Notocactus (family Cactaceae) is a succulent plant native to the deserts of South America. In their natural habitat, notocactuses most often grow on rocky cliffs and taluses. This is a fairly popular genus of cacti in indoor culture. Their appearance is varied, the stems of notocactuses are ribbed, can be spherical or cylindrical, the spines (leaves) are located in groups on well-defined areoles and have a yellow, white or brown color. Notocactus blooms with yellow or yellow-violet flowers, small or large depending on the species.
According to modern classification, notocactuses belong to parodies. In total, this genus has about 20 species of cacti. The most common one to find on sale is notocactus leninghausii, which has spherical stems in youth and cylindrical in adulthood, up to 10 cm in diameter and up to 1 m in height, covered with golden spines. Notocactus concinnus has only one stem of a flat-spherical shape. It grows up to 10 cm in diameter and up to 7 cm in height. The marginal spines of notocactus are yellow, about 7 mm long; there are four central spines, they are longer, curved, yellow-brown. Notocactus rutilans reaches a height of only 5 cm, the ribs on its stems are spirally arranged, the spines have a brick-red hue. Notocactus scopa is a larger plant – up to 30 cm in height and 10 cm in diameter, with a branched stem at the bottom. Notocactus scopa looks very bright and unusual, as its bluish-green stem and marginal pure white spines contrast with the central long spines of dark red, black, yellow or cream, depending on the shape and color. Other types of notocactus can be found in collections – notocactus magnificus, notocactus ottonis, notocactus apricus, notocactus herteri, notocactus floricomus, notocactus roseoluteus.
Notocactus requires good lighting with shading from direct sunlight and low air humidity. In winter, the plant should be in a light, dry and cool room, the optimal temperature is 5 – 10 ° C, in summer the temperature should be higher – about 23 ° C. Notocactus requires an influx of fresh air, in summer it can be taken out onto the balcony or into the garden.
From April to September, notocactus should be watered regularly, without allowing water to stagnate in the tray. At this time, it is also necessary to apply fertilizer. Twice a month, the plant should be fed with mineral fertilizer for cacti. From September to March, notocactus is watered approximately once every two weeks, making sure that the soil does not dry out completely. Notocactus are replanted annually in early spring before flowering. The new pot should not be too large in volume. The soil mixture is prepared from leaf and turf soil, sand and acidic peat in a ratio of 1:1:1:1. It is good to add brick chips and charcoal to the soil.
© Les Chatfield
Notocactus is propagated by shoots (branching species) or by seeds, which are sown in the spring.
Notocactus can be affected by scale insects and mealybugs. The pests should be removed and the infected plants treated with malathion. If the stem stretches and bends, the most likely cause is high air temperature in winter or lack of light. Root or stem rot can develop due to over-wetting of the soil. In this case, it is necessary to cut out the affected areas and optimize the care of the plant.
