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dosileflynn

TBE potting question - two in the same pot?

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Hi guys,

thanks to one of our very generous members here, i have some very nice looking TBE specimens. currently i have them planted and in shade for rooting. the two specimens, (~65x6cm each) are potted side by side in a ~25-29cm diameter pot, it is a fairly spacious pot.

i'm wondering is this an issue in terms of the plants and their growth?? i am putting either of them in jeapordy or will i be stunting/harming their growth by placing two in the same spot??

i can post some pics up of them if people need a better look at how they are currently.

i can acquire more pots and potting mix so that each has their own pot if necessary, but if there is no harm to the plants in planting two in each 25-29cm pot, then i might stick with that and save some cash. My priority is providing the TBE's with a perfect habitat, so if it is necessary i will certainly go out and purchase more pots and potting mix.

thanks guys !

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ime 2 cacti in 1 pot = pretty

I haven't noticed any significant problems with my double cacti pots or even my TBM triple pot (my penis patch)

I say do it man, very aesthetically pleasing

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awesome. i'm just concerned that they may not have adequate space to grow their own seperate roots or something?? because thats my main concern. getting them into a habitat that is conducive to strong and uninhibited growth.

i'll post some pics up just to be sure.

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i have many plain cereus in the same pots some 2's some 3's some 4's and some singles, albeit it really is time for me to repot all of them as the roots are popping but it does look to the untrained eye that the growth rates are all exponential to the numbers in the pot which probably makes logical sense ie the single is way bigger than the quads growth and they all come from the same mother plant, a few years back i was convinced about companion plants as i had a catha absolutely take off planted close to a common type daisy but im not fully convinced yet as it may be a few other factors if i look at the location. companion planting is an interesting subject, coffee and khat may be companions but this could also just be the personal choice of what type of plants the farmer wants to grow, also on the common farm companions i forget such as corn/beans (i forget !) are commonplace word of mouth folklaw in terms of productivity. the most common consensus in regards to plants and pots is always a singular speciman for obvious non competing reasons but then again that is quite boring, asthetically a pot with many cacti looks stunning compared to a plain old boring single i think.

this thread may help.

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22840&st=0&p=236304&hl=+companion%20+plants&fromsearch=1entry236304

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massive plants! they look really nice.

IMHO i would chuck them in a pot each as they are decent sized plants and its going to be a bitch to unwind the roots in a year or two. Also you will get better growth if you keep them seperate. Could just sperate in two months when they have some rroots out.

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ok very good. thanks guys.

it appears that there may be some species that may assist or synergise well with trichs in the same pot, but it may be best for each trich to have their own specific pot once they are rooted. i guess i'll just root them for now in their own pots, and then once i check to see they have a satisfactory root system going, will transfer them to their own pots.

peace !

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Is that pot very deep? its hard to tell if it keeps going below the plastic bag. I personally think that that pot might be a bit too small for those plants. I planted three T bridgessi cuttings that looked just like yours, all in the same pot. They are all doing amazingly well, but the pot is probably at least twice as big as yours. Trichocereus, in my experience, do significantly better when they have lots of root space. Of course, you can use a small pot to root them initially, but in the long run, a bigger pot might be better. As far I understand, cacti like to send out far reaching lateral roots, so perhaps a bit more width would give you better results.

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a deep pot will also ensure that those lovely cuts don't blow over, with a large cutting you can place it right on the bottom and fill up the pot with soil so you get a nice stable cactus.

I did a similar thing with three lovely sausage cuttings from Sir Jeans here :)

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also ive found clay pots have one hole for drainage and the soil gets hydrophobic really quick. It just might be my experience but the black plastic pots tends to be better overall probally because of the drainage factor.

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yep, sorry the plastic bag kind of distorts the photos a bit. the pot is exactly 22cm deep x 23cm wide. it has two roughly 1 inch drainage holes on the bottom in the centre. the bottom 1/3rd of the pot was filled, then the two cacti were placed into the pot and filled around so as to give them a bit of support and help keep them upright. even so they are still a little bit wobbly when moved around, so i might need to add some stakes into the pot to keep them more steady.

well black plastic pots might be a win all round then, because they are generally cheaper and it seems more suited towards cacti due to drainage. :lol:

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It doesn't sound like you have left much room for the roots to spread mate. I would recommend grabbing one of those big black pots that they have at Bunnings. They also have better drainage (or can be drilled if they don't).

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actually that is a good point. they are planted a fair way far down into the pot, as i thought this would help stabilize them. ok , i'll head on down to bunnings and get some new plastic pots and some stakes for them while im at it, that way i can plant them higher up in the pot but still have them be kept upright and stable by the stakes.

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They will be fine but will grow much much slower once the roots have filled the pot. Root mass and above ground mass are linked in most cases with plants. If you want a bigger trico then give it more root space.

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Its possible to keep more than one plant in one pot. They like being surrounded by others. But i wouldnt do it because it makes it so much harder to deal with pests and diseases. Check the virus thread and you know what i mean. By planting cacti like this, a disease could easily spread through your whole collection before you even realize it. So i wouldnt recommend planting more than one in a pot. But with seedgrown seedlings its a whole diffrent ballgame. Seedlings like being crowded. Keep as many seedlings in a tray as you can. They provide shade and humidity for each other and promote each others growth. bye Eg

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I would chop them both in half and root the 4 cuts in separate pots. Much faster biomass generation with 4 root systems...if thats your thing of course :devil:

Edited by Bongchitis

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yep. i definately think i will be getting them some nice large pots to fit them in seperately. especially with the root size being comparable to the growth potential.

in another unrelated question, do cacti need fertilizing at all??

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For me bigger is better well it is for trich's

I always go for big pots especially for bigger cuttings. Eileen will probably grow base pups this summer so you won’t have a lonely plant in a big pot for long.

In the growing season I give my plants seasol every 2 to 3 weeks and miracle grow ferts every 2 to 3 weeks as well both at 1/2 to 3/4 strength

Cheers

Got

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just in relation to the ferts - are the seasol and miracle grow only for well established and rooted cacti? i.e. will it harm the plants to be fertilized when they haven't yet fully established their roots?

and also, are cacti as sensitive to fertilization as acacias?? where by one needs to be overly careful not to over fert the acacia specimens? or are cacti relatively strong and respond well to moderate fertilizing??

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With any plant propagation it is better to gradually increase the pot size according to root mass. This is because excessive potting media will hold to much moisture, potentially leading to rot issues or cause the plant to struggle and stress which in turn increases the plants suseptability to pests and disease. Of course the extent of how over potting effects any one particular species of plant is dependent upon its preferred conditions. In this case a tricho cut, rot will be an issue for sure so I would (and do with my tricho cuts) let the cuts show signs of producing roots before planting and then root in a 140ml black plastic pot, in a sandy composted bark medium. The black plastic pot will absorb the suns energy better, increasing soil temperature in the pot and enhance root development.

All plants need nutrients to grow and the only way their going to get them in a pot is if you apply fertilizer. You want a complete NPK fert WITH trace elements. Incorperate a CONTROLLED RELEASE fertilizer into your potting mix before you pot your plant. Not slow release, CONTROLLED RELEASE. Might sound the same but there is a big difference, make sure it states "controlled release" on the product packaging. I'm not one for pushing brands but so you have a place to start AND as it is the most widely available in OZ, Osmocoate is an example of a good controlled release fertilizer. Controlled release ferts are more expensive than other ferts but they are the most efficient and consistant method of supplying nutrients to containerised plants, not to mention least laborious. Tricho's are heavy feeders so use the highest dose recommended. You may even need to supplement with a liquid fert once a month or so after it takes off.

Again IME tricho's are very vigorous and will handle over potting very easy out of a 140ml pot as long as it is re-potted early in the growing season. You should have no worries at all putting a 140ml root ball into a 300ml pot this time of year.

Full sun all the way for tricho's :wink:

In relation to you fert questions...

Seasol is not really a fert but a soil conditioner. It doesn't have practical levels of NPK to be considered a fertilizer. Only apply fert to rooted cacti. Controlled release ferts are ok to incorporate into unrooted pottings as you will not be applying enough water to release significant amounts of fert until roots have formed. You will know roots have formed as new growth will be evident in the tip of the cacti. Tricho's are not phosphorus sensitive like some Acacia and other native Australian plants are. Tricho's are fairly vigorous, some more than others, and I would call them heavy feeders.

Edited by Harry

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I alternate between either seasol or fertilizer every fortnight, but only for established plants of course and only when they are actively growing. At the start of the growing season, I use the seasol first, and only start with the fertilizer when I can see new growth. I'm using Yates fruit and flower, but I should really be using something better. I also use clay pots for virtually all my cacti, except for some for my Trichos since they can handle the extra water retention of plastic pots.

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nice topic

i pot from 2-3 trichos per pot because i don't have an easy access to soil. I also think a few plants will control the amount of water. Of course when i repot i always damage some roots in the process, but i don't find this a problem because i consider it as a root trim.

However, im planing on having every plant in it's own pot when i get my hands on more soil. I mostly do this with seedlings.

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