Succulent flowering plants, cacti grow almost exclusively in the United States, Mexico, Chile and the West Indies.
There are hundreds of species in six different forms, the best known of which are arborescent with their arms, globular or with rackets which can range in size from one centimeter to 19.2 meters.
Even if they have been able to adapt to climatic zones such as the Mediterranean rim, the southern Indian Ocean or even Australia, cacti require arid soils, light and high heat.
And yet, Jessy Charetiers grows them in a village with a name predestined for cacti: in Courbépine in Eure (near Bernay)!
He has even just opened the Cactus de Normandie company.
Also readHow to repot a cactus?
Tips and tricks to know to avoid getting bitten
At 32, Eurois is a self-employed landscape gardener.
Six years ago, he bought a three-hectare property and began growing cacti, “for two main reasons.
First, I work a lot on the mineral aspect in my clients' gardens.
The cactus goes well with stone as an ornamental plant.
It became a passion.
In addition, with global warming, I realized that they adapt really well to our conditions.
But not just anyhow.”
In fact, for Jessy Charetiers, it is not enough to buy an imported plant and plant it “even if today, we find small sizes everywhere in supermarkets, garden centers and even health stores. DIY.
At home, I grow cactus bushes, ground covers, shrubs for outdoor landscaping.
They are 100% local since my cacti come from my French stock breeders by cuttings or seedlings.
Because yes, a cactus is pruned every year,” explains the landscaper.
A park in a few years
Afterwards, the cactus is the school of patience.
You will have to wait a year to transfer a seedling into a pot and five years for a cutting to be marketed.
This is why, Cactus de Normandie currently includes nearly a hundred species and more than 3,000 specimens “which are sold to individuals, but also to professionals and resellers.
I can come and plant them in the Eure department and I monitor the size if necessary.
At the moment, I am also developing a range of aquatic plants such as water lilies and fully acclimatized rushes and above all I am refining my project to open a cactus park on the property where visitors will be able to discover all the species while strolling.
It will take a few years for it to mature.”
Facebook: Cactus of Normandy