Cacti in Las Vegas

Question

I live in a mobile home community in Las Vegas that for some stupid reason doesn’t allow cactus to be planted in the ground! I have bought a variety of cacti all in pots from the garden centers. I have through much difficulty (ouch) replanting some in larger pots and lost some due to winter temps or overwatering or underwatering I guess. Haven’t done any fertilizing. I had my cacti in my front yard, which for the better part of the day is in the sun. To avoid having to keep transplanting from pot to pot (of which I have lost some cacti due to lack of knowledge I guess), I was thinking of purchasing wooden box planters medium/large and planting my cacti in them. To me it seems that would be better than pots and slips past the “not in the ground (stupid) policy.” Does anyone think this will work? And, if so, how many cacti per box based on a 24″ box? Or should I just buy large pots and replant one more time (ouch!!!)? Any other suggestions (short of moving) would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Yes, the wooden boxes will work fine. Just make sure they have good drainage and that you mix some sand or other grit into the soil so it drains well. Cacti are often killed by soil that stays too wet and this will keep it from staying too wet.