SEATTLE — Cacti and succulents are trendy right now, but gardening guru Ciscoe Morris has always been a cactus collector: "They all look so different from each other, some bloom, some have totally bizarre shapes, I love every one of them! But they're not as easy to grow as you think. I'm gonna give you some tips so you can have beautiful cacti like me!
“One of the main questions I get is: ‘How often should you water cactus?’
"So here's the thing you can do before you water your cactus if it's been sitting outside for awhile. Lift it up. If it's really heavy, it does not need a drink of water. If it's light, it needs a drink. The best way to water cacti is to fill a saucer with water and then just plop the guy in the saucer and basically just leave him in there for a half hour, something like that, it should suck up all the water. I probably only water my cacti 3 times a summer at the most.
"Okay, the next question is ‘How often should I fertilize cacti?’
"So I fertilize with a soluble houseplant fertilizer (such as Miracle Gro) how often do I do this? I do it twice a summer,” he said. And that’s all. "You don't wanna over-fertilize your cacti or succulents, that's a big mistake. I always do it from above, and I try not to get too much liquid on the cacti or succulent.
Ciscoe had one final tip as he donned some special cactus gloves and grabbed a small forked bonsai weeding tool: "Believe it or not, you gotta weed your cactus!"
After an epic struggle with the small prickly plant, Ciscoe finally prevailed, with only minor injuries.
“Make sure you weed every other day, catch those weeds when they're little, then you won’t have a battle like this getting them outta there."
ICYMI: Ciscoe's radio show is coming BACK! The first show is slated to air Sat. August 15 at 9 a.m. on KSQM. Don't miss it!
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