Cactus, a plant species that has many applications: interior design, oxygen production as well as humidity and temperature moderation, are easy to propagate. All of which can save you money on your interior design and environmental projects, not to mention your energy bill.
One of the easiest cactus to grow and propagate is the rat tail cactus. Besides easy propagation and care, the blooms are beautiful yellow, red, pink and violet flowers, a decorative touch for any home. Like any plant, tips on how to grow and propagate plants can be found in their native environment: the soil, the humidity, rainfall and temperature range. But don’t get too worried, cactus are hardy plant and prefer their ancestral environment.
Cactus grow in a variety of climates and in a variety of soils. Perlite is one soil components used to help the cactus flowering and propagation process. With that fact in hand, one might want to look at where perlite mines or deposits are located. The largest perlite producing countries include Greece, China, Iran, Turkey, the United States, Japan, Hungary, Italy, Russia and Ukraine. As might be imagined, the major perlite production regions are also regions where cactus grow wild, hot arid regions, like deserts or near desert regions.. One well known fact about the rat tail cactus is that it is native to Mexico and cultivated in Central and South America. Even more interesting are reports that hummingbirds pollinate the rat tail cactus. So if you are open to inviting hummingbirds to your patio, place some rat tail cactus around, their pink, gold and violet flowers. Having difficulty getting your rat tails to flower? Try placing them in the early morning sun, on a window sill. Also sprinkle cactus soil on them. Cactus soil contains perlite among other things. So take a hard look at the native soil and the native minerals in that soil. More so, if you are searching for perlite, go to present day or ancient volcanic sites. Perlite is a volcanic rock.
Back to the propagation question. It’s simple, cut off a few rat tail cactus tails and let the cuttings dry our for a few days, a scab on the cutting should form. Then pot the cutting in perlite rich cactus soil. Try to get as much south facing sun as possible. Look for a window sill in your home or on your patio that gets south facing sun, also known as mid morning sun if you live in the northern hemisphere.
