not high in the summer, non-cleaning will not tolerate waterlogging.
- Watering. During the beginning of vegetative activity in a cactus, this plant will need a lot of fresh air and moderate soil moisture, as well as systematic spraying. However, watering should be very careful.
- General care for non-treatment. This cactus is considered the most difficult to care for, since its growth begins very early - already at the beginning of December you can see how the tops of the stems turn green. It is during this period that the cactus grower will be faced with the task of preventing this growth, therefore, it is recommended to reduce heat indicators to 5-8 units and practically stop watering. If the non-chilling is early awakened to growth, then the temperature drops even more. When growth does not stop and the cactus continues its growing season, it is necessary to keep it in warm conditions, but with the use of fluorescent lamps.
- The soil. The substrate for non-cleaning transplantation is used rather loose, with high permeability to water and air. The soil can be used specially designed for cacti, but mixed with coarse sand and gravel.
Do-it-yourself non-grind breeding recommendations
You can get a new copy of the Chilean cactus by sowing seed, grafting or grafting.
On the maternal non-chilling, over time, if the tip has been removed, young shoots are formed, which, during transplantation, can be carefully separated and planted in pots filled with moistened sand or a suitable substrate. Children can be vaccinated.
Seeds are sown in flat containers filled with sand or other loose soil for cacti. The germination temperature should be 20 degrees. Seedlings grow very slowly. If young plants are grafted onto echinopsis or peireskiopsis, then the development of young neo-cuttings will be faster, and will guarantee that the seedlings will be preserved, since the roots of seedlings often rot in winter. At the same time, vaccinations for Chilean cacti are also important because the plants start to grow from December or mid-winter. If the content is dry, the roots will often be lost. With an increase in watering, this will inevitably lead to the fact that the stem will begin to stretch, and the cactus itself will weaken.
When vaccinating, it is important to follow 9 rules:
- Such operations are performed at the beginning of summer, when the neotchineniya starts to grow and until the autumn days the scion with the stock can perfectly “adhere”, otherwise both the stock and the grafted specimen may die.
- It is important to choose the type of rootstock: it must be well developed, completely healthy and it must be transplanted more than a month from the moment of vaccination. The cut is sprinkled with sulfur powder, and then it is used as a mother liquor for growing shoots, which are then used for the rootstock of seedlings. Vaccination is not carried out if there is only one stock available, since it may be unsuitable - this can be determined by the cut made.
- Pay attention to the "inner" (hidden) diameter of the rootstock. It is clearly visible when the cut of the neemone stem has already been made. The graft and rootstock are applied along the cambial rings (this layer in cacti has the form of a ring, which is enclosed in the thickness of the stem, which makes it possible to inoculate). The connection is made in such a way that the rings match up as accurately as possible. Then the parts are fixed with a bandage until they are completely fused. It is important that the cambium rings are almost the same in diameter - the larger their accretion area, the more successful the grafting process.
- Mandatory disinfection of working tools and hands: after each cut, it is necessary to wipe the blade of the tool with alcohol, since the juice of uncleaning is very quickly oxidized in air.
- When grafting, a high speed of work is required - the cuts must be made very quickly and the application of the scion to the stock must also be quick so that the surfaces do not oxidize, then there are chances of successful accretion.
- An important factor is the accuracy of the scion and rootstock cuts - they are carried out strictly horizontally so that the scion does not slip on its side. The cut is carried out with one movement of the knife, the chamfer cut from the edges of the rootstock should have an equal angle (so that the skin, which will dry out, does not push the scion from its place). The graft must be applied the first time, it is not corrected or moved.
- A properly applied bandage should ensure a successful vaccination. It is a thin strip of rubber (use a bicycle camera). A pair of strips is usually made in the form of rings of the required size and they cover the container in a crosswise manner along with the inoculation. If the flowerpot is small, then the strips can slide off, so a square cut out of plywood or cardboard with jagged edges in the corners is placed under the pot.
- After the vaccination, you need a verified content. After applying a bandage and covering the sections with sulfur powder, the grafted specimen is placed in a dry and warm place, but shaded from light. Watering is carried out as needed, but it is important to ensure that drops of moisture do not get into the vaccine, spraying is prohibited. Since the cactus is aged for 10-14 days.
- After this time, the bandage is removed and the cactus is returned to its original place. Leaving, as before, but you need to refrain from spraying for another month or two.
Problems in the process of cultivation of non-treatment and ways to solve them
The biggest nuisance that happens during the cultivation of this representative of the cactus family is waterlogging, if the owner does not remove the water that is glass in the pot holder, and it begins to stagnate, which leads to waterlogging of the substrate and, as a result, decay of the root system of non-curing. This is especially harmful when accompanied by a decrease in heat indicators.
Also, the lack of flowering is due to the fact that during the dormant period, which occurs in winter, the temperature readings are too high.
Interesting facts about the uncut cactus
If we follow Beckeberg's classification, then the following genera exist:
- Neochilenia, which includes cacti of small and medium sizes, which have thick spines or are completely devoid of them, the flowers of these plants have the shape of a wide funnel.
- Neoporteria combines cacti in which the thorns are so densely arranged that they often intertwine with each other, the corolla of the flower is very narrow and half-closed.
- Horridocactus differs in thickened thorns, the tube of flowers, like the flowers themselves, is greatly shortened, and covered with pubescence.
- Islaya can "boast" of halos and tops with strong pubescence, the color of the petals of flowers is yellow, the corolla is wide.
- Eriosyce includes cacti of large sizes with massive root processes, the top of the stem is heavily pubescent, and the buds themselves are covered with thick fluff from the outside.
- Copiapoa - in this plant, the stems have a variety of outlines, the color of the flowers is yellow, the corolla tube and the fruits are devoid of pubescence.
- Pyrrhocactus, grows on the other side of the Andes in the region of Argentina, but it also strongly resembles all the listed cacti.
At the moment, all of the above plants have been reduced to the genus Eriosyce, with the exception of Copiapoa. However, all the species names of cacti have remained from the old genera, but at this time many varieties have been merged into one, representing synonyms. Surely, connoisseurs of cacti will say that in many cases such a decision really has good reason. But when buying, it is important to remember the differences so as not to confuse Capiapoa and the Eriosice species, since they have the same names.
Types of uncleaning
Here are only the most common varieties of this cactus in indoor cultivation.
- Neochilenia napina. The native habitat is in Chile. It has a small spherical stem, which, when grafted, stretches a little. Its surface is painted in a grayish-green color, usually with a shade of reddish tones. The root of a cactus with a thickening, resembles a radish in outline, has a narrowing towards the root collar. On the stem, there are up to 14 ribs, which are divided into papillae with protuberances in the form of tubercles, resembling chins. Areoles on the stem are either bare or slightly pubescent. On the sides grow very small thorns, the number of which varies within 3–9 units. The largest of them is only 3 mm long. The color of the spines is black, they can either adhere to the surface of the stem, or grow sticking out. The central thorn is the only one. During flowering, buds are formed, with a length of up to 3.5 cm. The color of the petals is pale yellow, there is pubescence with elongated hairs and dark-colored bristles of a sinuous shape. The flowering process lasts from mid-April to early summer. The fruit ripens from spherical to elongated, with moderate pubescence.
- Neochilenia glabrescens has a shape and shape that is quite reminiscent of Neochilenia mitis, or
- Neochilenia napina, if we take into account the classification of the same Bakkeberg.
- Neochilenia jussieui has a reddish spherical stem. It has up to 13-16 ribs. The number of radial spines varies from 7 to 14, the central ones are only one or a pair, reaching a length of 2.5 cm. The spines are brownish or whitish from the very beginning, but over time they become dark gray in color. During flowering, the length and diameter of the flower reaches 4 cm. The petals in the corolla are pink, in the center there is a brighter strip. The pharynx casts a snow-white color. The native growing areas are in the mountainous regions of Chile.
- Neochilenia slightly ribbed (Neochilenia paucicostata). This cactus has a grayish-blue stem. There are 8-12 ribs on it, they are covered with tubercles. Radial spines are formed by 5–8 units, which are 4 cm in length, there can be from one to 4 central spines, the length is the same. When the spines are young, their color is black, later turning gray. The flowers are distinguished by a reddish-whitish color, reaching 3.5 cm in length. It comes from the northern regions of Chile.
