Lophobora williamsii

[Jack]

I have mail ordered a couple of these buggers from a guy in melbourne http://www.tarrex.com.au/order.htm

The plants come shipped with no soil.

I have never grown any Cacti befor and was wondering if anyone had tips on what to do with these cacti when they arrive (with no soil) should i do anything befor potting them or just chuck em straight into pots, any help would be much appreciated.

Peace

[Guest Ramon]

Generally it is a good idea to not water plants immediately ( for a few days ) upon repotting. This is supposed to encourage new root development.

I believe that they prefer slightly alkaline soil

Make sure that the potting mix you put it in drain well. But I have generally found this to be a very hardy plant. It has survived days of constant rain and merely showned a few rustty stains.

This plant grows fairly slowly so don't think anything is wrong if it doesn't grow rapidly.

Also make sure that you introduce it to the sun over a few days. This plant will tolerate full sun but if placed in full sun when it hasn't had time to get used to it. It can become sunburned

[rkundalini]

I don't see L. williamsii in their catalogue.. (??) ... how much are they charging for them?

[Jack]

Email him and ask him, he says he almost always has these little babys in stock ranging from $5 - $25 depending on size, mine are due to arrive monday, so I will let ya know how I go.

[rkundalini]

$5 -- not bad!

[psycho0]

You can buy them from the Cactus Garage in Bayswater. They are only small but have a few small buttons on them. He charges around

$20-$40, he delivers them already potted and gives a few pages info. on how to grow cacti.

He also sells a few species of Trichocereus

starting from $5.

www.eisa.net.au/~cactus

[email protected]

see ya!

[Jack]

Well they arrived yesterday, pleasantly suprised since I forgot that postal service works 7 days during xmas... they are aprox 5cm in diameter. What size should they be befor consumeing and how do you know when they are ready.. and what pests do I have to worry about??

[Guest Ramon]

Of course comsuming them for the effects would be illegal in Australia.

From what I have read in the past you generally need about four buttons that are at least five years old. Don't know exactly what size a five year old plant would be as they grow very slowly although it sounds like you have the caespitosa variety which seems to grow much faster.

Personally I would wait until your plants have flowered and produced seeds as this would probably indicate that they are of a reasonable age and then also you would increase your supply of this rare plant.

As to what pest to be carefull of. I have found that snails and slugs have a fondness for these plants althought they don't kill the plant they can make the plant less sightly and also they can destroy some of the smaller buttons as they appear.

[This message has been edited by Ramon (edited 18 December 2000).]

[earthalchemist]

What size should they be before consuming and how do you know when they are ready..

in situations where consuming such cacti does not infringe any local laws, it is generally accepted that san pedro (trichocereus pachanoi) or other trichocereus species be substituted for peyote, since they are much faster growing. peyote is often grown for conservation purposes only.

[rkundalini]

Take a look in the older threads in this forum, there has been some discussion of this before.

[Guest wira]

Keep an eye out for root mealy bugs, these bastards can virtually kill your plant before you know what's going on - being root-dwellers they are not easy to detect without digging up your plant [or checking when repotting]. Look out for any ants hanging around the cacti, because they 'farm' mealy bugs and spread them around