Moon cactus | Gymnocalycium mihanovichii variegata care

Hi everybody and welcome back to Plants and Lucia. My name is Lucia and these guys right here are Danila and Gaia. Today we talk about the moon cactus. Ok, coming up. I am a plant beginner and I learn about my houseplants every day. So this channel is to share with you what I learn. So, if you want to learn how to take care of your houseplants, how to display them, or even how to connect with them, make sure to subscribe so we can see each other every week and talk about plants. But now, let's get to the video. The moon cactus has many other common names. It is also known as the ruby red cactus, the ruby ball cactus, the red top, or the red cap cactus. This is because of the cactus growing on the top. So, as you can see, this cactus is made out of two. The base and the top. The top is called the Gymnocalycium and basically it cannot survive by itself. It has to be on top of a base cactus. The top of this cacti are super colorful. You can find pink like this, white, you can find yellow, orange, even purple. And this is one feature that makes this cactus super special. One thing you will notice is that the top of your cactus will grow babies. You can cut them, but these will not survive by themselves. However, they can survive if you graft them or attach them to another base cactus. The moon cactus can grow to about one foot tall. The top can also grow bigger and grow babies. Then again, you can then cut and graft to another cactus. They can bloom as well, because remember, this is not a flower. This is another cactus. But when they are grown indoors, this is very rare. They usually bloom when they are grown outdoors. So now that we know some cool things about this very cool cactus, let's see how you can keep it happy at your house. In terms of temperature, this is a cactus, so they prefer to be in the warmer side of the spectrum. The lowest temperature that they can take is 9 degrees Celsius. So your cactus will be very happy indoors as long as you have a warm temperature. In terms of sunlight, this cactus likes bright, indirect sunlight. It is very interesting because the top part of this cactus prefers shade, whereas the base of the cactus really likes bright sunlight. So the best compromise is bright, indirect sunlight. Never provide too much direct sunlight because the top of this cactus will lose its color. When we talk about water, we need to remember that this plant is a succulent. And as you know, succulents retain lots of water, especially if the succulent has a thick stem like this one. So little water rather than lots of water is better for this plant. It is recommended that we water our moon cactus using the soak and dry method. This means that we will soak the soil and make it moist, and remember moist not wet, and then let it dry. Once you feel that the soil is dry, I recommend that you still wait at least three to four days before you water again. In the winter, just cut back on water because your cactus will be dormant and doesn't need so much water to survive. Remember, always provide less water rather than more water. This cactus is not toxic, but as you can see it has lots of thorns. So keep away from children and animals just so everyone is safe. We fertilize our plant pretty much every time we water during the growing season. This is because we water about every two weeks or every three weeks even. Of course, since the cactus goes dormant in the winter, we stop fertilizing them. And this is the fertilizer that we use for all of our succulents. It has worked really well for us, so I really recommend. In terms of soil, a fast draining cactus mix is ideal for this plant. Remember, we want to prevent the soil from retaining too much moisture. So drainage is key. Okay my dear friends, these are some of the tips that I can share with you about this beautiful cactus. Do you have a moon cactus at home? How do you take care of it? Make sure to comment below so we can all learn together. If you would like to be part of this community, you're always welcome. So make sure to subscribe so we can see each other every week and talk about plants. And as always, I will see you in the next video. Okay, ciao!