Micromegas

Yes, quite dry... Checked the pH today with a chemical test. The first place i checked came up between 6 and 6.5... then I walked twenty metres and the pH was 7.5! I guess that's just the way it's gonna be. At least the pH wasn't too extreme either way. Also pulled up one of the pedros to have a look. The bottom was dirty (no surprise there) and once washed off was still brown/black (from the soil I presume). The column is firm and looks healthy, there was only the pleasant smell of dirt and cactus, and there even seemed to be some minor root growth (it's been in the ground for four weeks maybe) - little shoots coming from around the base of the spine about 3-5mm long. Does this sound OK? Doing everything a SP should be doing?

Thanks planthelper, if only I had thought about this before planting! Gradually I have been realising my mistakes and working backwards. I certainly should have worked the whole area first... but I didn't, so now I have to work backwards. Things are steadily improving. I have improved the soil quite a bit overall with gypsum, mulch, manure and topsil... but the plants I put in at the beginning are already firmly in the ground in a situation such as you describe, sitting in enriched soil but with clay all around. The san pedros however were put in raised, sloping beds, or in pots. I live south of Adelaide, in a fairly dry spot (490mm/year), which gives me hope for the rest of the plants ranging from cereus and trichocereus cactus (and others requiring I.D), various aloes, opuntia species, a number of succulents and agaves, and a few natives and other shrubs. I had two san pedros planted in a bathtub with no drainage at all last year and they grew at least five times their original size... I should blame them for encouraging me! So what to do about it now? Just keep working on the soil? Most of the plants appear relatively happy... I certainly encourage them to grow! They seem to enjoy being planted in a community. I can't imagine just one plant suffering my in-experienced gardening onsluaghts coupled with clay and occasional high winds! But to add to the problem I'm leaving the country for seven months soon... I'm hoping the plants will get through winter and establish themselves in the great spring weather and await my return in summer! I guess that was the reason I went with cacti and succulents... that and my reverence for such remarkable plants! I did test the soil today with a probe and it came up as pH 7 which MUST be a lie. I will use a chemical tester tomorrow. Thanks again for the responses. I can imagine this hobby becoming an obsession (too late). Probably best I leave the country... BTW, today I went to nursery and next door was a vacant lot with an awesome cactus growing in it. I asked the shopkeeper if it was their lot and she said yes, and after i'd paid for my purchases she let me take a few cuttings. These cuttings are about 30cm around and 30 in length and the plant looks like a really fat T.spachianus (spine and colouration), but it was growing in big clumps and doesn't have a woody spine in the centre. I'd love to post a photo but my camera's broken. Any idea what it could be? Long post, i know... thanks again.

Wow, thanks again. Had a good look today and everything looks reasonably well. I guess what I'm talking about with the yellowing is sort of just a fade in colour from deep green to a yellowy-green which has happened on a few pedros and an aloe vera plant. The pedros I am sure are reacting to the direct sunlight, since the cuttings came from a huge, shaded mother plant. Other trichocereus cacti have also yellowed just slightly after being moved into direct sunlight. I wish I had known about the callousing-over part a few weeks ago, but the pedros I planted last year went in fresh and grew well (also in direct sunlight)... and these ones look fine at the moment (these also faded gradually from dark green to light green)... the aloe vera plant was recently planted and has improved in the last couple of days after some watering, but its tips are still yellow. Of more worry is the Faucea succulent which has turned yellow all over, and a jade tree whose smaller leaves yellow and drop off while the other leaves look fine. It certainly wouldn't surprise me to find some nutrient deficiency. But really, for the most part, it might be too early to tell what will survive and thrive since I only started the garden six weeks ago. As for working the soil, i've been gradually improving at that also while the area increases. I've used quite a bit of gypsum and horse manure as well as organic mulch. The rain last night drained away well but there's no hiding the fact the soil is/was terrible. If I tried to dig into it with a spade I could get in only two or three inches (sometimes one!) before the mattock was required. It's been a lot of hardwork. How does one go about checking the pH? Thanks for answering my tedious question, I'm sure they won't be the last!

What are some indications of rot in cacti?

Thanks very much, helpful responses indeed... I'll have to go out and investigate the situation tomorrow. I'm not sure they could be waterlogged. Though the soil is heavy, there hasn't been much rain Another thing that has been plaguing me are some san pedro cuttings I planted. They look fine, have been in the ground for about a month and have remained fairly dry... but I didn't wait for them to callous over before planting is it necessary to remove them and allow them to dry out before re-planting? Thanks for helping out. It seems there is no end of things to learn about gardening!

Hey, this is my first post here...so, first of all, great forum... I've been lurking for a while, thinking how awesome it is to see so many people enthusiastic about plants! It also made me very aware of my lack of knowledge about all things that grow This would not be a huge problem, had I not just begun a mammoth gardening project (140 square metres) on the farm where I live thinking I'll learn as I go... and I probably will... but right now there are a few plants I'm having some trouble with that need some immediate attention. About three weeks ago I purchased some lophs from Herbalistics. They arrived healthly and happy and I potted them in cactus potting soil mixed with 25% sterilised fine sand. They have had some water and moderate sun but in the last week, instead of being pert to the touch, they appear slightly flaccid... spongy, I guess you might say, with slight wrinkles in the skin. It has been slightly cool, but there is rarely any frost where I live. Is this a normal process (sponginess), or should the lophs always be pert? Any advice on what to do? Thanks in advance...

Thanks everyone... I think I know what the problem is: wrong soil, wrong pots, wrong watering, wrong everything! I'll do as you suggest planthelper and take them out and dry them, then repot in smaller pots in better soil. Fortunately, they are still looking fairly good... any advice on soil? Thanks again...