Cactus Culture For Amateurs | Page 7

the Musk are with us. One
of the commonest of Cactuses in the latter country is the Rat's-tail
Cactus (Cereus flagelliformis), and it is no unusual thing to see a large
window of a cottager's dwelling thickly draped on the inside with the
long, tail-like growths and handsome rose-coloured flowers of this
plant. This is only one among dozens of species, all equally useful for
window gardening, and all as interesting and beautiful as those above
described.
In Greenhouses.--For the greenhouse proper, Cactuses are well adapted,
either as the sole occupants or as suitable for such positions as are
afforded by shelves or baskets placed near the roof glass. If the
greenhouse is not fitted with heating arrangements, then, by selecting
only those species of Cactus that are known to thrive in a position
where, during winter, they are kept safe out of the reach of frost (of
which a large number are known) a good collection of these plants may
be grown. In heated structures the selection of kinds may be made
according to the space available, and to the conditions under which

they will be expected to grow. Fig. 3 represents a section of a house for
Cactuses, which will afford a good idea of the kind of structure best
suited for them. The aspect is due south.
[Illustration: FIG. 3. SECTION OF HOUSE FOR CACTUSES--A,A,
Hot-water Pipes; B,B, Ventilators.]
When grown on their own roots, the Epiphyllums, as well as the
pendent-growing kinds of Rhipsalis, and several species of Cereus,
may be placed in baskets and suspended from the roof. The baskets
should be lined with thin slices of fibrous peat, and the whole of the
middle filled with the compost recommended for these plants under
"Soil". When well managed, some very pretty objects are formed by the
Epiphyllums grown as basket plants. The climbing Cactuses are usually
planted in a little mound composed of loam and brick rubble, and their
stems either trained along rafters or allowed to run up the back wall of
a greenhouse, against which they root freely, and are generally capable
of taking care of themselves with very little attention from the
gardener.
In Frames.--For cultivation in frames, the conditions are the same as for
greenhouses. Even when grown in the latter, it will be found conducive
to the health and flowering of the plants if, during the summer months,
they can be placed in a frame with a south aspect, removing them back
to the house again on the decline of summer weather. Wherever the
place selected for Cactuses may be, whether in a large plant-house, or a
frame, or a window, it is of vital importance to the plants that the
position should be exposed to bright sunshine during most of the day.
Without sunlight, they can no more thrive than a Pelargonium could
without water. In Germany, many growers of almost all the kinds of
Cactuses place their young plants in frames, which are prepared as
follows: In April or May a hot-bed of manure and leaves is prepared,
and a frame placed upon it, looking south. Six inches of soil is put on
the top of the bed, and in this, as soon as the temperature of the bed has
fallen to about 70 deg., the young plants are placed in rows. The frames
are kept close even in bright weather, except when there is too much
moisture inside, and the plants are syringed twice daily in dry, hot
weather. The growth they make under this treatment is astonishing. By
the autumn the plants are ready to be ripened by exposure to sun and air,
and in September they are lifted, planted in pots, and sent to market for

sale. This method may be adopted in England, and if carefully managed,
the growth the plants would make would far exceed anything ever
accomplished when they are kept permanently in pots.
Out-of-doors.--There are some kinds which may be grown out of doors
altogether, if planted on a sunny, sheltered position, on a rockery. The
most successful plan is that followed at Kew, where a collection of the
hardier species is planted in a rockery composed of brick rubble and
stones. During summer the plants are exposed; but when cold weather
and rains come, lights are placed permanently over the rockery, and in
this way it is kept comparatively dry. No fire-heat or protection of any
other kind is used, and the vigorous growth, robust health, and
floriferousness of the several species are proofs of the fitness of the
treatment for this class of plants.
In any garden where a few square yards in a sunny, well-drained
position can be afforded for a raised rockery, the hardy Cactuses may
be easily managed. To make a suitable rockery, proceed as follows:
Find a