Pink cacti: do they exist, how to care and propagate, as well as a description and photo of a plant with colored thorns and flowers of this shade

Ordinary cacti seem to some people too simple. Especially for them there are cacti of unusual colors.

Both blooming and colored cacti look exotic and original, and in the hands of a conscientious grower they can grow, develop and delight the eyes of their owner.

In this article, we will talk about the pink cactus: whether there is, how to care, how to propagate. Consider clearly how cacti of this color look and how they differ from others.

We also learn how to propagate this plant and what diseases and pests can harm a pink cactus.

Does it exist?

There are definitely no such species in nature. All colored cacti are artificially bred so that chloroplasts do not develop in them: it is the chloroplasts and the chlorophyll contained in them that are responsible for the green color of the plants.

In addition to chloroplasts, plants have chromoplasts - plastids, which are responsible for yellow or red pigment. But you can’t leave a flower without chloroplasts, because they are responsible for photosynthesis, due to which plants produce organic substances that are vital for them, therefore it is impossible to even grow such a cactus artificially, and various tricks are used to give it a specific pink color.

What are: description and photo

Pink cacti come in two types.

Painted

They are painted using special spray guns or food coloring. Such sprays and mixtures often only stain needles. You can cook them like this:

Add food coloring in a ratio of one to three to the substrate for succulents.
You need to take a new flower pot and pour there part of the painted soil.
Then transplant a cactus into it and drink abundantly with water.

When the moisture is absorbed, the spines will gradually change their usual color to pink. After a couple of months, the thorns will turn pink, but bright color can be expected only in a few years.

Coloring a cactus cannot ruin it. For this plant, the color of the thorns is similar to the coloring of hair in humans. As the thorns grow, unless repeated staining is done, the thorns will gradually return to their usual color.

It is impossible to wash off the paint with water; special chemicals are required (if the plant was painted with a spray gun). Thus, staining does not cause significant harm, but does not bring benefits, except to improve the appearance of the plant.

With such flowers

Also pink, albeit in a slightly different sense. As a rule, the flowers are large and lush. Several types of cacti:

Rebucia (Rebutia)

Miniature houseplant. Rebucia blooms with large raspberry flowers. Flowering begins in the second year of life, then small berries appear in place of the flowers.

Gymnocalycium (Gymnocalycium)

A small spherical plant. Gymnocalycium has one large flower at the top of a deep pink color. The surface of an elongated flower tube is covered with scaly petals. It blooms after the second or third year of life.

Lophophora (Lophophora), another name - peyotl

The juice of this small plant contains various alkaloids. Lophophore juice can cause powerful hallucinations. There are one or more apical flowers of pale pink color.

Read about Williams lophophore here.

Lobivia

Symmetrical spherical or cylindrical (depending on age) stem. One cactus is able to form up to twenty-five different flowers, which last from one day to three. The flowers are large, separate, saturated pink.

Echinocerus (Echinocereus)

It has a small size that does not interfere with this cactus to create large and bright flowers. Echinocereus is a very beautiful plant. The flowers are bright pink and larger than the cactus itself. After flowering, the plant forms edible fruits.

Read about Echinocereus species here.

Care Features

For dyed

Painted pink cactus practically does not require special care:

In summer, it is best to put a pot with a plant in the sun, which stimulates flowering, but do not forget about shading.
In winter, it is worth providing the plant with a temperature of 10-12 ° C. Incorrect temperature in winter can affect flowering badly. About once every eight to ten days you need to water a small amount of water and adhere to this regimen from early spring to late summer.
In autumn, watering should be gradually reduced up to once a month in winter. As a rule, colored cacti can hardly tolerate excessive moisture, so it’s better not to fill in moisture than to overfill. Colored cacti do not need spraying, but they need top dressing.
From April to October, it should be fed once a month with special fertilizer for succulents, in winter feeding is not needed. In order for the thorns to maintain a pink color, it is necessary to tint them with a sprayer in time or transplant the plant into a colored substrate (are there cacti without thorns?).

For blooming

If you do not observe the rest period in winter, the plant will stretch out a lot and lose its normal appearance.
Watering should be every seven to ten days.
With the advent of spring, watering should be increased, and also begin to spray once or twice a month.
The old plant should be watered a little less often than the young.
In the summer season, it is necessary from time to time to oppress cacti in order to prevent sunburn.
After flowering, the cactus needs to be transplanted and not watered for two to three days. Special care during flowering is not required.
In autumn, you need to transfer the cactus from the balcony to the room to provide it with a suitable temperature.

About breeding

Both colored and flowering cacti can be propagated.

Painted plants reproduce with the help of side shoots, "children." They are planted in a mixture of soil for succulents and food coloring (on the proportions of such soil, read above).

Flowering cacti can be propagated by cuttings, seeds, and grafting.

Seeds
Seeds germinate five to seven days after planting (some a month). It is better to plant in April-May. Seedlings are too weak and need to be dived in the summer. The temperature in the room should be about 25-27 ° C.
Cuttings.
Propagation by apical and lateral shoots is carried out in spring or early summer.
1. Shoots need to be cut with a knife and dried for 7-10 days.
2. Then they are planted in the ground at a depth of about 0.5-1 cm.
3. Each stalk should be tied to a peg, and then cover them with a jar.
Graft.
It is done in the warm season. The graft and rootstock should be equally juicy and have approximately the same diameter.

Diseases and Pests

Root nematodes are the main pests of colored cacti. These worms can cause the plant to die.
1. The affected root areas are removed with a knife, after which the cactus roots are placed in a hot bath: water of 45 ° C in a small container is quite suitable.
2. You need to keep a cactus in it for about ten minutes.
Aphids can be destroyed by spraying with a solution of soap and tobacco with a small amount of kerosene.
Using this solution, you can remove the spider mite.
The mealybug is destroyed by an ordinary wet swab.

Similar views

There are other types of succulents with pink flowers. For example, a slipway with a fluffy and striped large flower, or ripsalidopis with elongated large flowers. Also
beautiful succulent plants are: