I Have a Houseplant Named Plantricia

I’m actually not sure if what kind of cactus she is. I got her as a gift from my aunt(actually not really, I just took her from my aunt's garden last month when we came to visit). She’s been living in my room for a month now and I really enjoy her company. She is small and cute and has orange/gold-ish soft 'hairs'. But recently, I am beginning to worry about her, she doesn’t seem to look good.

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to look up some helpful tips on how to care for house plants, more specifically, a cactus. That's when I’ve realized that I was not being a good parent to Plantricia all this time!

According to this article (source: https://aggie-orticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/trees/cactus.html ), a potted cactus should be given enough light and unfortunately poor Plantricia has been imprisoned in a small corner in my room. Ooops!

After reading countless articles and blogs, a lot of things should be considered in raising a cactus.

The type of soil.

Different species of cactus grow better in a specific type of medium. Some need to be in a more sandy dry soil while others survive in more moist soil. It is recommended to have a mixture of moist and dry soil. There is a mixture of soil for cactus that can be obtained commercially.

Also the pot where you plant the cactus should be able to drain water well to avoid the roots from too much moisture. It can vary from clay to plastic pots.

Watering.

How often to water the plants? Usually it requires to water the cactus once a week. Found out I was not giving enough water to Plantricia as often as I should. I was under the impression that, well, she is a cactus, and she does not need any water. I was thinking that they survive in the dessert with little to no water, so I didn't water her regularly.

Location.

These plants should be placed in a location where they can get a good amount of sunlight like in a well lighted window where they can get sunlight in most part of the day. But not somewhere with direct sun all day, you don't want your cactus to dry up under the heat of the sun. Yes, a cactus can get a sunburn too.

To have better understanding on how to properly care for her, I have to know what kind of cactus she is.

So I went to this site: https://plantsam.com/cacti-succulents/ to browse through different photos and determine what kind of cactus Plantricia is. I recommend this site if you also want to know what kind of plants do you have at home.

Okay, so I failed. I didn’t get to find out what kind of cactus Plantricia is. I should probably ask someone or an expert about this.

But I think what is important now is that I have a better understanding about taking care of plants. It’s always good to research first before you try to do something. Ask an expert, browse the internet, there is a lot of things you can do.

Now I’m looking forward to a healthier Plantricia and I’ll promise to do a better job in taking care of her.