Plant Care
Find out how to care for your plants - transplanting, soil type, watering, and other special plant culture information.
But first,
How to tell a cactus from other thorn bearing succulents-
All cacti are succulents, and most, but not all cacti, have obvious thorns. However, not all thorn bearing succulents are cactus. A thorny cactus will have it's thorns projecting from a circular pad (called an areola) on the body of the plant. If you break a thorn off a cactus, it is like cutting your fingernail, it does not hurt the plant. A thorn from a non cactus succulent comes directly out of the body of the plant and if you break a thorn off, it is like pulling a hair out of your head, it hurts the plant.
The reason we bother to distinguish between cacti and other succulents is that the watering needs of cacti are different than other succulents.
When does you plant need water? The toothpick trick-
Many succulents like to go through a drying out period before the next watering. A good way to monitor soil moisture (and not overwater a plant that likes to be dry between waterings) is to place a toothpick (or wooden skewer if the pot is deeper than the length of a toothpick) in the soil, about 2 inches, and leave it there. Pull it out once a week, and like a dip stick or baking a cake, if there is soil clinging to the stick, there is still soil moisture, do not water. If the stick is clean, the soil is dry and it is safe to water.
Not all succulents like to dry between waterings and not all succulents are watered the same throughout the year, so make sure you know the type of plant you have and follow the care directions specific to that plant.
