Cacti in the garden: on a poke!

Max Raabe breathed new life into it.

In Juli Zeh's play, he mutates into a persistently silent terrorist.

Kirk Douglas took his name and ended up being just an unsuccessful crook.

The cactus not only adorns the window sill, it has left its mark on many artistic genres.

As a song about “Little Green Cactus”, as a theatrical drama “Der Kaktus” or as a reluctant western hero “Kaktus Jack”.

Hardly any other plant has had such a career as the thorny and eternally decelerating exotic.

Cacti have long been hip design objects in the form of vases, crocheted art or floral cushion patterns.

The Citroën Cactus even received the Red Dot Award for its shape, and the premium brand Cartier brought out a cactus collection.

Some of the prickly plants are even stately.

Appreciated as constant room companions, cacti and succulents have established themselves as indoor favorites in every generation.

They are easy to care for, have a timelessly modern look and go with any furnishing style.

In the age of social media, the hashtags #cactus or #kaktus ensure direct hits and sparkling user eyes.

Nobody knows that better than Amrey Haage, who together with her brother Ulrich forms the sixth generation of the renowned cactus nursery Haage in Erfurt.

But the cactus is also increasingly appearing outdoors.

There is a banal reason for this.

For many collectors, things are getting tight at home.

Amrey Haage knows another reason: "They want to see part of the collection outside and develop small cactus beds in little usable niches."

Resistant all year long

There are well over 150 species and varieties that are so robust that they don't mind temperatures down to 25 degrees below zero in winter or hot and dry summer days.

Various opuntias have long played an important role as succulent companions in the garden ,

along with roofworm (

), stonecrop (

) and ice plant (

Which is because they already have extreme climactic conditions in their home country.

Many of the plants mentioned come from the high altitudes of North, Central or South America or inhospitable desert regions.

Climate change also means that the thorny exotic species can stand outside all year round.

Amrey Haage usually distinguishes between hardy and only frost-hardy specimens.

She explains the difference as follows: "The latter survive severe winters with extreme cold, but cannot tolerate the winter humidity in our latitudes and need mobile or fixed rain protection in the cold season." , carport or garage to get them through the winter.

Frost-hardy specimens include many Escobaria, wart cactus (

), hedgehog columnar cactus (

), agave or yucca (

).

Many Opuntia varieties can be grown outdoors all year round without protection and, thanks to numerous breeds, offer a variety of flower colors from white to pink, yellow, orange and Bordeaux red.

In larger gardens such as the Nochten boulder park, the Halle botanical garden or the egapark in Erfurt, there are already outdoor beds.

Perennial enthusiasts in Saxony-Anhalt are currently planning an outdoor area on the former state garden show area around Zeitz Castle.

The earth wants to be prepared

If you want to create an outdoor bed yourself, you first have to find an ideal location.

Cacti and succulents need plenty of sun.

A wall, hedge or a house front in the north protects against the wind and also provides the plants with radiant heat.

The perfect place is sometimes where other plants struggle and struggle, because this is where the personality of the hardy cacti and their succulent companions prevails: they like it hotter and drier than others.