How To Feed, Water And Re-Pot Cacti And Succulents

Cacti and succulents are easy to care for and don't mind being neglected

Cacti and succulents are some of the easiest houseplants to care for and are particularly good for conservatories or windowsills which feel the full force of the sun and are too hot for anything else. Just remember to move them somewhere warm in winter if the conservatory is unheated. They require very little in the way of maintenance and don’t mind if you forget to water them. They are used to living in the desert where it is very hot and dry with very little, if any, rainfall. If the sun is excessively strong it may be necessary to move them away from the window as occasionally they can burn.

To water just soak the pot in a tub until all the bubbles have stopped; you just need to do this every 6 – 8 weeks, or less in winter.

Repot when the pot is absolutely full and pot on into a pot one size larger than the pot it is in. Use specialist cacti compost or John Innes Seed compost mixed half and half with horticultural sharp sand.

If repotting a prickly cactus wrap the plant in a band of newspaper and hold it by this.

Feed with a specialist cactus food every month.