The choice of pot for cactus
The pot in which the cactus will grow until the next transplant should ideally come under its root system. To choose a pot correctly, you need to remove the plant from the old pot and spread its roots to explore the root system. The roots of various cacti develop in different ways and can be both rare and long or short and thick.
If the root system has a pronounced main root, the pot for this cactus needs to be long and narrow. In any pot for cacti great importance is good drainage, not less than 2-3 cm deep. When choosing a pot, you need to consider that and choose such that is room enough for drainage, and for soil and roots. But much to exceed the volume occupied by roots is not necessary. The excess free space provokes root rot in case of water stagnation and hypothermia.
If the roots of the cactus are many and they are mostly homogeneous, short, and pot need to choose a wide, shallow. Mostly cacti are in the process of growth to form a lot of kids and gradually occupied the entire space, growing not so much in height as in width. These cacti need for the transplant is necessary to divide and thin out, transplanting into smaller pots.
The material of the pot
The material of the pot for the cactus, is a private matter of each grower. Most often currently, the choice falls on the plastic pots, as their range is large and meets the requirements of any taste, even the most demanding. Colors are also very diverse, so the competition in plastic pots small. For reasons of health plants are best to stop the choice on plastic, as it does not store neither heat nor cold in contrast to the ceramics, and the roots will not suffer winter or summer.
It is not recommended to grow cacti in a metal can, and this is due to the fact that iron will inevitably rust in the process of contact with moist soil, it is not like all the plants. A prerequisite for the pot of any material is only available in bottom drain holes and a layer of gravel or expanded clay for drainage. Cacti do not like stagnant moisture in the soil and hurt, that is another reason not to opt for clay pots whose walls have long kept moisture.
You can grow cacti, especially seedlings or babies) in small cups yogurt or in cut-off plastic bottles, suitable for growing almost any capacity desired volume. It is not recommended to use the container, which previously stored the chlorine or other household chemicals, as impregnated with the composition of the vessel wall can have a negative impact on the soil and on plants.