Best Soil for Lophs

[doxneed2c-me]

I am looking for suggestions of what kind of blend to use when planting.lophs.

[DiscoStu]

just a well draining mix is first of all. how you achieve that is a matter for preference imo. i just use approx 50/50 sand potting mix and mine are doing OK.

[Pie'oh'Pah]

Thanks to M S Smith for the original post:

http://xerophilia.ro/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/The-Stone-Eaters.pdf

Best read for understanding these beasties

Soiless mixes are the way I have gone.

If you live in the east scoria, river sand and some coir seems like a nice simple mix.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Pie'oh'Pah

[coolname]

Mineral soil that is free draining and slightly alkaline is better than organic soil

[Quixote]

When you look at pictures of these plants in habitat, they often sem to grow in something like dried mud.. it doesn't seem all that free draining to me ?

[doxneed2c-me]

What about something like 40% cactus potting mix, 20% crushed stone, 20% sand, and 20% perlite?

I would appreciate of some other people would share their opinions and mixes as well.

[coolname]

Quixote yes thats true. But its a bit different when you are growing them in pots. They grow alot slower in nature than they do in cultivation if you look after them properly. Either way they will survive, but I think its better to keep them in a free draining mix if they are in a pot

[coolname]

Dox that would be ok aslong as you put the cactus mix through a sieve to remove any pieces of bark and other crap that is in cactus soil. I like to use a sandy sort of clay that I can get locally, plus a bit of extra sand, scoria and a little bit of perlite. But im sure other people use different things with alot of success aswell. Im not an expert but thats what works for me

[C_T]

not sure what habitat some are thinking...

but the true lophs that survive +40C and -40C in the desert, they have very very little "soil"

Its 95% small rocks and only 5% organic matter. or is it 98% small rocks and 2% organic? regardless its not what ud think.

[zelly]

the plant in this post is seed grown, 40+ years old, same sandy soil & clay pot for at least the last 30 years, and 'hard grown'

first pic, plant was rescued from full sun & being basically ignored.........

plant was moved into gh & still hard grown. same pot, same soil

my sage advice to you is do not have any organics whatsoever in your loph potting soil and forget completely about adding perlite to anything, except the garbage can.

[doxneed2c-me]

I actually prepared soil based on the information here for my peruvianas because I was having drainage issues. I know that columnar cacti do need more soil then lophs. I am still interested in hearing discussion about the soil needed. I am looking mostly for sprouting soil and I will try and graft them.

The mixture I have is scoria, perlite, gravel, sand, and cactus potting soil. I water it and it seems to run right through not like it was when it was just cactus potting soil and was always extremely humid and the water seemed to barely drain. I put a bit of pure clean sand and gravel on the top of the soil to give the cacti a bit more stability.

If someone can comment on my soil it would be appreciated. I just want to know if having sand on top of the mixture is alright. I don't want to trap in moisture or anything. I will water every 2 weeks now at the most I think. I am guilty of having crappy soil AND over watering... =(

Edited March 11, 2014 by doxneed2c-me

[zelly]

I will water every 2 weeks now at the most I think

by what basis did you arrive at the two weeks number?

[Evil Genius]

If someone can comment on my soil it would be appreciated. I just want to know if having sand on top of the mixture is alright.

Hi Dox, well sand tends to turn into cement. Generally speaking, you don´t want your covering layer to turn into a mossy cement-like mass. But it depends on your watering habits. Sand as a growing medium is not too bad, but i Personally dislike it as a covering layer because of above mentioned Reasons. The particles are so small that Moss can grow on it so it´s absolutely not a good covering layer if you intend to water your plants. As most growers want their plants to survive, water will be present at least once a month in summer and that might already be enough to get green shit on your soil. Long Story short, your mix sounds good, but use larger Quartz stones as a covering layer.

[doxneed2c-me]

What should I do about the sand that is already there as a covering layer. It is just a small layer with lots of gravel. Do you think it will be harmful or should I just leave it?

[Evil Genius]

I would simply cover it with Quartz Stones. As i said, sand as a growing medium is ok and i use it too from time to time if i run out of other types of soil. Just don´t like it as a covering layer because of the Moss Problem and it´s tendency to turn to stone.

[AndyAmine.]

It shouldn't solidify if you use Course Sharp Sand which is what you should be using for cacti..

You can get it at most hardware stores but be sure to give it a thorough rinse to get the clay and fine sand out of it.

[Quixote]

It shouldn't solidify if you use Course Sharp Sand which is what you should be using for cacti..

You can get it at most hardware stores but be sure to give it a thorough rinse to get the clay and fine sand out of it.

I used to think the same, but I'm doing an experiment now - not rinsing it before using it. My reasoning is that in habitat, there will also be some fine sand, silt and clay in the soil. So maybe they like it like that. Well, I'll see how it turns out.

[doxneed2c-me]

I am curious if I should use a blend with a bit more soil for germinating loph seeds.

Edited April 12, 2014 by doxneed2c-me

[Hellonasty]

I am curious if I should use a blend with a bit more soil for germinating loph seeds.

No, I germinate and grow Lophophora to one year with coarse river sand alone. If you have trouble with it compacting, all you need to do is wash it first with water and this will remove the fine sediment that causes the sand to 'set'.

HN

Edited April 13, 2014 by Hellonasty

[watertrade]

my sage advice to you is do not have any organics whatsoever in your loph potting soil and forget completely about adding perlite to anything, except the garbage can.

what don't you like about perlite, Zelly?

Edited April 13, 2014 by watertrade

[Illustro]

I used to think the same, but I'm doing an experiment now - not rinsing it before using it. My reasoning is that in habitat, there will also be some fine sand, silt and clay in the soil. So maybe they like it like that. Well, I'll see how it turns out.

Nooo! Change it, seriously. I just encountered the same issue with my collection, fine sand IS death to cacti. Experiments are best done without plants first, something I've started doing is observing how substrates hold/drain water by grading the substrates (sieve) and simply wetting a pile of each and seeing how the different substrates drain. I've seen how non-porous sands (hard rocks and minerals e.g. andesite, basalt, quartz) hold a tonne of water on the surface (adsorption) which is nearly impossible for the plant to remove/use due to extreme surface tension (I think from memory the hydraulic pressure needed to remove the surface-tension water is above 1000 psi). Furthermore, due to the small grain size this surface tension, water effectively turns fine sand into a liquid, a thick soup, which lingers for weeks, starving the roots of O2 and creating the perfect environment for pathogens. And fine sand always seems to find it's way to the bottom of the pot. Some pots may be fine, the sand may come out during waterings, whereas others will be pure death. Coarse sands create air-pockets which facilitates drainage and aeration, and tend to move about in the mix alot less. Also, the more homogeneous (~even) the substrate size, the less stuff will settle out. Porous sands such as sandstones, siltstones, pumices, tephra) seem to dry out much quicker than non-porous materials and have no surface-tension water load, I hypothesize this is due to the granules very slowly absorbing the adsorbed water held in surface-tension, taking it away from the surface and into the granule interior matrix, eliminating the 'sand soup' phenomenon. These granules then slowly donate this water back to the soil system and the plant.

[Heretic]

I like to use washed [ "coarse sharp " ] sand , with a little [ 10% or so ] topsoil or potting mix for a bit of humus . I add about a teaspoon of dolomite lime for calcium / mg , and a pinch of mineral mix every couple of years . They do well ...

I think that a mix that retains water for longish periods is not so good . They seem to like wet-dry conditions .

[doxneed2c-me]

I am going to have a look for some limestone today. What about including some gravel and some lava rock. I have this in my soil mix for Trichs and my mix has sand in it also but never clumps.

[EthnoGuy85]

Kinda new to lophs but a mix of sand: coco coir: pumice at 1:1:1 has worked well for me so far. I add some dolomite lime to this

[hostilis]

^^^ I've used that same mix but with some worm castings added and it works great.