Minecraft is a sandbox game full of various blocks players can farm, build with, or use in other ways. Among those are plant blocks, which are both decorative and functional. You are probably familiar with sugar cane since we can break it down into paper in Minecraft and craft fireworks to boost around with the elytra. Also, there’s the amazing bamboo, which we can turn into bamboo wood in Minecraft 1.20. But, in this guide, we will take a trip to the desert and learn about cactus, one of the interesting plant blocks in Minecraft. Also, we will explain how to find cactus in Minecraft.
What is Cactus in Minecraft?
Cactus is a plant block in Minecraft with some fairly interesting mechanics. As you might have guessed, like in the real world, cactus plants in Minecraft also have spikes that slowly damage the player or any mob who comes in contact with it. Though armor does protect you from this damage, it also gets damaged in the process. One of the weirdest features of a cactus is that it deletes items.
The cactus acts similarly to lava, as any item thrown onto it gets evaporated instantly. And yes, even netherite items and gear, the strongest material according to the Minecraft lore, don’t stand a chance against this prickly plant.
The cactus also has specific rules when it comes to planting it. You can only place it on sand, red sand, suspicious sand, or other cacti. Moreover, you can no longer place any other block directly adjacent to the cactus in Minecraft. When a new cactus block grows, it will break immediately if there is a block attached to its side. This is a crucial mechanic as the cactus farm works solely due to it.
Where to Find Cactus in Minecraft
Cactus is a block found only in dry biomes of your Minecraft world. Your best bet is to check out the nearest desert biome, as it’s a great environment for this persistent plant. It’s actually the only way you can distinguish a desert biome from a large beach because you cannot come across cacti on a beach.
Furthermore, another location you should check out is the Badlands biome in Minecraft. Though, it’s far more common in the deserts than in badlands.
You can mine a cactus block with any tool or hand, and you don’t take damage while doing so. Here’s a little tip for breaking cacti, if you break the bottommost cactus block, the cacti above will break on their own, so you don’t need to break every one individually and also don’t risk losing any items when falling on the lower cactus block.
In addition, if you’re lucky and found an igloo with a basement, you will find a potted cactus inside there. Cacti in pots and chests can also generate in some desert village houses, though you probably already found a wild cactus by that point. However, if you cannot locate any of these biomes, fear not, because a wandering trader can sell it to you for three emeralds.
Best Uses of Cactus in Minecraft
Cactus has a few unique uses, and it’s a good idea to start collecting this plant block in the beginning. Let’s jump into everything you can do with cacti blocks.
Making Green Dye
If you want to dye blocks such as terracotta, glass, concrete blocks, Minecraft beds or get colored wool from the dyed sheep, you need all the dyes in Minecraft. So, one of them is the green dye, and the only way to get it is by smelting a cactus in a Minecraft furnace. You not only get green dye but also some experience points. And thanks to the infinite lava generation, you can make a furnace XP farm, which will come in handy, especially on the Bedrock Edition.
Breeding Camels
Minecraft 1.20 has introduced amazing new passive and ridable mobs – camels. And thankfully, they can be bred. To breed camels in your Minecraft world, you need their favorite food and that’s the cactus.
You can also speed up the baby camel’s growth with this plant. Riding a camel is nothing like riding other mobs because they are very tall mobs in Minecraft with some rather cool features. Check out our linked guides to find out everything about camels.
Composting
Since cactus is a plant, you can place it in a composter in Minecraft. It has a 50% chance of raising the compost level. So, if you have a cactus farm (coming soon), but not a mob farm yet, you can stock up on bone meal this way. Also, bone meal is essential in farms like a tree farm, so you can never have enough of it.
Decoration
As we have mentioned already, you can find potted cactus in your world. It’s also a cool-looking house plant that you can fill your Minecraft house with.
Trash Can
Although this might seem silly, it’s a good idea to have trash cans around your Minecraft world. Especially if you have way too many items of some sort and throwing them out on the ground could cause a lot of lag. Since cactus destroys items, as we mentioned above, it can make for a great option. You can also place a trap door above, so no item are deleted accidentally.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you cannot. Some plants like cactus, sugar cane, and bamboo (on Java Edition) cannot be grown with bone meal.
Yes, cactus grows just fine without water or light, so you can place it underground too.
