8 Benefits of Having a Cacti Garden

Are you looking for a new garden project? Whether you’re new to gardening or it has been your hobby for quite some time, you can never go wrong with a cacti garden. A cactus belongs to the Cactaceae family, which looks completely different from regular trees and plants. The basic parts of a cactus include a flower, arm, trunk, spine, root system, and pleats.

When preparing your garden bed, make sure to have enough space for the cacti. If there’s a nearby tree, you may opt for tree removal to transfer it to another area. Clearing the surroundings can increase the probability of maintaining healthy cacti.

Meanwhile, if you’re having second thoughts about having a cacti garden bed, here are some reasons why you should try it.

1. Low Maintenance

Did you know that a cactus can hold a significant amount of water for a long time, which makes them low maintenance? If you’re usually busy or have been living in an arid region, the best option for you is a cacti garden. However, you still need to water your cacti garden from time to time.

Aside from their ability to hold water, making them drought-resistant, cacti have thick ‘leaves’ that can protect them from minimal damage.

If you’re wondering what can kill a cactus, it’s if you do the opposite of what it requires, like giving it too much attention and watering it often.

2. Unique Aesthetic Appeal

Cacti come in various shapes, colours, and sizes, which make them aesthetically pleasing. If you’re familiar with minimalist interior designs, you can always spot a cactus or a succulent on shelves or tables. It’s because similar to minimalism, cacti and succulents also don’t require much effort, but can improve the overall appearance of the place.

During the flowering season, they bloom in various colours which can help enhance your garden. But aside from the flowers, you can also pick the colours of the cacti based on how you plan to create your garden.

3. Environmental Benefits

Cacti aren’t just low-maintenance and aesthetically pleasing, but they also provide benefits to their local ecosystem. Some of these benefits include providing habitat for wildlife, conserving water, and preventing soil erosion. Additionally, planting cacti in your garden can attract butterflies and bees, as pollinators.

Meanwhile, cacti are also called “nurse plants” in hot areas since they can support various species by providing shade, shelter, and nutrients. For instance, many ant species and other insects use cacti to get food and feed on their seeds. So, even if some species find the thorns of cacti dangerous, smaller species benefit from them.

4. Sustainability

With everything that has been happening in the environment lately, sustainable garden practices are encouraged. Since cacti require less water and other elements needed by most plants and trees, they can be a great addition to your garden, especially since they also provide the same benefits as other plants.

For instance, cacti can also provide oxygen to improve the air quality around you. And if you decide to add some plants inside your home, you can always consider any cacti species.

5. Educational Opportunities

Having a cacti garden allows you to research and learn more about its family, the proper way to care for them, and how they can adapt to various environments. Additionally, you can also learn a lot about cacti just by observing them often.

For instance, if you’re not familiar with how the flowers of a cactus look, you can become familiar with them once they start blooming.

6. Versatility

Whether you’re planning to have an indoor or outdoor cacti garden, you can do so since cacti are versatile. Aside from the location, cacti can survive no matter what pot or landscape you put them in. However, when placing them in a pot, make sure that it has a hole so that they won’t drown when you water them. As for the soil, make sure it’s fast-drying since it can also cause cacti to drown.

7. Resilience to Pests and Diseases

Have you noticed the tough exterior of cacti? It’s one of the reasons why they can survive pests and diseases. Since it can take a while before pests and diseases enter the interior of a cactus, you have enough time to get rid of them before it’s too late.

8. Therapeutic Benefits

Generally, gardening offers therapeutic benefits. It can reduce stress and give you happiness. Meanwhile, since cacti are low maintenance, there’s a low probability that you’ll get sad or become stressed by taking care of them. On the other hand, taking care of a more delicate type of plants can give you heartaches whenever they don’t survive.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a beginner in gardening or not, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t start a cacti garden. As mentioned, they’re low maintenance, have unique aesthetic appeal, have environmental benefits, are sustainable, provide educational opportunities, are versatile, resilient to pests and diseases, and provide therapeutic benefits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aliana Baraquio is a web content writer working for Sydney Tree Solutions, a company that provides tree removal and arborist services throughout Sydney. As a writer, she is passionate about providing good quality articles that help readers make the right choice.