Cactus garden in La Aldea de San Nicolás, Gran Canaria

A cactarium or cactuario (from Latin, cactarium) is a garden dedicated to the planting of cacti. While they generally specialize in collecting cacti, they can also include other desert plants such as sabla, agaves or Crassulaceae, although this would better be termed "xeriscaping".

Cacti are succulent plants native to the American continent, typical of arid environments. They require dry conditions and therefore, in many countries, the collections are kept in greenhouses that protect from rain. Due to their low need for water, they are a sustainable landscaping option.[1]

Cactariums also tend to host plants from other botanical families, native to the desert regions of the world.

History

Rebutia minuscula
Echinocactus grusonii with hand-painted spikes

A cactus garden is a garden for the cultivation and display with many types of cacti.[2][3] Cacti, due to their unusual appearance for Europeans, attracted the attention of the first European colonizers of Americas and were brought to Europe as ornamental plants already in the 16th century.

The first known collection of cacti was collected in the second half of the 16th century by the pharmacist Morgan in London. Popularity of these plants constantly grew, which was also facilitated by the biological characteristics of many cacti – tolerance of infrequent watering[4] and dry air (the latter is essential for room culture), and easy vegetative reproduction. Also, indoor types of cacti (in particular Rebutia) can be moved in pots to the garden during summer.[5] In botanical gardens of many European countries as well as in private greenhouses, significant collections have been accumulated.

List of cactus gardens

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Five tips to build a cactus", La Voz (in Spanish), retrieved 2021-01-31
  2. ↑ Gilmer, Maureen (July 2013). "Reinventing the Cactus Garden". Cactus and Succulent Journal. 85 (4): 145–149. doi:10.2985/0007-9367-85.4.145. ISSN 0007-9367.
  3. ↑ Thornber, J. J. (1906). "THE TOUMEY CACTUS GARDEN". The Plant World. 9 (12): 273–277. ISSN 0096-8307.
  4. ↑ "11 Golden Rules For Watering A Cactus". CactusWay. 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  5. ↑ (in Russian) По материалам сайта Вестник цветовода Archived 2011-10-20 at the Wayback Machine 20111020022012 Archived 2011-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
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