Taby's Cactus
by Taby
(Toronto, Canada)
Hello! I recently bought this little cactus at Home Depot, but it didn't come with any instructions.
I was wondering if anyone could identify it, and possibly give me some advice on how to care for it?
He seems to be happy in areas without too much sunlight, but I'm not sure.
Also, the soil he came with isnt very good, and dries out easily. Do you think I could change it, or is it fine?
Here is some more description:
- No sharp needles, other than on the stem which are browinish reddish colour and easily touchable
- 7 cm tall, 10 cm wide
- no flowers
- light green colour throughout
- the tips of the leave things are very curvy
- happy with not too much sunlight
- very very tiny white hairs in the leaves themselves
- there are currently two main stems growing from each other, or somewhere underneath the soil
Thank you!
Hi Taby, first off all, this is not a cactus; it's a succulent. Cactus are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti.
This cute and lovely little plant is Adromischus cristata, or Baby Toes, which explains the way it looks like babies feet perfectly.
It also goes by the name 'Crinkle Plant' and 'Pie Crust Plant' for obvious reasons.
Someone else already asked me to identify their succulent here.
I think your conditions are probably just about exactly right; this plant needs bright light, but can withstand not being in direct sunlight.
I always recommend getting a small grow light for winter, because it might not get the day length it requires.
The requirement for light is not just the intensity, but the hours of light it gets too; this is called photoperiod, and where these plants originate, close to the tropics, the daylength is always 12 hours of light, 12 of dark. They prefer that schedule.
For the soil, no! Don't change it!
Succulents need to be in well drained soil that dries out quickly.
They cannot live in waterlogged soil, or even in soil that stays damp. They're not like any other house plant that you might have grown. Once the roots fill the pot, then you could repot into a larger container, using some similar type soil.
Hope that helps get your succulent obsession off to a roaring start!
Jacki