What are the most beautiful, most popular cactus among fans and not? We ask this question because often we notice that, for those who do not understand anything about succulents, cacti “are all the same.” Who starts attending the varied world of succulents, then realizes that they are not the same. The common language identifies as cactus some succulent families, especially cacti. In reality the cactus include many different species between them. So let’s see what are the most appreciated.

The most beautiful flower? The Gymnocalycium anisitsii

The genus includes gymnocalycium small globular cacti, generally little prickly and with ribs not too pronounced. The flowers make it really special : the flowers are large, numerous, with long petals and the most various colors, in some cases they recall a particularly rich waterlily (Gymnocalycium horsti) or some types of pink (Gymnocalycium baldianum). Some plants also produce 4 or 5 flowers that cover the stem completely: it seems to meet a flowering bush, rather than a single plant. Among the many beautiful gymnocalycium we chose the anisitsii for the delicate pink petals and abundance of blooms, but it was not an easy choice! Flowering begins in May and lasts all summer. Good news for fans is that the gymocalycium, unlike other cacti, produce suckers easily, that can be replanted separately, by using them as cuttings: from a single specimen you could therefore get new and beautiful new one, taking into account our tips for the propagation of succulents (ADD LINK TO ARTICLE THAT SPEAKS about it)

Tall, elegant, special. The Cereus validus ‘Spiralis’

If you imagine the desert landscapes of Mexico or Arizona the protagonists are they, the Cereus: classic tall cacti, slender, with branched trunk and well-defined thorns that in the collective imagination (from cartoons to comic books) represent “the Cactus “par excellence – the one you even see in our logo ! An extremely popular cactus, then, that, in the gardens, immediately gives a special and exotic touch. This is why we could not leave it out of our ranking on the types of the most representative cactus. We propose here to discover its more particular variants: especially the Cereus validus “spiralis” where the typical classic straight edges of these cacti wrap around the plant like many vortices, getting a truly exceptional aesthetic effect.

The round type cactus: the most common is the Echinocactus grusonii

In addition to the columnar shape of the Cereus, the other typical cactus shape is round. Among the globular cacti the Echinocactus are very representative, and in particular the Echinocactus grusonii. Also known as “the mother-in-law cushion”, it is certainly among the most popular cactus also for the domestic cultivation because it is well suited to the vase life. In the market there are many variants, also very peculiar. Its stem is a perfect globe divided into medium-deep vertical ribs, from which depart strong thorns, geometrically arranged, with different directions and angles. It is a slow-growing plant, but also very long-lived: just think that begins to bloom only after 20 years of age, when it reaches full maturity. And you, which kind of cactus, of this vast and representative family, would you include? Write us your opinion!

<>