Bloomin' Cacti

I like my cacti and succulents. They are an opportunity to display some of my favourite bowls and they are easy to maintain. At this time of year I water once every six weeks and that’s it.


To get them to flower I simply give them a thorough watering on Mother’s Day to wake them up from their winter sleep and begin their summer watering regime of once a week, reverting to the inter watering when the clocks go back in Autumn. Plenty of gravel in the soil and plenty of sunshine all year round and, in theory, Bob’s your uncle.


But I hate my New Year job of re-potting them.


Last year I lost a couple of my Lithops (succulents called ‘Living Stones’) that inhabited the same bowls; an Aloe got too big; and there was the usual division to do as a well as a general clean up and some new gravel. Despite gloves and the use of cookery tongs I got the usual half dozen thorns in me. And, also as usual, one went in so deeply and awkwardly that two days later I am still digging around my thumb with needles, scissors and anything else that comes to hand trying to find this microscopic thorn tip that is driving me mad.



There had better be some good flowers this summer in recompense!