Succulent cacti are famous for being some of the toughest, most low-maintenance roommates you can have. For the most part, as long as they get plenty of sunshine and a little drink of water every now and then, they’re happy campers. However, if you really want your desert dwellers to thrive, grow strong, and live a long life, giving them a little nutritional boost with a regular fertilizing routine is the way to go.
Fertilizing Cacti: Choosing the Right Food
In the wild, cacti usually call deserts and steppes home—places where nutrients in the soil are few and far between. But since most of us grow them in pots at home, they only have a tiny amount of soil to work with. To keep these survival experts healthy, we need to supplement those missing minerals.
Whatever you do, don’t reach for standard all-purpose flower fertilizer! These are usually way too high in nitrogen, which can cause your cactus to become “bloated” or weak and can actually damage those sensitive roots. A perfect cactus fertilizer should have a balanced mix of phosphorus, potassium, and a lower amount of nitrogen.
Pro Tip: You can easily find specialized liquid cactus fertilizers at your local garden center or online.
The Best Way to Fertilize
The secret to success is timing your fertilizer with your plant’s natural growth cycle. Once your cactus wakes up from its winter nap, you can start feeding it during its summer growth spurt:
- From May through September, add liquid cactus fertilizer to your water every two weeks.
- Always moisten dry soil with filtered or lime-free water before and after fertilizing to protect the roots.
- Never fertilize your cacti while they are sitting in direct, scorching sunlight.
By the way, a golden rule of thumb is to always follow the dosage instructions on the bottle. Usually, this works out to about one gram of liquid fertilizer per liter of water.
Cactus Fertilizing: Tips & Tricks
During the winter, these thorny friends need a long period of rest. Because of this, you should give your cactus its last “meal” at the end of August and hold off until April or May when the growing season starts up again. The peak feeding time is during the heat of June and July—this is when your cactus can handle a bit more fertilizer than it would in May or August.
One last thing: If you’ve just repotted your cactus into fresh soil, you can relax! The new substrate usually has enough nutrients to last a while, so you don’t need to start fertilizing for at least 6 weeks.
