Beautiful and unpretentious: species features of a houseplant Gymnocalycium nude and tips for caring for it

The most popular type of plants for home maintenance are succulents. They are quite unpretentious and comfortable.

But the choice of the consumer is also affected by the visual appeal of the plant. Thus, the amateur chooses the most beautiful, in his opinion, flower.

One of the most beautiful representatives of succulents will be discussed in this article - the naked hymnocalycium. We will also tell you what conditions need to be created for full growth and beautiful flowering at home.

Botanical Description

Indoor Gymnocalycium houseplant or Gymnocalycium denudatum in Latin - a representative of the genus Gymnocalicium He opened the view of Friedrich Zellov in 1825, discovering it in Uruguay.

The stems of the plant are rounded at 9-11 cm in diameter. In the lower near-root part, side shoots are formed. The surface of Denudatum is smooth, shiny, green. The whole cactus is divided into 5-6 lobes or ribs, delimited by vertical shallow furrows.

The cactus has only radial spines located in groups of 4-5 pieces, and in the root zone of 7-8 pieces. In length, these spines grow to 1 cm, pale yellow, curved shape, adjacent to the stem.

During flowering, an elongated flower tube rises from the center of the cactus, and the flower itself reaches 4-6 centimeters in height. The flower is beige and yellow, wide, with bent petals.

What else is called?

The original plant was named Echinocactus denudatus.however, in 1845 the name was changed to Gymnocalycium denudatum. Also, this succulent is called Cereus denudatus.

In addition, this species has 3 subspecies, namely: Gymnocalycium denudatum var. roseiflorum, Gymnocalycium denudatum var. bruennowii and Gymnocalycium denudatum var. paraguayense. These species are considered synonymous names for the main branch (for more details about other types of hymnocalyciums see here). In the masses, this cactus is called "Spider".

Differences of Denudatum from other species

Unlike Gymnocalycium denudatum var. paraguayense original look does not have a lot of tubercles on the surface, at Denudatum it is smooth. Also, the flower in the last plant is pale yellow or cream, and in paraguayense it is exclusively white.

Gymnocalycium denudatum var. bruennowii has a more teardrop-shaped shoot than the classic Gymnocalycium.

Gymnocalycium denudatum var. roseiflorum can be distinguished from Gymnocalycium denudatum by flower, since the first cactus has a wide flower with long petals and a pink color.

How to care at home?

Like many other succulents, the Naked Gymnocalycium is unpretentious. Subject to the primitive rules of care, the cactus will regularly bloom and delight the gardener.

Temperature

Gymnocalycium is a thermophilic plant. In summer, a favorable temperature lies in the range of 20-30 degrees Celsius. With a decrease in air temperature in nature, the temperature of the content should also be reduced. So, in winter it can be reduced to 16 degrees above zero.

In winter, the plant lives a dormant period, when the temperature and watering are greatly reduced. The minimum allowable temperature is 8 degrees above zero.

Watering

The most important in watering is its balance. In the warm period, watering is necessary when the soil dries. In winter cold times, watering is reduced to a minimum, the soil should be moistened occasionally.

Shine

Light-loving plant. It prefers plentiful, but not hot and diffused lighting. Direct sunlight will harm the plant, spoil its epidermis.

Priming

To maintain growth, the Gymnocalycium needs soil with acidity above average and should contain peat, sod and leaf soil, and coarse sand.

Pruning

Since the cactus does not have separate leaves, pruning is to remove the children. The separation should be done carefully so as not to damage the mother's escape.

Top dressing

It is worth noting that accepts Denudatum only mineral fertilizers! Cactus should be fed only in the spring and summer, not more than three times a week. The rest of the feeding is not required.

Pot

The size of the pot should vary depending on the size of the succulent. The pot may not be wide, but must be deep enough and have drainage.

Transfer

1. It is necessary to clear the roots of the earth.
2. Rinse the root with hot water and dry. It takes two days to dry.
3. After the operations done, you can put the plant in a new pot with the above soil composition.

Wintering

The period of rest at the Gymnocalicium begins in the winter. During this period of time, no bait is made, watering is rare, so that the plant does not dry out, the temperature drops to 14-16 degrees Celsius. The location of the flower can not be changed.

Breeding

Reproduction of this cactus can be carried out in two ways: using seeds or lateral processes.

Seeds

The most effective, but at the same time the most difficult way of reproduction. He gives good offspring, but growing takes a long time. For this breeding you will need:

1. Buy a substrate for this succulent.
2. Steam the substrate at high temperature in the oven to decontaminate the soil.
3. Moisten the soil and place seeds in it.
4. The soil must be constantly moist.
5. Initially, you can plant the seeds in a small and shallow pot.
6. To prevent moisture from evaporating, you can wrap the pot with a film or cover it with a transparent lid.
7. The Gymnocalycium will germinate quickly at 20 degrees Celsius and plentiful, but diffused lighting.
8. After a year, it will be possible to transplant.

Scions

Propagation by the shoots is quite fast and uncomplicated. The plant develops rapidly, but you need to be careful in handling when separating and planting the plant.

1. Separate the processes from the stem.
2. Dry the kids a couple of days.
3. Put them in moist soil.
4. The conditions for maintenance and care are the same as for an adult plant.

Disease

The appearance of yellow spots on the plant is the traces of a red flat tick. This is a small but rather harmful insect that terrorizes young individuals. To get rid of it you need only hot water and a little ethyl alcohol.

No less scary a threat to the Gymnocalicium is root rot. Its appearance can be caused by waterlogging of the soil, its improper composition or violation of the temperature regime. Rot can be removed by washing the roots of the cactus with water, removing infected parts, treating the roots with crushed coal and drying them.

Similar plants

Representatives of the genus Gymnocalicium are similar to each other.

• For example, Bald Gymnocalycium is quite similar to nude. Only the first has more pronounced processes, spines and a red flower.
• Erinaceum differs from the Denudatum only in the presence of spines and a tuberous surface.
• Anizitsi on the segments has something similar to mountain ranges, on which there are processes and spines, and the flower has a pleasant pink color.
• The appearance of the “bright red hymnocalicium” is similar to Naked, however, the processes of the first braid the surface of the cactus and the flower is light or dark red in color.
• The appearance of Andre is inferior in size to the Denudatum, however, it has a similar structure and flower.

Gymnocalycium Denudatum is a beautiful, compact and exotic plant. It will definitely appeal to collectors and amateurs. Possession of it will become a pleasant feature of your interior, emphasizing the love of nature and high aesthetic taste. Adhering to the rules set forth in this article, you can grow a worthy instance of a beautiful plant.

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