Is it true that all cacti are sunny?

Echinocactus grussonii

Echinocactus grussonii

Are all cacti from the sun, or are there some that prefer to be protected from the rays of the sun? We have been told a thousand times that these plants have to be placed outside, in an area where it is directly exposed to light, but ... is that true?

Well, in the vast majority of cases yes, it is, but there are certain exceptions that are important to know so that we do not lose our copy as soon as we buy it.

Cacti are native to America, both North and South, with the vast majority of species found in Latin America, where they grow in open fields where rainfall is rather scarce and insolation is quite intense because it is close to the Earth's equator. For this reason, when they are put inside houses they tend to etiolate looking for light, since the interior lighting is not enough to cover their lighting needs since they are heliophiles (lovers of the star king).

But no. You do not have to put them directly to the star king if they were protected in the nursery or if they have been inside the home for a long time: They would burn! Although their genetics are heliophilic, if they are not used to it, they would become very weak - actually, very much - if you do not take measures to prevent this from happening. And what measures are those? Basically what you need to do is go exposing them little by little, starting in autumn or at the end of winter, which is when the insolation is lowest.

densispine puffin

Densispine Friar. Image from Flickr / DornenWolf

During a week you leave them two in the morning or in the afternoon that I give it directly, the next two weeks 3h, the next 4h, ... and so on progressively until the day comes when they are 24h. But beware, you don't have to do this »strictly»: If you see that your cacti start to burn, protect them, slow down so they can get stronger at their own pace.

If you have any doubt, do not leave it in the inkwell. Question. 🙂


Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.