Easy to grow indoors
Some types of cactus are easy to grow indoors, making them attractive and low-maintenance houseplants. The following types of cacti can go a few weeks between waterings, are not affected by dry indoor air, and require less sun than other cacti. These natives of sun-drenched deserts still need a lot of light compared to other types of houseplants, so be sure to give them a bright window or grow lights whenever possible.
1. African Milk Tree
The African milk tree (Euphorbia trigona) is not a tree, but a cactus that grows many upright branches that can reach eight feet tall in optimal conditions. It is a good choice for a houseplant because it is slow-growing and can thrive in indirect light, unlike many types of cacti. Most African milk trees grown indoors stay under four feet tall and can live for decades.
2. Thanksgiving Cactus
Native to Brazil, the Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) is often called the Christmas Cactus because the two plants look very similar and bloom during the winter holidays. However, they are two distinct species, and it is the Thanksgiving Cactus that is commercially available. This cactus grows well indoors in bright filtered light. Its flowers may be red, pink, white, purple, peach, or yellow. Its branches are flat, green, and divided without sharp thorns. Thanksgiving Cactus grows up to two feet wide and two feet tall and can live up to 30 years.
3. Christmas Cactus
Native to Brazil, the true Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera x bucklei) is difficult to find in commercial cultivation, but cuttings or rooted plants may be available from plant exchanges. Like the Thanksgiving Cactus, this plant lacks sharp thorns and thrives indoors in filtered light. It can grow up to 2 feet wide and a foot tall. Pink to red flowers appear at the ends of flat, green, divided stems in early or mid-winter.
4. Old Man Cactus
This slow-growing, columnar cactus looks great in a pot because it is covered in white, woolly spines that look like an old man’s messy hair. In its native desert forests of Mexico, the old man cactus (Cephalocereus chenilis) can grow up to 20 feet tall and live up to 200 years. In your home, it will become a long-lived, low-maintenance plant that will remain small for years. Old man cactus produces stunning, night-blooming white flowers in spring.
5. Bishop’s Cap
Native to Mexico, the bishop’s cap (Astrophytum ornatum) gets its name from the shape of its stem, which resembles the geometric hat worn by a bishop. Its single, blue-gray, spherical stem may produce a large white flower in early summer. Bishop's Cape is a good houseplant because it is slow-growing and has minimal thorns. In the wild, this cactus can grow to be 4 feet tall and 10 inches wide, but a small Bishop's Cape in a 4-inch pot will stay decently small for years.
6. Fairy Castle Cactus
This slow-growing cactus has branching columns that resemble the towers of a small castle, hence its name. Native to the Central and South American deserts, Fairy Castle Cactus (Acanthoserius tetragonus 'Monstrous') is a night-blooming Cereus that produces white flowers in summer. The shape of the Fairy Castle makes it a striking choice for a pot, and it tolerates partial shade, thriving indoors in a sunny window.
7. Cowboy Prickly Pear Cactus
The name alone makes this a fun choice for an indoor cactus. Cowboy prickly pear (Opuntia rubescens) is also known as roadkill cactus because it looks like a prickly pear cactus that has been hit by a truck. It has a flat, wide body, with flat spines and soft spines growing from the sides of the main stem. Native to Puerto Rico and parts of the Leeward Islands, cowboy prickly pear grows up to 10 feet tall in the wild. In a pot in your home, it won’t get much taller than 3 or 4 feet. It needs 6 hours of bright sunlight a day, so place it near a sunny window.
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