SPERLI Kakteen Tropensortiment

A colourful cactus assortment from seed: enough for around 50 small plants of 20–30 cm that can flower in many colours in pots on a sunny windowsill.

The story

Origins & history

Cacti come almost exclusively from the Americas, from the deserts of North America to the Andes and the rainforests of South America. The first ones reached Europe with the seafarers after Columbus. In the 19th century many collectors were gripped by a veritable cactus craze. The name goes back to the Greek “kaktos”, which Theophrastus already used for a spiny plant.

Uses

Cacti are ideal for sunny windowsills and small pot gardens: undemanding, long-lived and endlessly varied in form. One sowing produces a small collection in which every plant turns out a little different. Their spines are modified leaves; wear gloves when repotting.

Meaning

On Mexico’s coat of arms an eagle perches on a prickly pear – according to tradition, the sign by which the Aztecs recognised the site for their capital, Tenochtitlan.

A thought for giving

Cacti store water for dry times and flower just when you least expect them to. A gift for people who make a lot out of little.

At a glance

• Contents: 1 packet for approx. 50 plants
• Life cycle: perennial
• Height: 20–30 cm
• Position: sunny
• Suitable for containers: yes (pot)
• Sow indoors: all year round
• Sowing depth: 0–0.5 cm
• Germination temperature: 20–25 °C
• Germination time: 14–28 days
• Seed type: loose seed

How to sow

1. Sow on the windowsill all year round, in the Premium-Anzuchtplatte (seed tray) with a fine, free-draining substrate.
2. Just press the fine seeds in or cover them very thinly (0–0.5 cm) and keep moist with a mister.
3. In the Anzuchthaus PRO24 propagator at 20–25 °C they germinate in 14–28 days.
4. Later, pot the small cacti individually into Kakteenerde PRO Humus (cactus compost) and place them in the sun.

Delivery time: 1–2 weeks. Manufacturer: SPERLI GmbH. Seeds, not a plant – the image shows the original packet.

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