Neale Whitaker on the new ‘it’ plant for inner city living

CACTUS CRUSH: The desert native is having its time in the city sun, according to Neale Whitaker.

Succulents don’t need a lot of water, and none at all in winter.

Cactus envy is such a prickly thing. I once had a bad case in London. Not content with having a cool loft apartment with industrial-style kitchen and concrete floors, my friend Alastair had the biggest cactus you have ever seen.

It was a giant redwood among cacti. Perhaps there were larger specimens in the Mojave, but not in Shoreditch. By contrast, my little collection of succulents (I thought more was more while Alastair understood the power of one) seemed sad and shrivelled, more naff than Navajo.

However, times change and we all learn size isn’t everything. Cacti dropped off the style radar and I pitied poor Alastair and his massive spiky totem.

Succulents add a fresh green note to interiors.

But after the recent revival of rubber plants and fiddle-leaf figs, and our crush on vertical gardens, fashion dictates cacti are once again having their time – quite literally – in the sun, and I’m delighted. Their dramatic forms look amazing against our favourite blue walls, decorative tiles and cane-backed furniture. Think Mexico City in Frida Kahlo’s day. It’s a look that works beautifully in the Australian climate.

Heidi Albertiri, of The Life Style Edit (thelifestyleedit.com.au), sees the popularity of cacti as an evolution.

“With the resurgence of indoor plants, cacti are a natural progression,” she explains. “Most people have jumped on the plant wagon [only] to realise that maintenance is hard work. Cacti and succulents are low-maintenance and naturally tolerant.”

Cactus crush: Low-maintenance, sculptural and easy on the eye.

Garden Life director Richard Unsworth (gardenlife.com.au) says Opuntia (“prickly pear”) and Euphorbia (“cowboy”) are the most popular choices: “They’re the It plants in the inner city.”

But unlike two decades ago, this time it really is about size. One oversized cactus makes more impact than a handful of small ones, and lands somewhere between a plant and artwork. Think of it as affordable sculpture.

And it’s all about tough love. “Don’t smother them,” says Albertiri. “Cacti are perfect low-fi companions. Water when the soil has dried out but don’t over-water as they can rot.

“Make sure your pot has a drainage hole.”

Unsworth advises watering indoor cacti monthly and not at all during winter.

“As a general rule, they need a well-lit room next to a sunny window.”

Alastair, you’re on-trend again.

Neale Whitaker is editor-in-chief of Vogue Living.

Originally published as Neale Whitaker on the new ‘it’ plant for inner city living