How to Grow a Rose Cactus

Grow From Cuttings

• 1

  Prepare a rooting container before gathering the rose cactus cutting. Pour coarse sand into a 6-inch plastic pot with drainage holes. Saturate the sand with 2 cups of water. Let it drain.

• 2

  Gather a cutting from a mature rose cactus plant in spring once temperatures rise above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Find a branch with young, green growth at the tip and semi-hard growth 6 inches down the stem. Use pruning shears to make the cut at a set of leaves.

• 3

  Strip off the lower sets of leaves so foliage remains only along the top half of the rose cactus cutting. Dust the defoliated portion of the cutting with 0.1 percent IBA rooting hormone to increase the speed of root production.

• 4

  Insert the rose cactus cutting into the prepared rooting container up to its lowest set of leaves. Push the sand in around the stem to hold it steady.

• 5

  Place the potted rose cactus cutting where it receives about six hours of bright sunlight per day. Limit direct sun exposure to less than two hours per day to keep the leaves from scorching.

• 6

  Maintain light moisture in the top 2 inches of sand at all times during the rooting process. Apply the water in small increments and allow it to soak in before adding more.

• 7

  Check for roots starting in three weeks by gently tugging on the rose cactus cutting to feel if it is anchored or attached to the sand. Transplant the rooted cutting into a larger container filled with succulent plant mix.

Grow From Seeds

• 8

  Acquire seed from a reputable exotic plant nursery, or harvest it directly from a mature rose cactus plant in late summer once the seedpods dry out completely and split open to reveal their black, watermelonlike seeds.

• 9

  Sow up to six seeds in a 6-inch plastic pot filled with coarse sand. Press the seeds 1/8 inch into the surface of the soil so the bottom half is buried and the top half is exposed to the light. Sprinkle a scant layer of sand over the seeds to help hold moisture around the hull.

• 10

  Mist the rose cactus seeds using a spray bottle. Maintain moisture at a level of 3/4 to 1 inch during germination. Try not to let the sand dry out for more than a few hours.

• 11

  Place the potted rose cactus seeds in a partially sunny spot where temperatures stay above 68 F. Limit direct sunlight on the pot since the water will evaporate too quickly and leave the seeds open to drying out.

• 12

  Watch for germination beginning in three weeks. Transplant the rose cactus seedlings into individual 6-inch plastic pots filled with succulent potting soil once they grow to 2 inches in height and have one or two mature leaves.