Grew it from one 10cm pup that I bought from a hippy lady. It has fairly superficial spines, I wouldn't go grabbing it with a bare hand though. In all my experience with San Pedros the spines have been quite small and non-threatening, perhaps it's because they're not endemic to my country and were (I presume) originated from a fairly small gene pool. Rest assured, they contain the magic.
Was hoping y'all could help me with a few cacti I have that someone gave me. They are tiny, like smaller than dimes, red, nd from what I was told, they are the babies of these other big cactuses my neighbor had. They told me that I could just toss them onto a pot o soil and they'd grow huge. Well, it's been about 8 months, my soil is like clay in the central valley and every time they're watered I noticed the clay gets all over the plant and since the cactuses are just balls with no roots, they don't seem to be growing much. I noticed yall had sand in yours and was hoping for direction in proper spil prep for cacti or whatever theyre called. Will post pics in a few.
i dont even have cacti yet but i think i read that they go dormant and if yours is not getting enough sunlight or water or too much water it could be slowing the roots down? let someone else answer but it may be due to seasonal issues or soil issues
It all depends on which cactus species and their natural environment. Most of my cactus are from the mountains of Peru and bolivia and some from Texas. Most of mine enjoy 50/50 soil Sand or mixed Soils of hummus perlite vermiculite pebbles etc. But again it varies from species to species.Generally soils should have good drainage , be slightly Alkaline, Low in nitrogen so you don't burn them and be in clay pots. I would need some pics but it sounds like they aren't even rooted, if that is the case , you shouldn't water it much at all or it may rot. And usually clay isn't the best for cactus unless it's a specific kind of cactus.
Slightly alkaline? I've always thought Acidic. Can you double assure me on that, cause I'm going to go take what the landlord will give me (more than I want first go). Potting up tonight. Kmart has great, great pricing on clay pots a couple weeks ago. If you have one around, definitely stop in. I like clay more than anything other than fabric, just because clay shows moisture from the outside. Gotta love the natural absorption ability.
The babies I grow like alkaline as far as acidity.At least that's what I've always read. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinopsis_pachanoI http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/65430/ Im not sure about All species. And it would be KMart with a special. None in the DFW. but not only does clay look better than plastic, it retains less moisture which is good for cacti.
nice Just to clarify, my cactus need slightly alkaline soil to match the nutrient rich Peruvian soil. But many many cactus need acidic soil. It depends on the species
Questions for cactus growers. Are they hard to grow? If you live in dry climates can they make comparable.food crops to other garden veggies?
do i need to stay away from big name cacti soild like MG or black gold? i have some of the MG soil but im not sure i trust it
junkheadrev, Oh ok. I've never looked into cacti or succulents other aloe, so thanks for that. I will be once.I move again here next month.
After closer inspection, the cactus looks dead to me. It's grayish, the typical sign and the root base was brown and dry. Parts of the cactus were still greenish red. I transplanted the root base Into ocean Forrest soil and that was last week. Checked in on them and they look gray. Funny story how I got them. Neighbor said his cactus makes "babies" every year and he throws them away. Askd if I wanted a few of the little cactus balls, smaller than dimes, I took them and tossed them In a Wet shady area and forgot them for a year, because my neighbor said they didn't need to be rooted and would grow on the surface of wet soil on any side of the cactus, which intrigued me. Knowing nothing about cactus and being too lazy up til now to research, I just dug them out of the weeds and tossed them onto a pot o clay soil. I watered them every couple days when I remembered until I saw this thread, then I tried to do too little too late apparenly. Really bums me out too, as cactus is pretty cool.
I thought my little ones were dead too. I put a drop of vinegar in about a cup of water, poured it all over like rainfall. Won't be long, mine won't be babies anymore. If no one else who knows what they're doing chimes, try that if you have nothing to lose.
I have no personal experience with these soils , but I would assume it's ok to use. I have used miracle grow cactus soil and it worked for awhile. I just strained out the large wood chunks. it's probably good to add some course sand (not play Sand) and perlite. BUT if you only have big name cactus soil it should be ok for now. for optimum growth it us probably much better to mix your own soil or at least add things to help with drainage . Most big name cactus soils aren't formulated specifically for trichocereus species because they have needs that are a bit different than most cactus species. try not to water it for a week or so, because the roots need to establish themselves. Also if you don't add any other ingredients to the soil you should at least add a layer of pebbles on the bottom of the pot and some on the top soil layer for drainage and to keep the cactus sturdy. However these are Hardy cactus and some people in certain areas just plant them in local soil and never water or tend to these plants after they are established. Plant them in unglazed clay pots though, not plastic. And just as important, if not more is the watering schedule Some cactus are a hastle , but most are easy to grow . Cactus like opuntia (pricky pear) Species , peruvian apple cactus, dragon fruit etc. Are very easy to grow and have many fruits once mature. Where I live (north Texas) I can plant most pricky pear species right in my front yard . The only problem people have with these cactus Is that they grow too large lol. They are definitely A nice addition to a garden because the fruits are delicious and sometimes the pads can also be eaten. In fact I just picked up an unknown pricky pear species when I was in the panhandle and it is just now rooting and one even flowered. I also picked up Some nopal tortillas as strange as it sounds. Haven't tried them yet though
thanks junkhead, i did the pedro in mg cactus soil, gravel in bottom and on top. still trying to think of a way to do the peruvian without getting needled to damn death