Cacti and Osmocote

[Plantsoma]

Is it safe to use Osmocote with cacti?

[~shameless~]

Yeah, i reckon a little bit applied during spring is ok

Depends on the climate, it is a european product that is intended to work when the weather is warm

hence its 'term controlled realesed fertillizer'

Dont not use in large amounts in peak summer the danger is they can dump most of thier salts and cause problems to potted plants especially

[DayLight]

just use a cactus fert

[ENtiTY]

I use it on my cacti with no worries. TBM's seem to really like the stuff, since top dressing with the Osmocote plus: pots, planters & indoor They have pupped madly All my other cacti that are ferted with it have put on impressive growth as well.

Osmocote is a water soluble fert prill coated in a biodegradable polymer membrain that becomes more porus as the temperature increases. Fantastic idea as in the warmer months when plants are actively growing, fert is leached readily while in the cool months when plans go dormant, fert leach is practically stoped. Probably the most efficient way of fertilising plants I'd say.

[incognito]

i like the osmocote 'native' fert.

seems to be the fert of choice of the queensland cactus society as well.

[Airbender]

over about 40 degrees osmocote can dump it's fert. load rapidly thereby possibly burning plants/ irregular growth etc. not too many days like that in syd. though.

[indigo264nm]

Trichs love it... I always put it in with mixes. They're heavy feeders so long as they get plenty of sunlight.

[benjahman]

It's definitely safe to use with cacti. Native gardens and the pots and planters mix both work nicely in my experience I put it in all my cacti mixes at 70%ish of the recommended strength and give them half or third recommended strength doses of organic liquid ferts irregularly on top of them during their growth seasons. Never had any problems.

[Garbage]

I use Chempak cactus and succulent,recently i mist/drench with Vitax Organic Liquid Seaweed.

It's very reminiscent of Instant Miso Soup.

Wel rotted horse manure should not be used but Tomato type food is good.

Edited May 25, 2008 by Garbage

[Conan Troutman]

Im curious why you think the osmocote would be bad?

[Airbender]

if you ate a lot of it you might get iron poisoning.... come to think of it..has anyone bioassayed osmocote for psychoactivity ? hehe

[~shameless~]

I ate osmocote when i was about 4 , a little bit by accident

Did u know that there are different types of osmocote, 'indoors and potted plants' , 'roses' n 'natives' as previously mentioned by someone i cannot be bothered finding out at the mo

If your cacti in pots you could use the one for potted plants?

if they were in the ground use the one for gardens (the general osmocote) ?

Yeah people wonder about fert somtimes i think people get scared they will burn plants and cause other over feeding problems thats why i'v always had the best sucsess with new products by reading the label and table of contents

'Check the N,P,K ratio thats right for you'

[mu!]

I use Chempak cactus and succulent,recently i mist/drench with Vitax Organic Liquid Seaweed.

It's very reminiscent of Instant Miso Soup.

Wel rotted horse manure should not be used but Tomato type food is good.

I've used horse manure on my cacti and it works a treat!

[ENtiTY]

Seaweed ferts have practically no value as an actual plant fertiliser. I used to use them once until I found out the N-P-K values in them which were very low compared to other organic and synthetic ferts on the market. By rights they shouldn't be marketed as a fertilizer and if one were to actually look at the labels on a few brands you will find that most don't even say fertilizer on there anywhere.

Their usefulness is in their soil conditioning ability and reducing transplant shock etc.

As far as potted plants go, those using it in a fertilizer application without the use of any other ferts will eventually be confronted with slow growth and deficiency symptoms once the existing nutrients in the potting media have been used up. Seasol seems to be the exception to this rule, possably due to it being "boosted" with synthetic nutrients. Even so out of the 4 ferts (Osmocote Exact: Standard 6-9, Yate's Fish Emmulsion, Miracle Gro: General Purpose and Seasol) I have tested in a potting situation Seasol produced the poorest growth rate. Miracle Gro produced the best growth, just ahead of Osmocote and the fish emmulsion.

IMO Osmocote mixed through potting or top dressed combined with periodical application of a good liquid fert is the best approach for supplying nutrients to your plants.

[tassiejd]

a quick question to throw in on this one, I always used either miracle grow or yates cacti fert (more so miracle grow on the trichs and yates on the lophs), A lot of my cuttings and other plants get super thrive, although i have never tried it on my cacti, lately i have been wondering if I should give it a go on a couple of my lophs or maybe one of my grafted ones at least and see if it does any good.

so my question is has any one used super thrive on cacti and is it safe to do so?

[dixi]

I use Superthrive on all my cacti and have noticed a HUGE difference in size, color, etc. I can almost see new growth every day!

Mine love it

[bob-bob]

Fertilizing your Cactus

All mature actively growing cacti need to be fed occasionally. It is best to use a formula specifically designed for cactus like 7-40-6. (Nitrogen, phosphorus, potash) Use a mixture with a low ratio of nitrogen, as cacti can be burned by it. A commercial formula such as miracle grow or rapid grow can be used, but should be diluted to half strength. I have heard that "cactus juice" brand by Sudbury (1-7-6), is highly recommended. Regular Bone Meal, available at most Garden Centers, makes an excellent organic fertilizer. Don't forget the macro-nutrients like Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca), Sulfur (S), and Magnesium (Mg). Also important are the micro-nutrients Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Manganese (Mn).

San Pedro especially, does very well indoors behind glass. A location where the plant gets at least 4 hours a day of bright, direct sunlight is ideal. The best possible situation would be a South facing sliding glass door, and a reflective screen placed behind the Cactus to redirect and concentrate the light.

Many Cacti have beautiful and fragrant flowers, but they can be quite hard to get to bloom. The optimal conditions to induce flowering are, a cooler temperature (especially at night), reduced day length (12 hours or less), and variations in nutrients (lower nitrogen levels). Try putting your Cactus in a dark, unheated garage (not below freezing) for a few weeks. Forcing can also be done inside, but you need a place next to lots of glass that stays cooler than the rest of the house.

www.cactus-seeds.com/Articles/Growing.html

Im curious why you think the osmocote would be bad?

Most plant ferts are high in nitrogen to promote leaf growth, something cacti dont have to worry about.

To much and it can have a negative effect.

Edited August 8, 2008 by bob-bob