Most people don't think of flowers when they think of cactus plants, but many are great flowering plants that can ad some splash and pizazz to any home or garden. Even the showiest of orchids can be usurped by the beauty of a flowering cactus. The odd mix of harsh plant and beautiful flower really sets it off from other plants and makes for an intriguing look.



Obviously, with cacti, it's important to be very careful when you handle them or smell their flowers. While the fragrance is sweet, the thorns aren't. Be careful with them.

One of the most popular flowering cacti to grow is the crab cactus. It has bright flowers that give off a lot of color and young stems that are flat and resemble the claws of a crab (thus the name). As they get older, they become round and woody in their look, but keep their beautiful flowers with each bloom. Using equal parts sand, loam, leaf-mould and broken charcoal yields beautiful and healthy plants.

The orchid cactus is another favorite, having beautiful red flowers that bloom in the summer. The big flowers can be quite huge, up to six inches around. The colors are two shades of red: scarlet and carmine, giving a deep hue and strong look. The cactus itself will get to about three feet high, so it's quite large compared to it's smaller companions in many settings. The Easter or Spring cactus is another sight to behold, with symmetrical flowers that open very wide.

Cacti have another advantage over other plants too: they're much easier to care for. Their nutritional and water needs are marginal and easily taken care of. The trick is to set them into the right conditions to start with, both soil and pot size, and then water occasionally and ad nitrogen once in a while. The soil should be dry most of the time between waterings, though an increase in watering during blooming season is a good idea. High light levels will induce faster and larger blooms as most cacti are happier with lots of sunlight. Just be sure not to overdo the sun or the buds will droop and will flower weakly or not at all.

Care of cactus plants to promote the right flowering is achieved when the timing is right and receive signals from their environment as to when this is. If you grow cacti as house plants, you'll need to artificially give these signals in order to promote flowering in a faster and healthier way. A few short days with cooler temperature (less sunlight, lower temperature) followed by longer days with more moderate temperatures will trick the cactus into thinking it's spring. Eventually, the plant will flower as the temperature rises.

In a greenhouse, it may be necessary to remove the cactus to the outdoors or into the home for cooler conditions to be had. A few even put their cacti into a refrigerator, though this is extreme.

Easy care and enjoyment are two of the best reasons to grow cactus plants and flowering cacti are both beautiful and unique.