Fairy Castle Cactus

You might have seen the Mile Marker boards that parents create for their children – they highlight things like the height, weight, likes, and dislikes of their child at various stages of life. We at Nick’s Garden Center think Plant Parents should have something like this for their Plant Babies as well! Our Plant Parent Chalkboard Photos and blogs will provide you with an overview of what each plant needs in order to “grow up” happy and healthy!

Fairy Castle Cactus looks just like it sounds. This delicate cactus, Acanthocereus Tetragonus (formerly Cereus Tetragonus), grows vertical stalks close together, and turret-like arms grow off of these “towers.” These towers and turrets are five-sided. The ribs are packed with tiny white thorns. It is also commonly known as Barbed Wire Cactus, Triangle Cactus, Night-blooming Cereus, and Sword Pear. It’s a great plant for beginners as cacti are very forgiving and drought tolerant. 

This is a slow growing cactus, so you can expect it to remain fairy-like in size for quite some time. In fact, it can take up to a decade for this cactus to reach its approximate full height of six feet. Typically you’ll see these little guys around 3-4 inches in height at nurseries. It’s great for shelves or window sills that are tight on space and have plenty of bright sunlight as it can handle direct window light (windows filter out a significant amount of UV rays, making direct light from behind a window less intense than true direct light). While it will grow best with bright light, Fairy Castle Cactus and other cacti will survive quite easily even in low light. Fairy Castle Cactus will only flower very rarely, but when it does the flowers are white or yellow.

Place Fairy Castle Cactus in a spot that will receive bright indirect sunlight. It likes temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees. It’s not air cleaning, and while it’s not poisonous to pets or children, it is very poky and should be kept away from curious noses and tiny hands. Use a cacti and succulent soil, and plant in a well-draining pot. Water Fairy Castle Cactus when the soil is completely dry. Use the drench and drain method of watering – run water over the soil until it runs through the bottom of your pot, and then let the water finish running completely before placing it back in a tray or saucer. If your pot does not have good drainage, use a moisture meter to check the moisture levels at the bottom of the pot before and during watering. Like other cacti, Fairy Castle is susceptible to root rot, which happens when the bottom of the plant gets too wet and suffocates the roots or causes bacteria to grow. 

Happy Plant Parenting!