Rebutia (Rebutia) is an unpretentious small cactus that grows in its natural environment in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. There are over 100 different species of this cactus. It is very unpretentious, small in size and ready to bloom in absolutely any conditions, which is why this cactus is very popular and is often grown as a houseplant. The article will talk about how to properly grow and care for rebutia at home.
Description of the cactus rebutia
The stems of the rebutia are spherical, covered with many spiny needles, ribbed. Cacti are considered undersized, as they grow no higher than 6 cm, less often they grow up to 10 cm.The ribs located on the stem are poorly expressed, arranged in a spiral and separated by tubercles, there are at least 11 ribs on one stem. Due to the fact that the cactus has many thorns, it looks like a fluffy ball. The spines can grow from 5 mm to 3 cm. The flowers are large, shiny, wide open, funnel-shaped. Cucumbers are orange, orange-yellow, red and orange-pink.
Rebution care at home
Location and lighting
The rebutia cactus is a light-loving plant. Therefore, it is best to grow it in a well-lit room. Even a place where direct sunlight falls is suitable, since the cactus is not afraid of them, but on the contrary has a positive attitude. But partial shade can affect the growth activity of a cactus.
Temperature
Since rebutia is a mountain plant that requires very little comfort to grow, caring for it is very simple and requires tremendous effort. The most important rule in caring for a cactus is to arrange for him to rest in a cool place in winter, where the temperature is from 8 to 12 degrees, this allows the cactus to gain strength and delight with abundant flowering in the coming season. Each variety of rebutia needs its own temperature for winter rest, so when buying, you need to find out what temperature the plant needs.
A prerequisite for good cactus growth is regular airing of the room. Rebucia is very fond of fresh air. During active growth, the plant is suitable for any absolute temperature.
Watering
Rebutia does not need daily soil moisture. The frequency of watering depends on the room temperature and moisture recovery. The main thing is that watering is uniform and sufficient. In the summer, the cactus needs to be watered once a week. If the temperature is too high, then watering should be increased up to 2 times a week. Since the evaporation of moisture in winter is much less than in summer, and the temperature is lower, the cactus should be watered less often. During the transition from winter to summer watering, you need to gradually increase the amount of water.
It is necessary to water the plant exclusively with settled water, its temperature should be a couple of degrees above room temperature. Rebutia needs spraying. In order to remove dust, you need to use a soft brush.
The soil
The soil for planting rebutia should be well water-permeable and lightweight.It is best to opt for a ready-made substrate that is specially formulated for cacti and succulents. A small drainage layer should be placed at the bottom of the tails and only then filled with a substrate. There is no need to water the soil before planting, it must be dry.
Top dressing and fertilizers
It is not at all necessary to feed the plant. But if, once a month from April to October, you apply special balanced fertilizers intended for cacti and succulents, rebutia will thank you with longer and more abundant flowering. You can buy such fertilizers at absolutely any store for gardeners and florists. It should be remembered that top dressing should be applied exclusively to moist soil.
Transfer
It is necessary to transplant rebutia only when there is not enough space for it in the previous pot. The most suitable time for transplanting a cactus is the beginning of March. You need to transplant a cactus together with an earthen clod. After transplanting, the plant must be placed in a well-lit and warm room. This will allow you to better transfer the transplant. The first watering after transplanting should be no earlier than a week later. Watering should be moderate for 2-3 months.
Flowering rebutia
The plant blooms only in the second or third year of life. Flowering usually occurs in the summer. Flowers bloom in the daytime and close at night. The rebutia flower lives for at least two days.
It happens that the plant does not bloom, then you need to review the care of the cactus and eliminate all errors. Flowering may not occur due to lack of sunlight. A plant that does not rest in a cool place in winter may also not bloom. The pot where the cactus grows should have a good drainage layer. Watering should be carried out no more than once a week; in the winter, it can be stopped altogether.
Reproduction of rebutia
The rebutia grows very well and children are actively developing around it, so the plant easily reproduces in a vegetative way. For such reproduction, it is enough to carefully separate the shoots and dig them into light loose soil for rooting. The planted children take root very quickly, begin to grow actively and children will soon form around them.
Also, rebutia reproduces by seed, but it will take a little longer. The seeds of the plant must first be kept in a weak solution of manganese for about ten minutes and then dried thoroughly. Therefore, seeds for seedlings should be produced in March. The soil is best mixed with sand or stone granules. The distance between the seeds should be at least 3 cm. It is necessary to grow at 15-20 degrees. The substrate should be regularly moistened by spraying from a pulivizer.
When the seedlings grow up and get stronger, they must be planted in separate pots. It was said above that rebutia is very light-loving, so at first the seedlings will have to be additionally illuminated.
Diseases and pests
Sometimes cork formations can appear on the rebution. This is due to mechanical damage or hypothermia, insufficient watering in the summer. And if you do not stop watering in winter, the stem may rot. In order to prevent this, watering must be stopped for a while. The root system can rot due to the incorrect dosage of fertilizers containing nitrogen. If you follow all the rules for caring for the plant, then no diseases will be terrible for him.
Rebutia is extremely rarely attacked by insects, but such cases do happen sometimes. The cactus can infect red spider mites, scale insects and mealybugs. In order to get rid of scale insects and scale insects, first you need to remove adults from the plant with a cotton swab dipped in an alcohol solution, and then carefully treat the plant with special insecticides. For spider mites, you can use the same drugs. To prevent rebution, you can sometimes wipe it with an alcohol solution.
Types and varieties of rebuts
The more popular types and varieties of rebutia that are grown at home will be described below.
Tiny rebutia (Rebutia minuscula), or minusculum rebutia - the plant is quite miniature. It has a spherical shape, the stem is flattened, about 5 cm in diameter. The tubercles are arranged in a spiral. There are a lot of thorns, they are all white. The flowers are large, single, bright red or crimson.
Senile rebutia (Rebutia senilis) - a spherical plant, it grows up to 8 cm in height and up to 7 cm in width. The spines are white and up to 3 cm in length. The flowers are large, single, very interesting color - the middle is snow-white, and the edges are red.
Rebutia marsoneri - a very showy cactus with flowers. They have a yellow tint and gradually become darker towards the middle. Stems are narrow and accrete, spherical in shape. Soft spines are white, while harder ones are darker.
Rebutia dwarf (Rebutia pigmaea) - oval or cylindrical cactus. It is covered with thorns and grows up to 7 cm. The flowers are tubular, red or bright pink.
Rebutia albiflora or white-flowered rebutia - This cactus is presented in the form of a group of several small balls, strewn with many white needles. The flowers are large and have an interesting color - soft pink at the edges, and smoothly turn into a cream shade towards the center.
Rebutia canigueralii - This species is very drought tolerant. The stem is spherical and covered with long and hard needles. The flowers are bell-shaped, the petals are white from the center and pale blue to the edge, the stamens are bright yellow.
Rebutia fulviseta - stem is spherical, dark green in color. The spines are hard, brown. Flowers can be carrot or bright red.
Rebutia krainziana - the stem is large enough and covered with white tubercles, the needles are short and also white. The flowers form in a specific place and are bright red in color.
Rebutia perplexa - the stem is strongly branched, covered with small tubercles. The flowers are pink or, less commonly, fuchsia.
Rebutia pulvinosa - the stem is spherical and embossed, covered with a large number of brown spines. The flowers are bright red red or orange.
