![]() ![]() I think I’ve been growing this plant for around 4-5 years + in that time, it’s coped with periods of neglect + even a dramatic fall - when I managed to knock the plant right off the corner of my desk + onto the floor! Side note: I have since learned that the corners of desks are not a good place to precariously balance plants… But despite looking a little bit battered for a while, it bounced back + I even managed to propagate the couple of stems that snapped off. The fishbone cactus is perhaps the most widely available of the jungle cacti in this post + it’s the one I’ve had the longest. Disocactus anguliger / Epiphyllum anguliger / ric-rac cactus / fishbone cactus / zig zag plant I’ve had a great success rate in rooting cuttings of almost all of these - more on that later though! First, let’s take a closer look at my jungle cactus collection + how I care for them. They can be pretty easy going to care for once you get a grasp of their needs + if you enjoy experimenting with some plant propagation, these are fun. There are some beautiful cacti in this group that are some of my most treasured houseplants + they are an extremely rewarding houseplant to grow. ![]() On the other hand, if you have a few Hoya plants + haven’t dabbled with Jungle cacti yet, I’d highly recommend giving one a go - my starter pick would be a fishbone cactus I think! More generally, I’d say that if you enjoy growing jungle cacti, you might like to explore Hoyas a little bit more as they have similar requirements. ![]() These humble plants divide opinion as they are sometimes considered a bit old-fashioned, but it’s interesting how some of the other more ‘trendy’ houseplants right now look surprisingly similar, yet are far less likely to bloom in a regular home environment! Also under the ‘jungle cacti’ umbrella are Rhipsalis, Epiphyllum/Disocactus, Selenicereus, Hylocereus, Pseudorhipsalis + Lepismium to name a few + are native to Central + Southern America. These might not be the conditions you think of when imagining a cactus so if you have recently got into houseplants, let me introduce an alternative type of cactus - sometimes also called forest cacti, that can often go unnoticed!Ī couple of plants in this jungly group you might know already are the classic ‘holiday’ cactus - Schlumbergera + Hatiora… otherwise known as the Christmas/Thanksgiving + Eater cacti respectively. From the name, you’ll probably guess that they aren’t the cacti that live in arid-desert landscapes, but are actually ones that prefer a more luscious + tropical setting with dappled light + higher humidity levels. First of all, let’s address the obvious question - what are jungle cacti anyway? Plants in this group are quite possibly my favourite type of cacti to grow + ones that I would recommend to houseplant lovers that might not have those glorious south-facing windows to house a desert cactus collection. For today’s post I wanted to share my jungle cactus collection, alongside my care routine + propagation experiments with this lovely group of plants. ![]()
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