how plant grow | How to Plant Grow and Care For Rainbow

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Growing cacti has a wonderful appeal for many gardeners. Pair their low-maintenance disposition with uniquely sculptural forms and beautiful flowers, and it’s not hard to see why. These resilient plants provide years of satisfaction and visual appeal in the houseplant collection or garden.

Cacti, in general, are desert-adapted plants that like dry, hot weather and plenty of sunlight. They need little water, which makes them great for plant lovers who sometimes forget. While neglect may cause stress for some plants, it’s truly the preferred state for most cacti.

With a wide range in shapes and sizes, there is a cactus for every gardener. But, if you’re looking for something that’s both compact and colorful, you should definitely consider the rainbow hedgehog cactus. This cute little plant is bright and quirky with a personality all its own!

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Rainbow Hedgehog Cactus Overview

Native Area

Southwestern United States and Mexico

Watering Requirements

Low

Pests & Diseases

Mealybugs, spider mites, scale, root rot

What Is It?

Cheerful cactus bursts with spines and playful hues.

Petite and popular, the rainbow hedgehog cactus is an award-winning species with tons of personality. A recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, it’s more than just another pretty face. It’s also a fun houseplant and, in its native range, a valuable food source for wildlife.

Characteristics

Fine spines layer in colors like painted bands.

Rainbow hedgehog is a cylindrical cactus that grows to between six and 12 inches tall and three inches wide. It has delicate ribs and a generous coating of fine spines. The spines lie close to the stem like soft bristles.

What makes this cactus unique is that those spines aren’t just a single color, like cream or yellow. Rather, they create rings of different colors in shades of pine, cream, gold, and red. This is where it gets the rainbow aspect of its name.

In late spring, the rainbow hedgehog cactus produces large, funnel-shaped flowers. They’re bright magenta and significant compared to the stem, at about three inches wide themselves. A single plant can produce numerous blooms.

After the flowers fade, the plant produces small, cylindrical green or pink fruits. They mature to a deep red or pink. Though small, the fruits are edible and sweet, and contain tiny black seeds. Many desert animals eat them, though humans rarely do due to their small size.

Native Area

Thrives on rocky hillsides under the desert sun.

The rainbow hedgehog cactus is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in arid, rugged, desert landscapes, particularly in the Chihuahua and Huachuca mountains. You’ll find it growing on rocky hillsides and in desert grasslands, as well as on gravelly slopes.

Planting

Planting a rainbow hedgehog cactus is all about creating an environment that mimics its natural state. While you can plant it in the ground in warm climates, most gardeners grow this cactus in containers that can come indoors for the winter.

Transplanting

Allow roots time to callous before light watering.

Transplanting it into the ground or a new container takes a bit of a gentle touch. As with most cacti, gloves are a good idea. It’s important to protect yourself and the plant from unnecessary stress and damage.

The ideal time to transplant is in spring or early summer when it is actively growing. Avoid disturbing your plant while it is dormant or flowering. This can cause the flowers to drop early or a slow recovery from the stress.

Stop watering for about a week before transplanting to dry out the soil and avoid breaking the roots. You can wear gloves or wrap the top of the cactus in newspaper, or both if you want to be careful.

Tip the pot on its side and lightly squeeze it to loosen the root ball. Slide the cactus out and support the base as you do so. Use a brush to remove old soil from the roots so that you can see that they are healthy. Remove any roots that are black and mushy, as this is rot.

If you’re potting it, fill the bottom of the container with a bit of potting mix. Position the cactus so that the root collar sits level with or slightly above the soil line. Gently fill in around the roots with more potting mix and lightly tamp it down.

If you’re planting outdoors, dig a shallow hole, just deep enough for the roots. Plant with the root ball at the level of the surrounding soil and backfill with a gritty soil blend.

Don’t water immediately after transplanting. Give your rainbow hedgehog cactus a few days to a week to callous over any disturbed roots. Then, water lightly and allow the water to drain freely.

Growing from Seed

Ventilate seedlings daily once small green sprouts appear.

Growing a rainbow hedgehog cactus from seeds is a time-consuming process, but it’s not difficult. It can take several years before your plant looks the way you expect it to, but with diligent care, it will get there.

You can purchase seeds or collect them from the ripe fruits of a mature plant. If you collect them, make sure to rinse them completely clean and allow them to dry for a couple of days.

Use a seed starting mix with excellent drainage and gentle water retention. A mixture of sand, perlite, potting soil, and pumice or grit is ideal. You can also use a premixed seed starting soil and add some sand or perlite to increase the drainage.

Use small pots or shallow trays with excellent drainage. Fill them with soil and moisten it before sowing your seeds. It should be moist, but not soggy. Scatter your seeds across the surface and lightly press, don’t bury them. These seeds require light for germination.

Cover the tray or pot with clear plastic to lock in humidity and place them in bright, indirect light. Don’t put them in direct sun; this can burn the seeds. Maintain a moderate to warm temperature.

Germination takes anywhere from two to eight weeks. When they germinate, they will look like tiny green balls. When you see these appear, ventilate by lifting the plastic covering for several minutes every day. Your seedlings will be large enough to handle and repot between six and 12 months from germination.

How to Grow

Like most cacti, rainbow hedgehog is not difficult to grow. The most vital aspect of care is drainage. Poor drainage is the number one killer of indoor succulent plants.

Light

Full-spectrum grow lights help when natural sunlight is lacking.

Rainbow hedgehog cactus is a sun-loving plant, but within reason. It needs a good balance of light to develop properly and keep those vivid colors. Outdoors, full sun is best, so it needs at least six hours of sun daily.

Indoors, it’s a little trickier to give this cactus the right light. It needs more than the average houseplant, so keep this in mind when looking for the right spot. Place your plant in a south or west-facing window where it will get as much sun as possible.

If you don’t have a window that provides enough light, use a full-spectrum grow light to compensate. Make sure to rotate the container every two weeks so that your cactus grows straight and doesn’t lean to one side.

Water

Always check soil dryness before giving another drink.

Water is one of the most important aspects of care. It has a major impact on the success of growing any cactus. If we look at the natural habitat of this plant, it’s arid, with long dry spells. Intermittently, it gets heavy rain, but it’s not often.

To mimic this, you want to water deeply but infrequently. Always check the soil to see that it is completely dry before watering. Water slowly until you see water pouring out the bottom of the container. Let the soil dry completely before watering again.

Remember that in the right soil, it will dry out faster than a standard potting mix. Make sure to check often and water when it’s dry. Reduce watering drastically in the winter, as your cactus will be dormant and not take in much moisture or nutrients.

Soil

Perlite or pumice helps prevent waterlogged, soggy soil.

A gritty, fast-draining potting mix is best for your rainbow hedgehog cactus. It grows naturally in sandy and gravelly soils, where water drains away quickly. It should be low in organic matter, with a slightly acidic to neutral pH.

You can use a commercial cactus mix or create your own. It’s good to amend even a cactus mix with some additional sand or grit to improve drainage. For a home mixed potting soil, combine one part coarse potting soil, one part sand or grit, and one part pumice or perlite.

Temperature and Humidity

Thrives best with hot days and cool nights.

To reflect its natural environment, this plant prefers hot days and cool nights. A range of 50 to 90°F (10-32°C) will keep it happy. It will tolerate temperatures as low as 20°F (-7°C) but only when it’s dry. It prefers low humidity and good air circulation to avoid issues with rot.

Fertilizing

Skip fertilizer in dormancy to prevent root burn.

Fertilizer is optional, and it’s important to avoid overdoing it. Don’t fertilize in the winter, as this will burn the roots. Fertilize in the spring and summer with a diluted, balanced formula, no more than once per month. Fertilizer will help boost flowering.

Maintenance

Allow cuts to heal before giving the next water.

Your rainbow hedgehog cactus doesn’t require regular pruning. For older plants, if an older stem dries out, you should remove it with a clean tool and allow cuts to callous before watering. You don’t need to deadhead or divide unless you have an older plant that has created offsets.

Propagation

Allow offsets to callous in a shaded spot.

There are three ways to propagate, with seeds being the most common. These do create pups or offsets occasionally, and you can divide these off. It’s occasionally, though rarely, propagated by cuttings.

We discussed growing from seeds, and I will skip propagation with cuttings. It’s uncommon, and this plant is usually single-stemmed, so you don’t want to cut it. The fastest way to a mature plant is to wait for it to create offsets and divide them.

To remove pups, wait until they are about one inch tall and wide. Use sterilized scissors or gently twist them off between gloved fingers. Set the offsets aside and allow them to callous over for several days, out of the direct sunlight. A shaded spot is ideal.

Plant your pup in a gritty potting mix and water sparingly. Try not to jostle it around, allowing it to root. It will take from one to three years for your new cactus to bloom.

Common Problems

Mealybugs hide on stems, so inspect carefully often.

Your rainbow hedgehog cactus is generally pest-resistant, but not entirely. There are a handful of pests that are brave enough to try it. In terms of diseases, root rot, caused by overwatering, is the most prevalent.

Mealybugs are one of the pests that may show up on your cactus. These look like small, white, fuzzy bugs, and they suck the sap from your plants. Isolate the plant and use an alcohol soaked cotton swab to wipe them away. Opt for 70% or less alcohol diluted in water.

Spider mites like dry, warm environments, so cacti can sometimes fall prey to these. It’s difficult to see them, but they will ultimately cause yellow speckling and general decline in health. Wash the plant in a strong stream of water and allow it to dry. In severe cases, apply a miticide.

Finally, scale insects may show up; these small, hard-shelled sap suckers can weaken your cactus and cause yellowing. Scrape them off with a toothpick or small brush, and apply horticultural oil in severe cases.