It turns out that cacti, like all plants, need to be trimmed. Pruning is sanitary or formative.
Sometimes cacti are affected by rot or fungal diseases. In this case, proper pruning can save the plant. Plants that have simply stretched out are also pruned.
Let's figure out how to understand that a plant needs pruning and how to do it.
Pruning is necessary if:
- the skin of the plant has withered, lost its shine or turned yellow;
- the cactus becomes soft or tilts;
- wounds, spots, other damage appeared on the surface of the plant, or the cactus simply stopped growing.
What to cut
To begin with, you can remove healthy shoots that can be rooted after treatment. Otherwise, regular pruning is not provided.
If formative pruning is required, it is carried out during the period of active vegetation and during the waning moon.
How to trim
1. If the cactus is rotten and more than 15 cm high, it can be cut off at the top with a sterile blade. Remove the top part (approximately 10 cm), then, if the cutting is without damage and rot, prepare it for planting.
2. The tip of the cutting is sharpened "like a pencil" so that the pulp barely protrudes, but the cambial ring in the center is not touched. Sprinkle with charcoal powder, dry (place the workpiece in an egg tray so that it does not touch the bottom, and dry for 5 days), after the remaining tip is level with the edges of the plant, you can begin planting.
3. Place the trimmed cactus into the prepared soil to a depth of 2 cm, leave it on a lighted windowsill, and periodically spray it with water for a month.
Important! After pruning, cacti are watered no earlier than 3-4 days later.
