Cereus spiralis, Cereus forbesii spiralis, cereus spiralis, spiral cactus, twisted cereus cactus,

How to Grow Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ – The Spiral Cactus, Twisted Cactus, Cereus Spiralis

Hi Guys, In this Blog I will be talking about the wacky and wonderful Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ commonly called the Spiral Cactus and sharing info about how to care for and grow this unusual looking Cactus.

Cereus spiralis, Cereus forbesii spiralis, cereus spiralis, spiral cactus, twisted cereus cactus,
                                                                       Me with my Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ Cactus

ABOUT:

Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ Cactus is a fast growing columnar and then later branching cactus that over time forms into a ‘Candelabra effect’ from the base.

When young and grown from seed these cacti start off growing straight and then start to grow with a twist after 5 cm’s in height and can reach 13 feet high when mature.

Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ originated from an original cactus in Brazil and around 1980 a few cuttings from this original cactus were taken and imported into Europe. Nearly all Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ that are sold worldwide have been grown from seed or from cuttings.

This cactus is becoming more common in cultivation with many online and garden shops selling it.

Here is a special Video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to Care for & Grow Cereus forbesii ‘spiralis’ Cactus, and you can watch this video below:

LIGHT REQUIREMENTS

Mature Cereus forbesii ‘spiralis’ like full sun, and a sunny position or window or greenhouse is ideal, but young plants like to have more shade until they are more mature.  If you are growing these Cacti behind glass though you will need to protect them from intense midday sun on very hot days in Summer, this is to prevent scorch or yellowing of the cactus skin, and a shade cloth or light net curtain can be used over glass to protect these cacti from the very hot midday sun in Summer. If you only have a north facing window that never receives any sun or growing indoors away from windows then LED Plant Grow lights especially made for plants can be used to replicate the natural full spectrum light and sunlight that these cacti need to grow and thrive.

SOIL

Cereus forbseii ‘Spiralis’ need a very well draining cactus and succulent soil that is free draining and dries out fast in between watering’s, you can use any good quality cactus soil that is ideally low in peat, but I like to make up my own Cactus soil of 3 equal parts of Loam, Grit and Horticultural sharp Sand, you can also use Pumice or Perlite or Lava Rock instead of Grit, the most important thing to remember is that the soil drains fast and dries out fast in between watering.

Here is a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to make Cactus Soil in 3 easy steps: 

WATERING

Spring and Summer water when the soil in the pot has dried out and reduce watering from late Summer, keep Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ cacti dry with little to no water over the Winter months, If your cactus starts to look shrivelled over the Winter months then a light watering can be given as long as the temperature you are overwintering your Cactus is above 10 Celsius /50 Fahrenheit, as temperatures lower than this can cause rot. 

FERTILISING 

Feed Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ Cacti twice a month in Spring and Summer with a good quality cactus and succulent fertiliser, you can also use a good quality Tomato feed used at half the recommended strength that they recommend for tomatoes, if you want to see what I like to use to fertilise my cacti and how I do it then check out this video I made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How I fertilise my Cacti and you can watch this video below:

TEMPERATURE

These Cacti like a minimum Winter temperature of 50 Fahrenheit / 10 Celsius and they are not frost hardy at all. The ideal temperature during their growing season in Spring and Summer is around 60 – 80 Fahrenheit / 15 – 27 Celsius, its best to protect these cacti from excess heat above 85 Fahrenheit / 30 Celsius because stems can scar and scab and yellowing can occur unless plenty of ventilation can be given, open windows and use circulating fans in very hot sunny weather.

RE POTTING 

Re potting is best done in Spring and Summer and when the cactus has outgrown its pot. Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ grow fast when they are given plenty of root space and you may need to re pot every one to two years. Once repotted its best to keep these cacti unwatered for a week to ten days to allow the roots to settle into the new soil and pot.

If you want to know How to repot a cereus forbesii spiralis cactus than check out this video I made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on Repotting a Cereus forbesii spiralis Cactus and you can watch this video below:

FLOWERING

Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ will produce White and pink blooms in Summer with buds a deep purple colour, red fruits form if the flowers get pollinated.

If you want to know How to get your Cacti to flower, then check out this video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to get your Cacti to Flower and you can watch this video below: 

PROPAGATION 

Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ can be propagated by seeds or from cuttings taken in Spring or Summer, Cuttings must be allowed to fully callus over for a few days or weeks first before planting. These cacti grow tall and branch out over time and these branches can be pruned off and taken as cuttings. Seeds will germinate after 2-6 weeks. If you want to know How to Grow Cacti from Seed then check out a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to grow Cacti from Seed and you can watch this video below:

PESTS 

Mealy Bugs and Spider Mites, Thrips and Scale insect are the most common pests of all cacti, but Cereus forbesii ‘spiralis’ is very prone to Mealy Bugs and Scale insects, this is because these pests love to hide in between the twists on these cacti. Remove any pests that are visible with a q tip cotton bud dipped in rubbing alcohol / Isopropyl alcohol, and then once pests have been removed with the rubbing/isopropyl alcohol treat the whole cactus with a systematic insecticide spray or Horticultural Neem oil mixed with Horticultural soap.  Check out a video I have made for my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to use Neem oil on Cacti as a pest and disease treatment, and you can watch this video below:

I hope you enjoyed reading this post on How to Grow and Care for Cereus forbesii ‘Spiralis’ and for lots more tips and tricks on growing many different types of cacti & succulents then check out my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon and you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and facebook at @desertplantsofavalon

Happy Growing Guys,

lyn 😀 

 

 

 

Gasteria, Gasteria variegated, Gasteria pups, Gasteria offsets, Gasteria babies,

How to Care for and Grow Gasteria Succulent Plants

What are Gasteria Plants ? 

Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants that is native to South Africa and are related to the Aloe, Haworthia and Sansevieria family of plants.

Gasteria includes around 80 different species and they are known for their beautiful very striking tongue like leaves that can vary in size from small and compact leaves to long and and tongue like.

I have made a detailed How To care for Gasteria video for my cacti and succulent You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon and also a video on repotting Gasteria and I have shared the links to these videos at the bottom of this Blog.

Gasteria, Gasteria variegated, Gasteria pups, Gasteria offsets, Gasteria babies,
My Variegated Gasteria with offsets ‘babies’ forming all around the base, these can be detached with a sharp clean knife and potted up as little individual plants.

HOW TO CARE FOR GASTERIA

Light Levels

Gasteria like to be grown in a position that receives plenty of bright natural light but these plants prefer to be away from strong direct sunshine and a position that receives part sun or indirect sunshine is best for growing these plants. Too much sunshine can make the leaves on these plants turn yellow or red.

If you are growing Gasteria as a houseplant its advisable they are placed in a bright position away from strong sunshine, and a window that receives some part sun for example morning sun that is not too strong is best, avoid afternoon sun in a south facing position in a window or if only a south facing position is available then you can cover the window with a shade cloth or net so the plant receives dappled sunshine.

Watering

Gasteria can take plenty of water during the warm Summer months but its very important to always allow the soil to totally dry before watering again. Like most Succulents these plants like to have a winter rest period where watering should be reduced to a bare minimum. I stop watering my Gasterias almost completely from October until mid March but I do still give a small amount of water to them once every 6 weeks but I grow mine outside in a heated polytunnel that is kept cool at around 7 Celsius / 45 Fahrenheit, but if you grow yours inside a house that is kept at a normal room temperature its best to give a small amount of water once a month to prevent the plants shrivelling, however its best to only water very lightly as watering these plants during Winter can encourage them to grow lanky and stretched out and at the worst case rot at the roots.

Clean Rainwater is always preferable to tap water if possible, but these plants are pretty hardy to tap water.

Temperature

Gasteria like most succulents can take high Summer temperatures but if you are growing these plants indoors or in a greenhouse or polytunnel its important that plenty of ventilation can be given otherwise these plants can ‘cook’ in temperatures above 100F without fresh air.

In Winter its best to keep these plants at a minimum Winter Temperature of 7 Celsius / 45 Fahrenheit but they can take slightly lower than this for brief periods but never any lower than 5 Celsius / 41 Fahrenheit as these plants can not take any frost at all, but ideally these plants are happier kept above 7 C / 41 F in Winter. Ideally 10 C / 50 F is a safer temperature in Winter if it can be provided and a cool unheated but bright room to overwinter them without heating would be best as keeping these plants on the cool side in Winter encourages blooming in the Spring and Summer. 

Re potting & Soil media

Gasteria like to be planted in a well drained soil mix and a cacti and succulent soil is ideal for these plants.

I usually make my own soil mix up of 1 part loam and 1 part grit and 1 part horticultural sand but any good quality well draining cactus and succulent mix will work well for these plants.

Gasteria have thick and very fleshy white roots that often die back every few years and new ones form, because of this its important that all the dead dried roots are removed every time you repot them. When I re pot my Gasteria’s I will cut off the dried dead roots and leave the plants out of their pots overnight before I pot them into their new pot and soil media, I do this to allow any roots that may have got damaged from trimming the dead ones to callus over, this prevents the slight possibility of root rot, this is not a necessity but its something I prefer to do and would personally recommend.

Here is  a video below I have made for my cactus and succulent You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How I repot my Gasteria and Haworthia and Aloe plants with their fleshy big white roots, and in the video I show my Haworthia as an example but this also applies to Gasteria.

Here is a video below I have made for my Cacti and Succulent You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to make your own cactus and Succulent Soil in 3 easy steps:

Fertilising 

Gasteria can be fertilised with any good quality cacti and Succulent fertiliser from spring until late Summer, and I usually fertilise my Gasteria with every 3rd watering that I give them from April until early September.

Flowering

Gasteria’s are called Gasteria because of the shape of their flowers resembling the shape of a Stomach as ‘Gaster’ means Stomach.

The flowers usually form in Spring and Summer but I have also had my Gasteria’s flower in Winter and Fall /Autumn but then again I do have odd plants that often like to do their own thing haha 😀 

Here is a video below I have made for my Cactus and Succulent You tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon when my Gasteria’s were flowering at the right time of year 😀 

Propagation

Gasteria propagate by sending out little offsets or ‘babies’ that form in little clusters around the Mother plant. These offsets can be left to cluster all around the Mother plant or they can be detached by using a sharp and clean knife and potted up into their own individual pots.

Occasionally a little offset will form along a flower stem where a previous flower has been although this is not common and much more rarer, but I did have it happen to one of mine a few years ago and I had this happen also with a Haworthia.

Gasteria can also been grown from seed although this is a lot more time consuming but definitely very rewarding and fun to do especially if its from seeds from your own plants.

Here is a video I have made for my Cactus and Succulent You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to Harvest Seeds from Gasteria and you can watch this video below.

Here is  a detailed video I have made for my cactus and Succulent You tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to Care for Gasteria and you can watch this video below: 

Wishing you all lots of happy growing and PLANT POWER from across the Emerald Isle

Lyn XXXXX <3