- Hi, thanks for joining us for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Cacti bring an exotic look into the home, but they need to be treated differently from standard houseplants.

Today we're gonna cover the basics of cactus care.

That's just ahead on The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer) Production funding for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South is provided by the WKNO Production Fund, the WKNO Endowment Fund, and by viewers like you, thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to The Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Joining me today is Jill Maybry.

Jill is a horticulturalist at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

- That's right.

- Glad you're here today.

- Thank you.

Good to be here.

- We're gonna talk all things cactus care.

- All right.

- All right.

How to water them.

How to feed them.

How to re-pot.

How about up-pot, insects, diseases, and the easiest cacti for beginners.

How about that?

- We can do it.

- We can do that?

- We can do that.

- All right.

Let's do it.

Let's do it.

I'm excited about this.

- Good.

Me too.

- All right.

So where do you wanna start with this?

- Well, let's start with the difference between a cactus and a succulent.

- Let's do it.

Okay.

- Because a lot of people would refer to everything on this table as a cactus.

Would you think these are all cacti?

- I actually would think so.

I sure would.

- Succulent is a broad-reaching term that refers to plants generally from the desert that have fat stems that hold onto water.

So all of these have fat stems that hold onto water 'cause typically they come from places with very little rainfall.

So they need to store that rainfall, store that water, for when they need it.

Technically, a cactus is only in the family cactus.

The Cactaceae family.

So all cactus are succulents, not all succulents are cacti.

- Ah, got it.

Okay.

- And the main thing that applies to gardeners that differentiates them is the spines.

- Is the spines.

All right.

- Anything in the cactus family has these little things called areoles.

And I'm gonna demonstrate 'cause the spines do come off.

Areoles are these little bumps, these little spiky little bumps, that the spines come out of.

And cactus spines hurt.

- Yes, they do.

- And tend to break off in your fingers and you feel them for hours or maybe even the next day.

And that's frustrating.

Succulents do not have those type of spines.

- So you talked about spines, right?

So they're just modified leaves of what they are, right?

- That's that's right.

Yes.

On the cacti, the spines are modified leaves.

And in the wild, the spines act as protection against foraging animals or interfering humans.

The spines actually end up casting a little bit of protection from the harsh sun.

That is just a tiny little bit of shade.

This is a Peruvian old man cactus and it has even more modifications.

These little wooly hairs that cover it provide protection from intense sun and also provide a little bit of cold protection.

These guys grow in the wild in the Andes.

And it can get pretty cold now and then.

- So speaking of cold and sun.

So we have these indoors, where do we need to place them?

- Yes.

Cacti like sun for the most part.

There are a couple exceptions.

But everything I brought here today likes sun.

The more sun you can give it, the better.

So a bright west window, a south-facing window, either of those would be ideal.

You can put it in low light, but eventually the cactus is gonna end up stretching for light, called etiolation, as it starts stretching to try to find that light.

And you're gonna end up with a misshapen cacti.

So the more sun, the better.

- So more sun, the better.

What about humidity?

Does that matter?

- Humidity doesn't matter a whole lot for these guys.

In the wild, they come from places that are pretty arid with low humidity.

So any home environment, the humidity is gonna be just fine, and the temperature is gonna be just fine.

Anything that's comfortable for a human to live in is gonna be just fine for these cacti to live in too.

- Okay, so we have to be aware of vents, wanna make sure we don't place them under vents and things like that, right?

- Probably not directly under a vent.

But if you do have a spot that's under a vent, a cacti is gonna be a better choice than one of the leafy tropical houseplants 'cause cacti are just naturally adapted to withstand that lower humidity and higher heat, so will stand up to a tough situation better.

- Okay.

How about that?

- Than a leafy tropical houseplant.

- Ah, this, ah, pretty easy, huh?

So far.

- So far.

- That's right.

- So let's talk about watering and feeding next, okay.

- Okay, the easiest way to kill a cactus is too much water.

And that's generally what happens when somebody says they've got a cactus and it turned into mush.

It's too much water.

So cacti need to be planted in a well-draining soil.

And they need to be in a pot with a drainage hole.

For example, each of these is going to have a drainage hole so that water can run out.

And the soil that each of these is in is specially made, specially formulated, to be a well-draining mix.

It has several amendments in it.

Perlite, vermiculite, pumice, grit mixed into the soil to make sure that water runs right through it and the soil can dry out after that.

So watering, cacti do not need as much water as our leafy tropical houseplants.

During the summer when they're actively growing, watering once a week should be okay.

Maybe once every two weeks.

In the winter, when the temperature does start to go down and the plants are not getting as much sunlight as during the summer, cacti naturally go into a state of semi-dormancy or complete dormancy so they're not taking up water.

So during the winter, reduce your watering down to either once a month, maybe even once every three months.

- Wow.

Really?

- It's better to err on the side of little water than too much, especially in the winter for a cacti.

- All right.

So how would you water them?

- So assuming it was summer or winter and it's time to water.

Let's say you haven't watered in a month or so and it's time to water your houseplants.

Now this is in a pot with drainage holes and it is a fast-draining soil mix.

I like to water from the top with a cacti.

And when you water, you wanna water it thoroughly, which means you water it until water comes out the bottom.

And in many cases with your tropical houseplants, you might leave it sitting in that water for 30 minutes or so to soap back up, but with a cacti, you don't want that pot to sit in water.

So if it's on a tray or a drip pan, any of that water that comes out, you wanna go ahead and pour off before you put it back in its window sill so that it's not sitting in water.

- Gotcha.

- You want the roots to be able to dry out as the soil dries out to prevent root rot.

- That sounds good.

So let's talk about feeding them.

- Okay.

- Right.

What would you use?

- Cacti are not heavy feeders.

Naturally in the wild, they live in low-nutrient soil.

So I often use a slow release granular fertilizer.

That's just easiest for me in the greenhouse.

I tend to use that with most of my plants.

So often when I re-pot a cacti, I will use some of those sprinkled around the top.

Maybe a third or half as much as I would use with a similar sized tropical houseplant.

Or you could use a liquid fertilizer, but only in the spring and summer, which is when cacti are actively growing.

And you want to use a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen, which is when you're looking at the NPK or the three numbers, you want that first number to be lower than the other numbers.

Cacti don't need a lot of nitrogen.

They're meant to be slow growing.

And if you give them too much of that nitrogen, it encourages fast growth, which is gonna be weak and just not good for the plant.

So you don't wanna give them a high nitrogen fertilizer.

- That is good, okay.

So you mentioned repotting.

- Yes.

- So you wanna demonstrate to us how you repot?

- Sure, sure.

Set this little guy back.

Something to keep in mind when repotting is cacti would like to be in small pots for their size.

Another really easy way to kill cacti is moving them to too big of a pot too soon.

And the main bad thing about that is water stays in the soil too long, which leads to root rot.

- Gotcha.

Gotcha.

- So I'm going to pot this little guy up.

You can see he's kind of at a weird angle in the pot just sort of with time.

And I'm not gonna move him up to a huge pot.

I'm gonna go, this is about one pot size larger, which typically when you re-pot plants that's recommended is just one, one size larger.

- And as you're doing that, so when would you re-pot?

How would you know?

- For cati, in the spring or the summer.

Don't do it during the winter because they are dormant or semi-dormant and it's just gonna be hard for those roots to spread out and get established in the new soil.

So spring or summer is the best time to do this.

And cactus can stay in the same pot for a long time.

- I believe that, yeah.

- So maybe every two to three years, or even longer because they are slow growers.

So it's gonna take them a long time to really start feeling pinched by their root span, too crowded.

- Wow.

Okay.

- So cactus do like terracotta pots.

The terracotta pots dry out more quickly, which is gonna be good for them.

It's good to get more air flow into the soil, allow oxygen to get to the roots.

So terracotta is a good choice.

Obviously I do have several that are in plastic pots.

But especially at home, terracotta is a good choice 'cause it's just gonna make sure that the soil dries out well.

- Okay.

Makes sense.

- So we're going with this terracotta pot.

And it does have a drainage hole because we need to make sure that that water is gonna run right through.

- Alright.

So far so good.

- Okay.

- All right.

All right.

- And I like to cover the drainage hole with a little bit of pottery shard, which is.

I can't help but have some broken terracotta pots around the greenhouse.

But those pieces make for a great way to set inside and just cover up that drainage hole.

That prevents the soil from running out.

You don't have to do that, but this will just help keep the soil from ending up on your counters.

- Okay.

And the water still will run out?

- Yes, the water still gets right around that 'cause it's not sitting flush, it's not creating a vacuum seal.

I'm gonna put my gloves on.

- Put your gloves on, please.

- As discussed, they do have spines that will come off in your fingers.

- Yeah.

They might bite you.

- Yes, they certainly can.

I have some heavy duty rose gloves that I often use with cactus as well.

So even with my gloves on, I'm gonna use another layer.

This is a folded paper towel.

So I'm gonna use that to grip the cacti, and.

- Does it wanna come out?

- It does not, so I'm gonna give it a little encouragement with my handy bamboo stick.

- A little encouragement to come outta there.

- It is easier with a plastic pot 'cause then I can do the squeeze method.

I feel it loosening.

- Ah, good.

Yeah, I see it coming out.

It's trying.

Come out.

There you go.

- So here is our cactus root ball.

You can see the roots a bit on that side.

It's not a huge root ball.

They don't have a huge root system, which is another reason why they don't need to be in a huge pot.

They just don't have a lot of roots.

This is also a good time.

I'm gonna pull off.

I have a few little succulents that have taken hold.

Okay, so now that we are un-potted.

- And you would consider that a pretty good root system?

- Yes, yeah, yeah.

It's nice and healthy.

The roots are white.

So the soil is dry, which is what you want most of the time on a cacti.

So I brought a soil mix with me.

And this is a well-draining soil.

It does have amendments mixed into it.

Some grit, some extra perlite, some extra pumice that make it a well-draining mix to make sure the water is gonna run through it and not stay right on these roots.

- Yes.

So is that something a homeowner could purchase, you think?

- Yes.

You can purchase.

- Big box stores and nurseries or something like that?

- Yes, you can purchase pre-mixed cactus and succulent mix.

And usually those are fine.

You can also make your own by purchasing the amendments and the soil separately.

Just wanna make sure that that soil doesn't have an overabundance of sphagnum moss or peat, something that's gonna hold onto the water too much.

- Makes sense.

- I'm gonna pour a little bit of soil into the bottom of the pot.

Kind of looking for height here.

I want it planted at just the same level that it already was.

All right, that looks like about the same level that it was in.

And I'm comfortable hanging onto it with my gloved fingers now.

I'm not having to pull as much as when I was getting it out of the pot.

So gingerly holding onto it.

That's fine.

I'm not pressing the soil down.

I'm just getting it settled and into the little crevices between the previous root ball and this one.

- Yeah, and I'm glad you're actually demonstrating that because I think, myself included, most homeowners, we don't get the soil up to the level it needs to be.

You know, so sometimes, you know, maybe it's not high enough as it should be.

So it's good to see that.

- Now, as far as fertilizer for a cactus, like I said, they don't need a whole lot.

And some people choose to just use a liquid fertilizer during the spring and summer.

I tend to like using a slow-release granular fertilizer.

But like I said, you don't need to use as much as you would on a leafy tropical plant.

So I'm just gonna use a few granules.

And since we reduce watering so much in the winter, that means that the fertilizer will not be released during the winter because the cactus is not taking it up anyway.

But since there's so little water going through, it's not gonna get much of that released.

- Good.

Good.

So if you water that, would you not water as you're putting the soil in or do you just wait until you finish and then you water?

- So generally with most plants, I would wait until after I plant it and then a good watering settles everything in.

With cacti, because they are so particular about their water needs, when you re-pot them, that does damage some of the root structure, so it's recommended to wait ten to fourteen days after you re-pot it before you water it.

- Really?

- That just gives the roots a chance to settle in a little bit and kind of heal themselves from any broken little bits 'cause even as gentle as you can try to be, there's always gonna be a little bit of damage to the cactus roots.

So it is recommended to wait.

- So we wouldn't water that now?

- No, we don't need to water it today.

We'll wait a week or two and then water it in.

- Oh Jill, that's so good.

Okay, yeah.

So let's talk about insects or diseases.

So there any insects, diseases we need to know about or anything else, any other problems that you may know?

- Sure.

Insects.

In my experience, I do not get as many insects on the cacti.

They tend to be a little tougher.

They're not as tempting for our pest insects to chew on as our tender tropical houseplants.

Scale is something to look out for.

- I was gonna ask about that, yeah.

- The dreaded scale insects.

So it's important to just examine your cactus.

It's easy for scale, mealy bugs can be another issue, to hide because they look very much like these little white areoles.

So just keep an eye on them and look for the scale in odd places.

If you do discover a scale infection, you can wipe off that scale with a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol.

And the best way that I have found in my experience is just to physically wipe off the scale with the Q-tip and the rubbing alcohol.

Cacti can be sensitive to pesticides.

- Good to know.

- So you definitely wanna check on that before you douse your plant with chemicals.

Cacti just are more special.

They're just different than some other plants.

- But that's easy enough.

So what about diseases?

- Rust can be an issue occasionally.

The best defense is just proper care.

If you're not over watering your cacti and you're giving them good light, they can take care of themselves generally pretty well.

So the best way to prevent problems is to give them as much light as possible, well-draining soil, a drainage hole.

Don't overwater especially in the winter.

- That's a good point.

Okay.

- And that's gonna be your your best offense is just proper cactus care.

- I like that.

So what about the easiest cacti for beginners?

How about that?

- Okay.

The pin cushion, the Mammalaria.

So this is one of the pin cushion cacti.

This is a pretty easy one and it multiplies.

You can see we have lots of.

So this started out with maybe one or three.

And as it's been happy, it's been reproducing, so it's been putting off these little offsets.

And these can be divided and separated into their own pots.

And you can make more cacti that way.

So I do like the pin cushion cacti.

- Yeah.

I think I like that too.

- Yeah, this is a hedgehog cacti.

The Echinopsis genera.

And there are several species, but they all make good, fairly easy cacti houseplants.

This Peruvian old man cactus is a popular one.

It's very striking.

It's not too hard to take care of.

This is a golden monkey tail cactus.

And it's fairly easy to take care of too.

It grows in a very different manner, as you can see, from these other guys.

This is one is columnar and upright.

And then we have the little rounded forms.

And this grows tall and then it will trail.

So this can look beautiful in a hanging basket as it gets larger.

- I can see that.

- Also the Astrophytum, the bishop's hat cactus, is another easy one for beginners.

That grows pretty well in houses as well.

- How about that?

Jill, I learned so much about cacti and succulents and the difference between the two.

Yeah, so thank you so much, you know, for the demonstration and for all information.

It's good to know that.

- You're welcome.

- Thank you much.

[upbeat country music] - Sometimes you may need to work around your cactus.

In this case, we have a few Oxalis weeds that have come up amongst the cacti.

You wanna be a little careful when you work around your cactus so that you don't end up with spines in your fingers.

So I use a variety of tools.

I wear gloves, and I like to use tools such as these kitchen tongs.

So you can use one set of tongs to hold back the cacti, and then another set of tongs to work your way carefully into the pot and pull up those stems, pull up those weeds.

And just continue to hold back the cacti with one set of tongs while you reach in with the other to pull out the weeds.

And this is a way to do maintenance on your cactus without getting spines in your hands.

Now our cactus is weed free, it's ready to go back in the windowsill.

[upbeat country music] - All right, Jill, here's our Q&A segment.

You ready?

- Okay.

I'm ready.

- These some great questions.

- Let's do it.

"Let's do it," she says.

All right, here's our first viewer email.

"How do I control weeds in my rose garden?"

This is Tracy from Alexandria, Virginia.

She has tried mulch with limited success and is considering pre-emergents, but does not want to hurt her roses.

And also, what is the best kind of mulch for roses and how much, okay?

So first thing, first, how do you control the weeds around your roses?

How would you do that?

- Okay.

Well, weeds sure take away from the beauty of a rose garden.

- Yes, they do.

Yes they do.

- I would recommend pulling them by hand.

There's some tools that can help.

An item called a scuffle hoe or a stirrup hoe works well.

You can use it standing up and don't even have to bend over to pull those weeds.

- Oh look at you, okay.

- Yeah.

Pull as much as you can by hand.

Hopefully all of them.

And then I would put down a pre-emergent.

That's not gonna affect the roses.

It's not gonna harm your roses.

And then I would do a nice thick layer of mulch after that pre-emergent.

- What kind of mulch would you use?

- Would be my go to?

That's really up to the preference of the gardener.

I like pine bark mulch, also like hardwood mulch.

I think those are both attractive, but it's really up to the gardener as just what they wanna look at in their garden.

So a nice layer two to four inches deep will help smother out those weeds and those trying to germinate weed seeds.

But do keep the mulch pulled back from the stems of the roses.

You don't want the mulch piled up against the stems.

- Please do.

I would agree with that.

Pre-emergents.

So let's talk about a couple, right?

So there's one that comes to mind that's considered an organic pre-emergent.

Corn gluten meal is something that you can use.

Read and follow the label on that, or pendimethalin.

You know, something else that you can use.

Read and follow the label, right?

And it will do the trick, but yeah, I would just hand pull it, hand pull it.

Put down your mulch.

If you want to, how about cardboard or maybe paper?

- Right.

- Right?

- That would be a layer on top of the weeds before the mulch.

- Yeah.

Before the mulch, correct.

- You're creating another smothering layer for those weeds and then covering it with mulch.

That would be an idea.

- I think that would work.

All right, so there you have it, Ms.

Tracy.

Yeah, give that a shot and tell us how it goes for you, all right?

Thank you so much for that question.

Here's our next viewer email.

"What is this weed and how do I get rid of it?

"It showed up in our garden last year and now it's everywhere."

And this is Carolyn.

So what is that weed?

- Oh, that is a familiar weed.

I grew up with that and see it all the time.

That is called ground ivy or creeping Charlie.

Good old Glechoma.

And it's not native to this area.

It's native to Euro Asia.

- Okay, that I didn't know.

- And was actually brought over by early European settlers.

'Cause it used to have a lot of uses in the 16 and 1800s.

It was used for herbal remedies and medicinal remedies.

So actually the settlers brought it with them on purpose.

- Wow, how about that?

- And planted it wherever they moved.

Well, it likes North America so much that it has spread all over North America.

So now it's just an ever-present weed.

- It's everywhere.

Can't get rid of it.

- That we get to deal with.

So to get rid of it, I would suggest pull as much as you can by hand.

- I would, too.

Yeah.

- Just unfortunately every little piece of it that's left in the ground is gonna resprout.

- Because it reproduces by runners, right?

- Right, right.

And every little node will send down roots and every little node can turn into a brand new plant.

So personally, I would follow up that hand pulling with a weed torch would be one option, or just moving to an herbicide because it is so difficult to get rid of.

And that's something you're gonna have to stay on top of maybe a couple times in a season.

And then for a couple years, maybe forever.

- Maybe forever.

- It is a tough weed and difficult to get rid of.

- Right, and I would definitely be careful with an herbicide around your garden, right?

So maybe the wipe technique maybe something to think about.

Broadleaf weed herbicide is probably what you're gonna have to use, you know, for that.

And then also think about conditions, right, 'cause I know the ground ivy likes moist conditions, compact soils, right?

So you have to think about, you know, those conditions, you know, as well.

But, yeah, it is a very difficult weed to control.

Pull, pull, pull, pull.

And you can maybe smother it out while you're there.

Cardboard or, you know, paper.

- You can try smothering it out, right.

- You can try that.

- Layers of newspaper, layers of cardboard, inches of mulch on top of that would smother it out in a garden bed.

- Yeah, so there you have it, Ms.

Carolyn.

Yeah, sorry about that old ground ivy.

It can be tough, that's for sure.

Be persistent, all right?

Thank you for that question.

Jill, fun as always.

Thanks so much.

Appreciate you.

- Yeah, glad to be here.

Thank you.

- Remember, we love to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is questions@familyplotgarden.com, and the mailing address is Family Plot 7151 Cherry Farms Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to familyplotgarden.com.

That's all we have time for today.

Thanks for watching.

If you want to learn more about cactus care or anything else garden, go to familyplotgarden.com.

We have thousands of gardening videos to help keep your plants healthy.

Be sure to join us next week for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]