Create an Indoor Desert Garden

Fashion a miniature desert scene with a container garden of cacti and sand mulch.

Excerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
Filed under: Indoor Gardening, Cacti, Container Gardening, Plants, Gardening

Planting Tips

Wrap a folded strip of newspaper around the top of the plant. This will help you slide it out of its pot and maneuver it into the larger planter without getting spines or fine hairs in your fingers. It also protects the plant.

Wrap Cacti in Newspaper Before Transplanting

Fill in the Gaps

Once the plants are in position, use a spoon to carefully fill the gaps between them with a cacti soil. Add small amounts of soil at a time and keep firming it down with the back of a spoon to ensure that there are no air holes left around the plant roots.

Pack Cacti Soil Around Plants to Eliminate Air Gap

Brush Off Soil

No matter how careful you are, some soil will inevitably get caught in the cactus spines and hairs. Use a soft brush to remove it and to keep the plants looking clean and neat.