General features of the hymnocalycium, tips for cultivation, recommendations for the reproduction of a cactus, difficulties and diseases in growing, interesting facts, species. Gymnocalycium belongs to the genus of plants that are succulents (in their parts they accumulate moisture in order to survive dry periods). This plant belongs to the extensive Cactaceae family. In this genus, according to various estimates, 50–80 varieties of such green prickly "handsome" are combined. Many of them are dearly loved by flower growers and grow successfully in human dwellings. You can meet this representative of the flora on the territories of South America, or rather on the lands of Bolivia, South Brazil, as well as Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. They can grow both on plains and "climb" to grow in mountainous areas, the height of which is measured 1000 m above sea level.
The cactus got its scientific name due to the combination of two Greek words "gymnos", which means "naked" and "calycium", translated as "calyx". Naturally, the reason for this name was the type of flowers of the hymnocalycium. Since its flower tube differs from the flowers of the same thorny "brothers" in that it is not covered with hairs and bristles usual for cacti, but only smooth glossy scales. Among gardeners who are fond of growing cacti, this plant bears the name - "holochechnika" or "bare cup". Most species of this genus are self-sterile. For the first time in the scientific literature, descriptions of this cactus were made in 1844 by the botanist from Germany Ludwig Pfeiffer (1805-1877).
The stem of the hymnocalycium is spherical with some flattening, over time it can become cylindrical. In diameter, adult representatives reach 4–15 cm and, at the same time, they are two times smaller in height. The stem is often colored grayish-green, later almost gray tone or brownish-green, and over time almost brown color. But there are cultivars with a stem in red and yellow colors - chlorophyll-free forms.
Cactus shoots are shortened, cylindrical in shape. There are no more than 20 ribs. They are tall and straight, with a spiral twist. They often have bumps located under the surface of the areola. These areoles with a woolly covering are often located at a distance of 0, 6–2, 5 cm from each other. Up to 12 spines grow in them, which are divided into central and radial ones. Sometimes the first ones may be absent or their number does not exceed 3. In length, the spines measure 1, 25-3, 8 cm. Sometimes there is a bend at the ends towards the stem, and they usually grow outstretched to the sides or to the bottom. Their color can be gray, brown or black.
Flowers usually grow at the top of the plant. As already mentioned, the bud tube is elongated with a scaly coating. Flowering begins when the plant reaches 2–3 years of age. This process begins in spring and lasts until November. A flower on a cactus can last up to 10 days. Flower petals are usually whitish, pinkish, greenish, yellowish or creamy, there are even two-color ones - white at the ends and reddish at the base. When blooming, they fully open and their diameter can be measured 2, 5-7, 5 cm.
After flowering, an egg-shaped fruit appears, its color is green, red or purple, when it is fully ripe. The length of the fruit does not exceed 3.8 cm, the surface is smooth, scaly, devoid of both thorns and thorns.
Gymnocalycium maintenance guide, care
- Lighting. Cacti are light-loving, but additional lighting is required in the autumn-winter period. Light shade from direct sunlight should be used during the summer months.
- Content temperature. When growing hymnocalycium, it is necessary to maintain room heat values within 20-24 degrees. Starting in autumn, the thermometer readings are reduced to 15-18 degrees, you can even lower them to 5 degrees.
- Air humidity when growing this cactus, you need a low one and you do not need to spray it.
- Watering. From May to early September, it is necessary to moisten the substrate in the same way as other indoor plants, that is, as the soil dries up. Water is taken warm and well-separated, free from harmful impurities. Since the beginning of September, watering of the soil is reduced, and in October it is even more limited.
- Fertilize hymnocalycium is necessary in the spring-summer time every 2-3 weeks with special dressings for cactus. Fertilizers must be acidic, otherwise the plant will not develop.
- Vaccinations. Only chlorophyll-free forms are inoculated, but sometimes this is also used for rare varieties or to save a rotten seedling. The graft and stock must be cut with a sharpened and disinfected knife. Then the parts are tightly connected so that the cuts and their conducting bundles practically coincide, then they are kept in a slightly pressed form. You can use an elastic band or bandage for this for about seven days.
- Transfer held annually, and subsequently as needed. The new pot is taken slightly larger than the old one. The substrate is mixed from leafy and turfy soil and river sand (in a ratio of 3: 2: 2: 3). Crushed charcoal or brick chips are added to it. The soil should be slightly acidic, without lime, or irrigate with acidified water.
Tips for breeding a cactus at home
It is possible to obtain a new plant of the "holochachechnika" by the method of propagation by lateral layers or by sowing seeds.
Some varieties develop lateral layers over time. They can be easily separated from the stem of the mother plant. These formations do not have their own roots, they are grasped with fingers (tweezers) and simply turned, so the connection connecting it with the parental hymnocalycium is broken. The shoot is left in a dry place for 1-2 days, and then placed in a moist substrate (peat-sandy soil, plain sand or ready-made planting soil). Shoot care is the same as for an adult plant, rooting takes place very quickly.
When the lateral process has roots that are intertwined with the roots of the parent cactus, the shoot should be carefully excavated, but it is better to carry out such a separation, combining it with the transplantation of an adult hymnocalycium. A shoot with roots is planted in a separate pot with suitable soil, like an adult independent cactus.
Most varieties of the "holocaul" are propagated by seeds. Young cacti obtained in this way are healthier. The soil is taken, as for adult plants, but less grainy. It needs to be disinfected. Seeds are poured onto a moistened substrate placed in a container. The soil should never dry out, therefore, at first, the conditions of a mini-greenhouse are arranged. The container with crops is covered with a piece of glass or plastic wrap. Heat indicators during germination - 20 degrees. Humidification is carried out using a spray bottle.
Sowing seeds can be done at any time of the year. The main thing is that the seedlings are always well lit and kept warm. Young hymnocalycium grow quickly and after a year they are transplanted into separate pots.
Diseases and pests of the bowel
Most often, due to a violation of the conditions for caring for a cactus, it can be damaged by rot or damage by harmful insects.
Putrefactive processes can begin if the substrate in which the succulent grows does not suit it, watering is excessive, especially under cold conditions. This disease often affects the root system of the hymnocalycium, and the problem can only be detected during transplantation, if the cactus does not grow or bloom. Sometimes it is possible to save your "golochechnik" if you wash it with hot water, cut off the roots until healthy tissue is visible, sprinkle the slices with crushed activated or charcoal or any other fungicidal agent. Then the cactus is dried and set to take root, as an outgrowth in the vegetative propagation method.
If harmful insects were noticed, and they are in this case a flat red spider mite or mealybug. When the lesion is the first, dry "rusty" spots appear on the stem, and when a worm appears, a cotton-like bloom of whitish color is present. As simple methods of struggle, washing with very hot water (the temperature should be barely bearable for the hands) or wiping with an alcohol solution is suitable. If these methods do not help, treatment with insecticidal preparations should be carried out.
Interesting facts about Gymnocalycium
You should place the cactus near working electronic devices, then it will help reduce the harmful electromagnetic radiation that comes from them. At the same time, the rapid fatigability of the body and eyes in particular will not bother so much, headaches will become a rarity. It is customary to place 2-3 hymnocalycium side by side with working electrical appliances and their impact on the environment will be immediately felt.
When they talk about the impact of these "holo-bowels" on the energy of the house as a whole, it is necessary to take into account that they help to catch from the space in which they are located, the vibrations of anger, hatred and irritation. Cacti try to transform them into emanations that are not harmful to humans. Therefore, with their properties attracting negativism, these plants are so harmful to the human body akin to cats.
It is worth breeding hymnocalycium for people who are prone to sudden outbursts of anger and irritation. At the same time, such a small "flare" becomes like a lightning rod that will take upon itself all the consequences of a negative atmosphere.
Types of hymnocalycium
- Gymnocalycium naked (Gymnocalycium denudatum) has a spherical stem with a large flattening and dark green color. Over time, its contours lengthen a little. The surface of the stem is glossy - light green. The diameter of the cactus reaches 5-15 cm, and grows in height no more than 20 cm. When the plant is already an adult, lateral shoots appear on the sides in the lower part of the stem. There are 5-8 ribs, they are not pointed and are practically not divided into tubercles. There are no thorns located in the center, there are 5 radial thorns, and those that grow in the lower part of the stem - 8. The color is grayish-brown, but over time it becomes gray. The contours are sinuous, the spines are pressed to the stem and are 1–1.5 cm long. They are usually located in bunches that have the shape of spiders. When blooming, a bud with white petals opens, sometimes they can have a pinkish tint. The flowers are large, 5 cm long, and are generally placed close to the crown. The ovary does not differ in length, it is wider, its color is light green, the surface is covered with rare scaly. When the fruit is fully ripe, it bursts in length, exposing large black seeds. Seed germination is excellent.
- Gymnocalycium humpback (Gymnocalycium gibbosum). In this variety, the stem is colored bluish green or dull green. Its shape is like a ball, and with age it changes to cylindrical. Its height measurements are equal to 50 cm with a diameter of no more than 20 cm. The number of ribs reaches 19 units, with the help of transverse grooves they are divided into segments. Areoles have grayish pubescence. In the center there are one or two spines with a slight bend at the top and base of the red color scheme. The number of radial spines is about 10, they are shorter, reaching up to 1–2 cm in length, painted in a light brown color. The flowers are snow-white, cream or pinkish, no more than 6.5 cm in length. There is a variety in which the stem casts an unusual black-green color scheme and has black spines on it, it is called nigrum.
- Gymnocalycium quehlianum. It has a stem with a greenish-blue tone, its contours are flat-spherical. When a cactus grows, its measurements reach 10 cm in diameter. The number of ribs is about 10, they seem to be fused due to a densely located sessile rounded tuberosity. The central spine is absent, the number of radial spines is 5, their ivory color with a reddish base. They are located in pubescent areoles. The flowers are quite beautiful, they are dual. Their color is white with a red throat. There are species in which the color of the thorns can take on whitish, yellowish or reddish-brown tones.
- Gymnocalycium tiny (Gymnocalycium parvulum). This cactus has a spherical stem, its color is brown-green. The number of ribs reaches 13, the areoles on them are large and high. Radial spines grow within 5–7 units, they are pressed to the stem and slightly curved. The flowers are snow-white.
- Gymnocalycium small-flowered (Gymnocalycium leptanthum). The area of growth is Cordoba (territory of Argentina). A cactus grows with a flattened stem, wide outlines and reaching up to 8–12 cm in diameter with a height of no more than 6–9 cm. It bushes, it has 10–15 ribs, small in size, divided into round tubercles. On the ribs there are large, elongated areola contours. Grow to the stem, clinging to 7-10 radial spines of a brownish-yellowish tone. They are placed in a comb-like manner, slightly protruding. In length they reach 1, 5–3 cm. Flowers bloom with white petals. Moreover, their bases are reddish in color. The surface of the tall flower tube is covered with well-visible rounded smooth scales. The diameter of the flowers is measured 4 cm.
- Gymnocalycium Mihanovichii. This plant was obtained artificially and is a chlorophyll-free form. It is called so because due to the fact that the chlorophyll content is quite small in the tissues of the cactus, its color is determined by coloring particles (pigments) and may be due to carotene - red or orange or due to xanthophylloma - yellowish. This variety is usually grafted onto green varieties of cacti, since it cannot grow on its own roots. And the scion soon develops during fusion due to the vital forces of the rootstock. Therefore, it will be necessary to maintain a sufficiently good level of lighting for the process of photosynthesis to increase, and in the winter period, a decrease in heat indicators. The stem of this cactus is flattened and painted in grayish-green shades. Its height is no more than 5 cm. The number of ribs varies within 8–10 cm. They are triangular in cross-section, and the pointed edge has waviness. Areoles are placed on the edge. Sharp projections extend from these formations, which are located across the lateral surface of the ribs. Therefore, it seems that this cactus has not only longitudinal, but also transverse ribbing. The number of radial spines is 5, their color is gray, the ends are curved and directed towards the stem. Their length is no more than 1 cm. Flowers are of a pale greenish-pink color. There are varieties with buds, the petals of which are whitish, pink or yellow. In flower shops, they often sell a grafted form with a variegated color of Gymnocalycium Mihanovichii var.friedrichii, in which the stem casts a bright red or yellowish tone. Sometimes it is mistakenly called var.rubra, but it is more accurate to call it forma Hibotan.
For more on flowering and caring for the hymnocalycium, see this video:
