Un rinvaso… mostruoso! Come scegliere bene un cactus e cosa fare subito dopo l’acquisto

Non amo particolarmente le succulente crestate, ma al tempo stesso non sono del tutto indifferente al loro fascino e ogni tanto qualche esemplare “mostruoso” finisce nella mia serra. Piccola digressione: se non sapete cosa sia una pianta “crestata” o “mostruosa”, nell’articolo raggiungibile tramite questo link troverete tutte le risposte. Premesso questo, nelle scorse settimane ho acquistato un cactus crestato da un vivaista specializzato in piante succulente. La pianta è in ottima salute e ben formata, ma il substrato, come quasi sempre accade quando si acquistano cactacee, è eccessivamente torboso, quantomeno per il tipo di coltivazione che ho adottato ormai da anni. Ho allora colto l’occasione per descrivere l’operazione di rinvaso di questo Myrtillocactus (in origine l’ho identificato così ma ora, grazie al commento di un lettore, ritengo sia un Cereus peruvianus), così da poter parlare di piante “mostruose”, di rinvasi, di substrati semplici e alla portata di tutti dal punto di vista della realizzazione e di buone pratiche da seguire quando si acquistano nuove piante.

Ecco allora il resoconto – corredato dalle foto dei singoli passaggi – del rinvaso di questo Cereus, con alcune considerazioni utili, per l’appunto, in merito a terricci, nuovi acquisti e cactacee crestate. (…)

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Plastica, terracotta, quadrati o tondi? Come scegliere i vasi per i cactus e le succulente

Di plastica o in terracotta? Rotondo, quadrato, basso o profondo? E ancora: meglio una sola pianta per vaso o più piante in un’unica cassetta o in un’ampia ciotola? A prima vista l’argomento può sembrare banale, ma la scelta del vaso corretto per la coltivazione di cactus e piante succulente ha un’innegabile incidenza sull’esito della coltivazione. La scelta del vaso, si può dire, è anzi strettamente connessa al tipo di coltivazione che adottiamo per le nostre piante (in casa, su un balcone, in serra, in piena aria, ecc.) e ai vari elementi che la caratterizzano, come annaffiature, tipo di substrato, esposizione, temperature, e molto altro ancora.

Vediamo allora in questo articolo, al netto di scelte prettamente estetiche e quindi personali, come scegliere i giusti contenitori per la coltivazione delle succulente, valutando pro e contro delle varie forme e dei vari materiali con cui sono realizzati i vasi reperibili in commercio. (…)

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Cosa fare dopo aver comprato un cactus o una pianta grassa: pulizia delle radici e rinvaso

Ho finalmente trovato quell’esemplare di cactus che cercavo da mesi, oppure ho semplicemente comprato quella pianta grassa che ho visto per caso in un vivaio e subito mi è piaciuta. E adesso? La porto a casa e la metto accanto alle altre? La lascio in quarantena? La rinvaso, la sommergo di trattamenti contro parassiti, funghi, malattie varie? E questo blocco di torba in cui sono cementate le radici? Lo lascio, lo tolgo, come lo tolgo? 

Sono tante le domande che un appassionato alle prime armi si pone una volta acquistata una nuova succulenta. E’ a queste domande – che in molti mi avete posto con messaggi privati – che voglio rispondere con questo articolo dedicato ai meno esperti ma, ritengo, utile anche a chi magari coltiva cactus e piante grasse già da qualche tempo. Il discorso vale in particolare per le piante acquistate “in loco” e non online, dal momento che queste ultime in genere vengono spedite a radice nuda, ossia svasate e con le radici liberate dalla terra per ridurre il peso complessivo del pacco.

Non solo: il discorso vale, soprattutto, per le piante che abbiamo comprato presso garden o vivai non specializzati in succulente, sebbene le indicazioni siano comunque valide anche per piante provenienti da vivaisti specializzati, e questo per molte ragioni che vedremo nel corso dell’articolo. (…)

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Rinvasare i cactus in inverno: ecco perché e quali sono i vantaggi di questa scelta

Premesso che è possibile rinvasare cactus e piante succulente in quasi tutti i mesi dell’anno, da più di quindici anni effettuo questa operazione durante l’inverno, tra dicembre e febbraio. All’occorrenza, ad esempio in caso di pianta in sofferenza o nuovo acquisto, rinvaso anche in primavera o in piena estate.

Non rinvaso quasi mai in autunno, perché in questo periodo le piante cominciano a rallentare la crescita per avviarsi alla stasi invernale e preferisco evitare di “disturbare” questo processo naturale, dal momento che per una pianta un rinvaso è comunque sempre un piccolo trauma.

Esaminiamo i vantaggi del rinvaso di cactus e succulente durante l’inverno nell’articolo che segue. (…)

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Quando il cactus “esplode” per la troppa acqua: come evitare le spaccature sul fusto

Le piante succulente, e le cactacee in particolare, si sono evolute per accumulare riserve idriche e riuscire così ad affrontare lunghi periodi di siccità. Nei loro habitat naturali, i cactus sono soggetti a forti sbalzi di temperatura tra la notte e il giorno, ma anche ad un’alternanza tra periodi di totale siccità e periodi di grande disponibilità di acqua.

Nelle regioni subdesertiche degli Stati Uniti meridionali (California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, ecc.), così come in Messico, nell’America centrale e nell’America latina (Cile e Argentina, ad esempio), durante la stagione vegetativa, corrispondente di fatto alla primavera e all’estate, le giornate calde e secche sono spesso interrotte bruscamente da violenti acquazzoni. (…)

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