How to Grow San Pedro Cactus

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment, we're going to learn all about how to grow San Pedro cactus. It's a beautiful plant from the Andes Mountains. So the San Pedro cactus is from Peru and the Andes Mountains. So it's pretty versatile. It can grow in some really extreme climates, and it prefers a hot desert-like climate because it grows like other cactuses or cacti, and it can get up to 15 feet tall. It's a really tall cactus. And it's really easy to grow as well. So San Pedro cactus grow the best if you live in a cold climate in a container inside the house, and you can put it outside in the heat in the summer. Or if you live in a mild climate, it can live right outside. And it prefers more of a desert condition than a real wet coastal condition, so if you live somewhere where it's really wet, you want to keep it on the dry side because they do better in the desert than they do in the forest and in the tropics. And when you grow them, you want to put them in real sandy, rock types of soil with some compost mixed in. You want good drainage. They want really good rocks in there because they want the good drainage. And you want to...they like to be root-bound, so you don't want to give them too much room, either. I've found that they do better if they're a little more crowded than if they're have too big of a pot. And when you water them, water them well, but let them dry out completely in-between, and never let them sit in water at all -- at all. So in the wintertime, especially if you live in a colder climate and use them as a houseplant, don't water them hardly at all. Just barely get them wet and then really let them dry out in-between. And you can take starts from the cactus really easily, too, because they'll divide. And as long as you've got some root, you can pull it right out and start another plant. And they are prickly and they are sharp, so you want to be careful with them as well, and wear gloves so that you don't get hurt when you play with them. But the San Pedro cactus is a great plant, whether you use it as a houseplant in a cold climate or you leave it outside in a warm climate."