plz me help with my new hobby

[happy1]

Hey everyone here,

Great site been a member for a little while now and loving the site, so rich with information and what not. First post as its the first time i feel i need to ask a question.

Now ive got a few cuttings recently my favourite atm is the T.pachanoi that recently flowered. Tho the 2 flowers flowered a day apart and when the 2nd 1 flowered the first was already wilting . also have a T.pachanoi x T.peruvianus hybrid (or so im told by person I purchased it from) and a T.bridgesii.

Now my question has to do with the potting mix im using, its a cactus mix that i picked up from bunnings but i fear that it holds water a little too much. I watered the cuttings the other day and the mixture still feels a little damp to the touch. has anyone else used this mixture?? or would recommend me to use another mix or what???

Thanks for the help in advanced, im just so scaried to lose my new beautiful specimens dying or rotting on me.

cheers

[Chiral]

Usually the cactus mix at Bunnings is full of bark...a good idea is if you are going to use it then use a big plastic sieve and strain the big chunks of bark out of it..then find yourself some coarse sand and a little dried horse manure or some organic source and some perlite...mix your soil in a big fish tub and add...

1 part strained cactus mix

1 part coarse sand

1/2 part manure

1 part Perlite.

Mix it all around evenly and pot up your cactus in this and they should be happy as. Fertilize them infrequently and half strength..give them lots of sun or they will grow etoliated and skinny. Watch out for scale and mealy bugs as these is the scourge of cactus growers. Don't water them too much particularly in winter..Bridgesii are particularly prone to rot when they get wet so watch that..other than all that enjoy your new addiction..oh and as far as we are all aware ...there is no cure...

H.

[happy1]

wow fast reply

yep is full of bark, didnt think it would be good for it as bark tends to hold water. would it be a good idea to pull it out of this mix untill i get it readjusted or leave it in?? as most of them have yet to start rooting much. heh glade about horse manure being the pick of the crap as a mates got a few horses and doesnt always tryin to give me their crap for the garden hah.

also on the side of bugs, is there anything i can add to the mixture or treat my beauties with to keep the evil bastards away???

thanks again.

edit. heh yeh ive noticed... the only cure is to get more haha.

Edited March 25, 2009 by happy1

[Chiral]

If they haven't rooted yet you can take them out of the soil and make up the mix like I explained then place them back in..this time of year they don't throw roots very quick anyways..make sure the cuttings are calloused over well before potting or they can rot at the base... I take cuttings and then wrap some plain white kitchen paper towels around the base and then a rubber band to keep it on... place the cuttings in a warm dry place for a month then plant out.

With manure I find it's best to fully sun dry it out on a tarp then crumble up into a fine powder that way it mixes around evenly in your potting mix. As far as bugs and disease's its all about being vigilant and inspecting your plants daily and very closely...keep a close eye on them and look for signs of infestation and black rot and try to solve the problems early.

H.

[mutant]

Trichos grow fine in plain plant soil once they root well and get established. All this mix stuff is not really important for the easy growing genuses like Trichos, IMO. Unless you live in a place with some very special weather or something. Sure, more sand in the mixture will be like a safety belt for the wet seasons, but a richer compost will make it grow better and faster ...

[C_T]

The cactus mix i got from bunnings didn't seem to have alot of bark in it. Seemed not much unlike normal potting mix...

I mixed 1/3 perlite with the cactus potting mix, hope this helps.

[AndyAmine.]

Bunnings usually sell 2 kinds of cacti and succ mix, one made by searls which is great stuff and one by Debco (or something like that) which is very heavy on the bark and is total crap IMO.

Go the Searls, I just add a little coarse sharp sand and some perlite and away I go, although I do vary the amount of the additives depending on the particular cacti, for instance I will add more sand to my TBM's or I will add more perlite to cuts with small amounts of roots or that are dehydrated so I can water them more often.

Edited March 25, 2009 by AndyAmine.

[cactophyle]

I hate the bark too. Schultz cactus soil seems to have more bark than any I've seen. I'd have to say that most Trichocereus, especially pachanoi, are pretty happy with just about any soil. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. You can use plain cactus soil, cactus soil + regular potting soil, cactus soi + perlite, regular soil + perlite, or the dirt from your backyard if you want. As long as you let them dry between waterings you should be in good shape! No 'playground' sand though, it traps water.

[happy1]

yeh is Debco mixture (had to go through the bin to find it lol). will giv it a shot with bit of perlite and horse crap in it after straining bit of bark out (can get pretty damp here in colder months). thanks alot for all the replies exactly what i wanted to know.

cheers

edit: typeo

Edited March 26, 2009 by happy1

[mac]

So your using pots ? most pots can be moved under cover in wetter months if they are not too large

I find smaller pots or ceramic, terracotta (porous) pots tend to be able to handle a little more organic matter in the mix because they dry out faster, Where the larger pots i add some extra creek sand a little red loam so i can water them a little more often & not have to worry about drainage but Im also in a (dry) semi arid environment

I have a scopulicola in a terracotta pot that's very healthy & happy in straight (patio brand) cacti mix with only a little perlite i have thrown organic composted cow poo or dynamic lifter & a garden lime in other mixes

Edited March 26, 2009 by mac

[cactophyle]

Can you comment on the growth rate of scopulicola? I've been interested in this species for a long time, but never seen one. I think I read that they don't grow nearly as fast as T. Pachanoi (pachanot?). I really like their minimal spinage though.

[mac]

I cant really say i have only had my 2 scops for around 2 - 3 months the one in the pot is doing really well & seems to be growing well it tends to be a much fatter plant so part of the growth i guess go's into width as well as height ? a very nice plant

Ill measure it tomorrow but after re potting from a young root bound clump its grown 2 inches & has fattened up well for a root bound neglected nursery plant

The taller one i put in the ground, it was planted just before a heatwave so had a fairly rough start & is just beginning to settle in & perk up

Edited March 26, 2009 by mac

[Chiral]

Can you comment on the growth rate of scopulicola? I've been interested in this species for a long time, but never seen one. I think I read that they don't grow nearly as fast as T. Pachanoi (pachanot?). I really like their minimal spinage though.

Probably one of the slowest growers I've ever seen...if you cut the tip off one don't expect any pups for up to 4 months...Other catus will normally throw a pup in under a month but scops are terribly slow to produce em..I must say once the pup gets going its quite reasonable but seems to slow as it matures...IME Bridgesii fastest then Peruvians then Pachs and finally scops.

I'm actually about to do a small grow study on 20 of the more well known cactus and show a 12 month growth rate from 20 tip cuttings all in exactly the same soil mix, same pot size and same cutting size..approx 25cm tips are being used to see which ones perform the best..should be fun to watch...I will be marking each tip cutting with a small mark from a permanent marker and take pictures of the start and finish. I'm just waiting on a couple of cuttings to arrive..Roseii and Psych0..will make sure all are calloused over then the race will begin. Hope to start the project on the 1st of April and end the same time the following year.

H.

[C_T]

hunab, you would need to also have these cuttings cut at the same time, to be realistic.

Otherwise hibernation may influence results.

[Chiral]

mmmm nope its all good once all the cuttings are calosed its bombs away...fuck hibernation its a contest..will post pics soonish..

[happy1]

hey all just wanted to say thanks for the help, got my cuttings repotted and looking healthy, happily believe they will be healthy and happy!!!! hehe love em, might hav to get some pics to show off my little collection

cheers again

[happy1]

hey all just got another quick question. im going to start up a little peyote growing setup in as im loving how they look grafted. was just wondering if anyone could giv me some links to places i can get some quality heat mats idea for peyote growth.

also just wondering on what time of cacti this is being grafted with (fucking love the look of this)??? plan on growing all that im goin to graft from seedling too so wanna get some started and well established.

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...ost&id=7605

cheers again

[mac]

That would be Pereskiopsis spathulata one of the more popular stocks for grafting smaller cacti & seedlings

Edited April 22, 2009 by mac

[PD.]

I got some peres you can have haapy, ill give em to ya when ya get ya arse over here!!!

[PD.]

I'm actually about to do a small grow study on 20 of the more well known cactus and show a 12 month growth rate from 20 tip cuttings all in exactly the same soil mix, same pot size and same cutting size..approx 25cm tips are being used to see which ones perform the best..should be fun to watch...I will be marking each tip cutting with a small mark from a permanent marker and take pictures of the start and finish. I'm just waiting on a couple of cuttings to arrive..Roseii and Psych0..will make sure all are calloused over then the race will begin. Hope to start the project on the 1st of April and end the same time the following year.

sorry to hijack but......

hunab, when doin this "study" one thing that must be taken into consideration is the growing conditions of the tips prior to when you recieved them. Some tips could be grown in excellent conditions, from a plant getting direct light and rich soils and some may be from branches on older larger plants more shaded and densly packed that have been growing slower. The latter may take longer to root and therefore be at a disadvantage to the younger more vigorous tips. Plus the environ they were growing in previous will make a difference when they are growing at your place. I think it would be best to grow them at the site of the study for a year or two, get enough new fresh growth on each, take new cuts and then start from there, plus id prolly use 2 or 3 tip cuts of each clone to be sure as some cuts just stall for some reason regardless of how vigorous the clone is reported to be.

[Chiral]

there are quite a few variables to consider I know...I'll start a new thread just for the log..I'm waiting to get some plant ID tags and then I'll start the thread and explain further my objectives.

[happy1]

hey all thanks again for replies. hav been busy as lately so havent had chance to check theard. PD defently will hav to hit you up for some of them, also catch up for chat on some growing tips heh..... i defently got no green thrumb and havin few slight problems heh. tops of cacti goin slightly lighter shade of green. best way to get all theses diff loph seeds going heh..... got few ideas and reckon i could have a crack at it but figure best gettin heap of info first..... do i go with indoor growth or outdoor arrrrrrrrrrrr!!??!?!?!?!? thats just were the confusion begins.... lol atlest i got few months till spring to work it out hey.

cheers