Tricho/Cactus/Succulent grower books/guides and questions

[magical9]

Can anyone recommend any books or guides that would teach me some more indepth stuff about tricho's and other cactusesi? Like how best to grow them, disease prevention, common growing issues, best practices, etc etc For instance, for a cannabis grower(i am not) one could reference "Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" to find just about everything they need to know about cannabis growing. I cant seem to find that on cactus so far.. (havent looked too hard though)

Is there a best practice for positioning of tricho's/cactus that are new to your garden to prevent sun burn and such?

If a tricho cutting is rooted lets say.. on the side of the house where it only receives direct western sun for about 3-5 hours where as everything else is indirect... is it safe to assume that moving it to a location with say... 7+ hours of direct over head and western sun... could cause sun burn?

Ive noted that there are 3 phases of the sun during the day that i can take into consideration for plant placement. There is the morning phase (Sunrise to 10am lets say) , then midday "overhead" (10am-4pm) and evening western sun from 4pm - 7/8pm. If no shade cloth is being used, what amount of direct light in regards to these 3 time phases would be best?

For example:
Light Scenario 1: Full Direct Sun from Sunrise to Sunset.

Light Scenario 2: Full Direct Sun from Sunrise to Midday.

Light Scenario 3: Full Direct Sun from Midday to Sunset.

Light Scenario 4: Full direct Sun only midday, indirect light in the morning and evening. So lets say.. 4 hours of direct overhead sun.

Which scenario is best for a trichocereus in general? Assuming no shade cloth.

Currently I have cuttings that im rooting in various parts of my nursery backyard. I have quite a few that only get direct evening western sun. They seem to be fine with this, no sun burn and they are growing. Albeit they seem to be a little skinnier on the new growth but maybe because they are still rooting? The other cuttings I have under full shade 30-50% and dont appear to be doing as much growing of course. If i move these evening/western only lighted rooting plants to say... only Light scenario 2, would I run into issues with sun burn or growth rates possibly?

Assuming you keep the plant oriented correctly to the sun... is there much of a difference in growth rates and burn factor if you change up when it gets its sun light for the day?

I hope my questioning isnt too schizophrenic!

[Halcyon Daze]

Not the answer yr after but, if you're super keen then join a cactus and succulents club, they usually have a whole library of books ranging from the novice to the expert, and many specific to particular genera too.

Then there's the old pro's who have been growing for years. Many growers also have a couple of specific genera they focus on, making them your best source of knowledge.

Often the best books are long out of print, and the old pros get old and die eventually too. So, yeah, join a club and access the best resources while they're still around.

Also, in regard to tricho's, I like to treat them like tropical plants. They love warmth and sun but too much and they will lose their lush appearance and go a bit yellowish etc. They're tough enough to handle a lot of punishment but there's no point in being too brutal to them.

I believe those gnarled yellowish looking plants growing in absolute in full sun are the ones that produce the most number of flowers though.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Halcyon Daze

[magical9]

good idea on the club!

[hostilis]

I can't answer all of your questions, but this is what I have noticed. Trichs don't get too much light during the direct overhead phase (just physics, their sides have the most surface area) The morning phase is the best (I think) because they wont get burned as easily, it's still pretty bright, and the sides of their bodies are getting direct light. The afternoon phase is where I like them to have shade cloth (or shade) because they burn up pretty easily. Afternoon sun is usually very intense and hot compared to morning sun.

Now I don't know what's best with light times and all that stuff.

[magical9]

I can't answer all of your questions, but this is what I have noticed. Trichs don't get too much light during the direct overhead phase (just physics, their sides have the most surface area) The morning phase is the best (I think) because they wont get burned as easily, it's still pretty bright, and the sides of their bodies are getting direct light. The afternoon phase is where I like them to have shade cloth (or shade) because they burn up pretty easily. Afternoon sun is usually very intense and hot compared to morning sun.

Now I don't know what's best with light times and all that stuff.

you answered my question pretty precisely man thank you. that overhead lighting makes perfect sense! of course it wouldnt get as much light from directly above!

[zelly]

that overhead lighting makes perfect sense! of course it wouldnt get as much light from directly above!

oh horseshit

the sun radiates equally in every direction, and its not like a flashlight or a narrowly focused beam of light.

you & hostilis are thinking line-of-sight analogy, and thats just not the case when it comes to sunlight.

The afternoon phase is where I like them to have shade cloth (or shade) because they burn up pretty easily

they burn up easily for you because they spend a fair portion of their lives indoors and/or under artificial lighting

when Nitrogen recently moved his gigantic TPC crest over to my garden, it went from an indoor location adjacent to a north facing window directly into my garden, in a location that gets full sun all day long. I gave it a 50% shade cloth for 7-10 days and then it went full sun. Today, theres a dozen new pups on it and the insect damaged crests are exploding in new growth.

Like how best to grow them, disease prevention, common growing issues,

PUT THEM ALL IN THE GROUND & watch 99.9% of all problems & potential issues disappear.

[djmattz0r]

I do agree with you zelly, when in the ground there are basically zero problems since nature does its own thang. And they grow so much better to their full potential

I want to see a pic of nitrogen's TPC!

[hostilis]

Zelly. You always throw the PUT THEM IN THE GROUND thing around. But I cant PUT THEM IN THE GROUND. Not an option. I wish I could. I would have a bunch of dead cacti if I did that.

Edited June 25, 2014 by hostilis

[zelly]

hostilis- I would strongly suggest you search TheNook cactus forum for "greenhouse" in Titles only & by author Lone Wolf.

I believe LW lives even closer to Canada than you do.........

Posted 08 January 2009 - 06:20 AM
there's about 120 or so tricos planted in the ground,and lot's more in pots

where there's a will, there is a way.

[magical9]

oh horseshit

the sun radiates equally in every direction, and its not like a flashlight or a narrowly focused beam of light.

you & hostilis are thinking line-of-sight analogy, and thats just not the case when it comes to sunlight.

they burn up easily for you because they spend a fair portion of their lives indoors and/or under artificial lighting

when Nitrogen recently moved his gigantic TPC crest over to my garden, it went from an indoor location adjacent to a north facing window directly into my garden, in a location that gets full sun all day long. I gave it a 50% shade cloth for 7-10 days and then it went full sun. Today, theres a dozen new pups on it and the insect damaged crests are exploding in new growth.

PUT THEM ALL IN THE GROUND & watch 99.9% of all problems & potential issues disappear.

Hmm. I see your point.