Types of Household Cactus Plants

Short Columnar

• Short columnar cacti grow upwards, looking like a column. These columns can be short to the ground and wide or tall and thin. Most short varieties do very well in containers and some will flower when provided the care mimicked by their natural habitat. One such plant is the coleocephalocereus aureus that is native to Brazil and grows to 24 inches tall with prickly spines up to 2.4 inches long. Other cacti in this category include austrocactus patagonicus and austrocactus coxii.

Pendent Cylindrical

• Pendent cylindrical cacti are round in shape and can grow somewhat upwards or downwards in a hanging basket. One such cactus is the rhipsaiis baccifera, also known as the mistletoe cactus. Native to Africa, Sri Lanka, Peru, Brazil and Florida, this cactus makes a nice hanging basket plant for indoor growing. In hanging baskets, the cactus can grow 10 feet long and produce 1/4-inch diameter greenish flowers. Other cylindrical pendent cacti include weberocereus glaber and echinopsis arboricola.

Giobose

• Giobose cactus grow as mounds and can get as wide as the container. One variety of giobose is the acanthocalycium klimpeliianum. This cactus is native to the northern parts of Argentina and grows to 4 inches wide and just as high. The cactus will produce white or pink flowers a little over 1 inch in diameter. Other cacti in this category include the copiapoa conglomerate and aztekium hintonii.

Geophytic

• Geophytic cacti grow succulent leaves with points. Some of these cacti are small with long leaves and some have short, compact, pointed leaves. One cactus of this variety is the ariocarpus fissuratus, also known as false peyote. The cactus is found in northern parts of Mexico and southeastern New Mexico and Texas. False peyote can grow to 6 inches in diameter and just as wide, producing tiny red flowers. Other cactus from this variety include mammillaria knippeliana and maihueniopsis bonnieae.