Cactus FAQ Discusion Thread

[watertrade]

It would be handy to have some pics in here of common cacti diseases & pests etc. just a thought.

[Yawning Man]

Hi all

One of my small pups (say 2 inchs) has been routinely attacked by something. At first i thought it might have been a snail but from what i've learnt snails only eat the top layer, where as whatever has been eating my pup has been taking fairly large bites out of it. The bites are small so i assume it's a small creature. The pup is a bridgesii.

Any ideas?

thanks

[stiched up]

bloody possums!!!!

ive had a magpie eat one of my lophs before............ funny could of swarn i turned into a bird

[Yawning Man]

bloody possums!!!!

ive had a magpie eat one of my lophs before............ funny could of swarn i turned into a bird

Haha, wtf! Hmm nah couldn't have been a possum, could have been a bird although birds tend to peck rather than bite and chew.

Edit: i like your avatar stiched up. What is it?

Edited May 25, 2008 by peaceful_son

[herbologist]

Haha, wtf! Hmm nah couldn't have been a possum, could have been a bird although birds tend to peck rather than bite and chew.

Possums do eat cacti, although these were rotten

[stiched up]

hi there peacefull son,

why thankyou sir

its a photo of a burnoff with a fire staff and then colours flipped!!!!

stiched

[markcond]

Hi, I'm a newbie so not sure if this is the right place to post. I was wondering on the % of interesting content of the Delosperma Cooperi and others. All I can find is that some contain significant amounts but can't find actual percentages;)

Edited July 12, 2008 by markcond

[George]

Hi Marcond

Maybe we lashed out to hard on little Teotz(belittlement).

He has proven himself lately(establishment of relationship, bottom feeder).

LOL!!

But atleast he has a deciple now who will fall for his authorotive frame of writing elusively authorotive.

Hehe!!

Sorry Teotz. I got banned from the Nook because I was mistaken for being another you. It is my duty as your clone to make you understand the "evil twin" psychosis we share.

(:

I think my mission is complete.

[t st tantra]

Hi, I'm a newbie so not sure if this is the right place to post. I was wondering on the % of interesting content of the Delosperma Cooperi and others. All I can find is that some contain significant amounts but can't find actual percentages;)

as far as i know the answer is not known yet.

comment not directed at markcond......

people asking q's which have no answers is something i have found annoying recently!

maybe some common sense?

when the same person does it again and again its more of a piss off!

and often the q will be about illegal substances!

t s t .

[Chiral]

A useful link from Gottliebs book >>>> http://www.xs4all.nl/~4david/cacti.html

naming all the psychoactive cactus and a list of all known alks within. Also interesting to note in his book is that alkaloids are produced in the wetter and cooler months, and are used to enable growth in the hotter months. I'm looking to buy this book if anyone has it for sale.

And another....

Growing the Hallucinogens

How to Cultivate and Harvest Legal Psychoactive Plants

by Hudson Grubber

published by 20th Century Alchemist >>>> http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Plants/growing.html

H.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Hunab Ku

[mac]

i did not know where to post this question & thought it may come up as a FAQ for someone new to cacti cultivation

so mods, if it dose not belong in this thread please delete or move my question

my question is what would you advise to someone who wants to start cultivating cacti.

for eg. trichocereus pachanoi, would you suggest a cutting or to start with seed ?

any info would be helpful thanks

[markcond]

i did not know where to post this question & thought it may come up as a FAQ for someone new to cacti cultivation

so mods, if it dose not belong in this thread please delete or move my question

my question is what would you advise to someone who wants to start cultivating cacti.

for eg. trichocereus pachanoi, would you suggest a cutting or to start with seed ?

any info would be helpful thanks

Hey there mac. I would probably do both. Growing from seed is rewarding but you'll have a long wait before you can start harvesting ( if that's what you intend). Also growing from cuttings can take long time too. I'm sure others have mastered it but several cuttings I planted toward the end of last winter (July-August) are only now starting to show signs of growth. A third option I would highly recommend is to buy some plants from say....SAB. If they Pup you may be able to divide them and start new plants from the pups, though this is easier said than done. The only pups I've managed to grow have just fallen of the main plant and taken root. It rare;y works when I try and do it deliberately. Any good luck whichever way you go.

[PD.]

Start with a feww cuttings mac, is very very easy. After you have learnt a bit try your hand at growing from seed. Growing from seed can be a lil hard and lotsa questions but once you get the hang of it you are set

[mac]

thanks for the quick reply PD

i saw a few trichocereus pachanoi San Pedro? cuttings as well as seed online, could you suggest other popular ethogenic cacti that is readily available in OZ

ill keep a eye out in the trade section of the forum but am unsure what to look for to start my cacti & ethogenic garden

[Inyan]

You can get 10,000 pachanoi seed for 80+, macrogonus 10,000 31+, 10,000 Lophophora seed for 190+.... now if your into diversity... I'd say go for seed. If your into large numbers... go for seed. If you into simply having a few over priced specimens of a particular cultivar... go for cuttings. Even 1000 pachanoi seeds can be had for 10, or 1000 macrogonus seeds for 7 or 1000 loph seed for 20+. Sure beats the heck out of buying cuttings unless you have a particular cultivar you just have to have. Genetic diversity is where its at. Still, if your like me... you are a bit impatient at times and simply get a few of both. Seeds and cuttings both are thus a more profitable way to go if you have to have something nice immediately, but also want the joy that comes from growing your own seed.

http://www.koehres-kaktus.de/index1gb.htm

Just one good resource for you for all of the above and much much more.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Inyan

[mac]

cool ill start with a cutting & grab some seed

i have a garden bed in my yard that i have test planted one cacti of unknown species to see how it went, as it very sandy rocky ground the only plant that seems to do well is cacti, the garden bed is full of old creek sand rocks & old school building rubble from a 100+ year old stone wall with little organic matter & some bark chip mulch

dose this sound ok ?,as it has full morning sun & is shaded by afternoon sun by a thick stone wall

again as i have said im a noob to cacti & this forum so if i have posted my Questions in the wrong thread or should start my own NOOB cacti thread just delete my posts &let me know

i know how frustrating it can be to answer the same questions all the time its just the search engine on the forum seems to come up with way to many irreverent threads to some of my questions (mabee it just my keywords or im using the forum search engine wrong ?)

anyhow i went a bit off topic there but id rather post it here now than bring it up somewhere else & annoy more people with my questions

[markcond]

I mostly agree with Inyan and MAC with the exception that they don't seem interested in purchasing growing Cacti. Maybe it is too costly. I however like to have a few Cacti that haven't been scarred and are ready to go soon as I receive them. I think it's all a matter of personal choice and of course cost. I have a heap of seed grown plants going at present, and also some cuttings and a few purchased ones. I too am pretty new to Cacti.I think maybe listen more to mac and Inyan

Edited January 16, 2009 by markcond

[Inyan]

http://www.lophophora.info/e_index.htm

This page has some excellent information for growing cacti from seed. You can treat Trich's the same way, but you will find that they are much hardier and can be pushed much faster. Still, if your new to cacti... you can't go wrong with this set up for Trich or Loph.

If your having trouble following this link then try http://www.koehres-kaktus.de/index1gb.htm

Click on links, then click on Lophophora. Click on the flag that corresponds to your language, then click on sowing. You should have plenty of ease there.

MarKCond,

I'm all for cuttings to speed ones collection along, especially if it is a proven cutting or something unusual like a variegated crested pachanoi. You can start your own seed production in this manner. I'm also one for buying seed from multiple places to help ensure genetic diversity in your own seedlings later on down the road. With that said, 10,000 seeds or even 1000 seed will give you some genetic diversity to play with even if it is all seed collected from just a few stock plants. Hybridizing related within a species or unrelated species/genus also makes for a more genetically diverse and more aesthetically pleasing collection if you should choose to go down that route. Sure, breeding a lavender or rose red pachanoi hybrid with tinges of purple in the flower may take a while, but it will be something unique to your collection and something that you would be right in claiming as something truly special in your collection. Still, I see most are simply making white x white type crosses when there is so much out there in the way of color this seems like a crying shame to me and is something I intend to fix.... at least in my own collection. If your really nervous about your ability to follow seed sowing instructions then there is an easy fix. Read the sowing instructions from a few different places and then try a few seeds each way. One thing is for certain, if you don't try to grow from seed... you never will grow from seed or learn from any success or failures along the way. Trichocereus are among the most easy of the cacti to propagate from seed and if you can't grow them from seed ... chances are you can't grow anything from seed. I'd say many people err on the side of too much caution when it comes to Trichocereus seeds and they end up with a lot slower growth and or lower germination rates then they should have, but even then they still have seedlings growing. Give it a whirl and learn something. Keep a few back for later experimentation if you want, but you can purchase these seeds for so cheap that its really a moot point to save any back unless you have some hybrid seed that you consider very special or such.... Seedlings are incredibly easy with Trichocereus, but many still chose to graft them onto larger specimens to give them that added boost. Live a little and learn the joys of raising your own genetically diverse seedlings. Grab some noteworthy cuttings along the way for comparison if you want. In the end, you will have a field of cacti much faster than someone who simply bought a dozen or so larger specimens every so many months and you will have spent a fraction of the cost in attaining that collection.

http://basementshaman.stores.yahoo.net/tricbrid.html

Now the above place sells some hybrids and also some pure species.

Now, http://www.herbalfire.com/macrogonus.html

Sells packs of seed... how many not listed or not listed in a manner that makes it easy to find.

A 12 inch cutting of macrogonus costs $25.00...

http://www.bouncingbearbotanicals.com/tric...onus-p-244.html

offers seeds... not listed how many in a packet... or at least not in a manner easy to find.

6 inch cutting of macrogonus is $15 dollars.

12 inch cutting is also $25 dollars.

Now, prices on both seem comparable enough. Still, why spend 15 or 25$ for one cacti when you can have 10,000 macrogonus seeds for 31 euro. I don't know about you, but I'd be willing to be even the worst germination attempts by the worst gardener here would more than make up for any loses in seedlings with his gain from growing such a small quantity of seed.

1767 bridgesii J 32.00

1778 macrogonus J 31.00

1781 pachanoi 82.00

1784 peruvianus J 41.00

9366 Mischung Lophophora 190.00

865 " v texana 10K J 360.00

Now, if all you bought were the above seeds you would have 10,000 seeds of each variety for fairly cheap and a heap of diversity to play with.

1767 bridgesii J 0.60 1.80=100seed 8.00=1,000 seed

1778 macrogonus J 0.60 1.80=100seed 7.00=1,000 seed

1781 pachanoi 0.70 2.00=100seed 10.00=1,000 seed

9366 Mischung Lophophora 1.10 3.30=100seed 22.00=1,000 seed

9636 " v Huizache 10K SLP J 1.10 8.40=100seed 41.00=1000seed

Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but considering that these guys deliver faster than anyone else I've ever dealt with.... prices are excellent...

Edited January 16, 2009 by Inyan

[mac]

cheers

Edited March 11, 2009 by mac

[stiched up]

hi,

im looking for some tips on growing the Echinocactus grusonii, golden barrel from seed ive a fresh seed pod and quite like the look of the golden barrel cacti

i live in the hills of s.a and it can get very cold at night so tips on this would be good i know its the wrong season so some tips on storing the seeds would be nice too ;-)

i have a snake vivarium which is at a pretty constant temperature at one end around 35 sometimes 40 degrees but the air filtration is not the best it has a fluro light

thanking in advance

stiched up ;)

[strangebrew]

They're fairly slow. I'd buy a small one and just see how u go with that first - damn things always seem to rot on me.

Big W were always getting small ones in but I think they've given plants the flick & gone over to pet food.

[fractalreality]

Thanks for the link Inyan!

I recently had great success with some T. Peruvianus seeds and was totally despairing over how to keep my new babies in the best of health!

For all those tossing up whether or not to bother growing from seed - invest in a germination box! As long as you keep up the moisture up nature does the rest!

[etherealdrifter]

edit

Edited December 4, 2010 by etherealdrifter

[Jonstn]

Cheers for this info buddy, going to come very handy over the next few months

[Seldom]

just a newb question, if these cacti belonged to you, what would you be doing? there's 1 scopulicola, 1 pach x spach, and 4 j3 x spach, all from toby with the exception of the scop. i've had them bit over 2 months, first time growing

they were a bit dehydrated when i got them, generally they're going great guns, but a few have got a bit of wrinkle action and maroon discoloration going on, they've been watered about 3 times since i had them.

they're sitting in bunnings potting mix with some propagators sand, ~ 70/30. some sand on top of a few to stop em getting wobbly

Edited September 15, 2011 by bulls on parade