Description: stem in nature up to 12 m high, forms shoots up to 10-12 cm in diameter, with 6-8 flat, roughly dissected ribs. Young Peruvian cereuses are light green in color, while adults are a gray-green hue. As a pot culture, it reaches a height of 1.5 to 4 m. Areoles are brown to gray, rarely located. Radial spines 4-6 pcs. up to 1.5 cm long, one central – rigid, up to 2 cm long. All spines are red-brown, needle-like.
- Family: cactus (Cactaceae).
- Genus: Cereus (Cereoideae)
- Species: Cereus peruvianus
- Propagation: seeds and cuttings.
- Lighting: bright light.
- Content temperature: summer + 20-25 ° С., winter + 10-12 ° С.
- Watering: warm season – regular moderate, winter – rare restrained.
- Top dressing: May – July.
- Flowers: large, up to 15 cm long with an unpleasant odor.
The fruit is a globular, juicy, edible berry up to 6 cm in diameter, from light yellow to orange.
Distinctive feature: top with brown felt pubescence and light hairs, completely covered with a bluish-green wax coating.
Under natural conditions, the Peruvian cereus is widely distributed in South America.
Cereus Peruvian – monstrous form (Cereus peruvianus Monstrosus)
The second name is rocky cereus . It is the most common type of monstrous cactus and an example of a natural anomaly caused by a violation of the normal growth of a cactus.
Cereus Peruvian with a monstrous form is a fast-growing, unpretentious plant, in nature reaching 5-6 meters in height and capable of growing to 5 meters or more in diameter. Light green, with a bluish tinge, the stems form bizarre and unique growths of individual tubercles, outgrowths and fragments of ribs, resembling a rock in their appearance. On the ribs and tubercles of the areola with spiny or needle-shaped spines of brown color.
The species is popular as a pot plant and is often used as a rootstock. At home, the Peruvian cereus never blooms and propagates exclusively by rooting stem cuttings.
In a pot culture, this plant is up to 1.5 m tall and in order to grow it you need:
- plant in a spacious pot with a nutritious soil mixture;
- place in a sunny and warm place;
- water abundantly during the growth period;
- keep warm in winter.
Growing the Peruvian cereus in a pot
In a pot culture, the plant grows quickly. Cereus Peruvian prefers growing in a soil mixture consisting of sod, leaf, peat soil and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1, respectively, with the addition of fine brick chips.
Cereus Peruvian cactus in the photo at home.
The pot should match the size of the root system and not be too spacious. In the warm season, the cactus needs regular moderate watering, but without waterlogging and placement in a sunny place, preferably in the fresh air, at a temperature in the range of + 20-25 ° C. By winter, watering is gradually reduced to a minimum (3-4 times a month), and the temperature of the content should be lowered to + 10-12 ° C.
Cereus propagates by seeds or stem cuttings in early spring.
Cereus Peruvian: houseplant care
The plant is unpretentious, but the Peruvian cereus prefers care with regular top dressing (1 time in 7-10 days) with special fertilizers for cacti from late spring to mid-summer. It is obligatory to transplant young plants (up to 3 years old) into a larger container annually, adults 1 time in 2-3 years, otherwise growth will slow down and the plant will deform. The top layer of soil in a pot should be loosened 1-2 times a month and mulched.
The cactus is resistant to dry air, but regular spraying will benefit the plant.
To prevent diseases and infection with parasites, it is recommended that the plant be treated with a systemic insecticide once every 1.5-2 months.