What is the difference between Hardi cacti and tropical cacti?

Are your indoor office plants hardi cacti or tropical cacti?

There is a big difference between the two if you want to water them correctly.

Hardi cacti like the opuntia species humifusa (-45 degrees F) is native to the eastern United States; its pads ( upper photo) are bright green and its flowers are vivid yellow.

Similarly widespread but found in the West is Opuntia polyacantha ( plains prickly pear, hardy to - 25 F) . Opuntia fragilis ( to -35 F) grows throughout Canada and the West into Mexico.

You must water their sandy soil lightly.

Tropical cacti ( lower photo) are native to the rain forest regions. These prefer high humidity, warmth and rich soil. Most are epiphytes ( air plants that use trees for support but do not derive nourishment from them). You must water these foliage office plants more frequently.

Epiphyllums ( orchid cacti) produce impressive flowers in late spring.

Flowers of popular Schlumbergera truncata, from Brazil, appear in mid winter, hence the common name Christmas ( or holiday) cactus.

PDI uses both these species of cacti in our interior and exterior green foliage designs in the Andover, MA office buildings.

Why use Crassulas in your N.E.plantscapes Andover, MA?

What are Crassulas? Crassulas are succulents. There are numerous species and cultivars of Crassulas. The two main forms are jadelike and stacked. Crassulas are semi arid plants , not cacti but close to it.

The plant to left is a representive of stacked species and he plant to the right a cultivar of the jadelike type.

Crassulas ,like jade plants love the sun and high light south exposure office windows.

The texture of these indoor plants is thick and hard unlike your typical tropical indoor office plants.

Jades have thick stems and form mounding, branching shrubs that can be pruned into small trees and used for bonsai.

Flowers appear midwinter through spring, borne in clusters that may be massed so profusely the plant appears blanketed with snow. The common jade ( Crassula ovata) has thumbsized, oval green leaves edged in red. Siver dollar jade (Crassula arborescens) has red edged silvery gray leaves .

PDI currently uses these foliage indoor plants at our Andover, Ma locations.