Dish garden for a friend

[fanaticactus]

Our best friends up here had a trip to Las Vegas and had time to explore the desert. The wife came back excited about making a dish garden with some interesting varieties of small cacti. I said I'd help her since she's not had any experience growing desert cacti. Her job at this point is to find a shallow dish that she would like to use. I stressed the importance of having a drain hole; if it doesn't have one as purchased, her husband can easily drill a hole or several through the bottom. (He's a builder with every tool imaginable, including drill bits for masonry/ceramics, etc.) Although I'm already familiar with a lot of smallish cacti, I'm trying to get some suggestions for some of the best small, relatively slow growing but free flowering species that would accept similar treatment (i.e., light, water & temperature) when put together in a dish garden. Her only requirements is that they're "pretty". I found out that she had been attracted to the ones with strawflowers at the big box stores. I quickly explained that those are fake and do horrible things to the surface of cacti. So I'm thinking of some reliable bloomers, even at a young stage, and with pretty spines for the times they're not blooming. I was thinking of some of the smaller Mamms, Rebutias, Parodias & Echinocereus --NOT the small but fussy ones like Ortegocactus, Turbis, & Cintia . They will most likely be always indoors but maybe on their deck during the summer. For that reason I'm not sure about getting her Escobarias & Copiapoas, which I've read bloom better in an outdoor environment. I know I've overlooked Gymnos, but don't they need ultra-high heat to bloom, or are there some which bloom more easily? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but I want to be sure her first experience with desert cacti is a positive and rewarding one. Thanks for your suggestions.

[fanaticactus]

I should also have included the possibility of a small species of the Echinopsis group?

[Saxicola]

Gymnos definitely don't need high heat to bloom (at least not all of them). I've got G. mihanovichii, G. vatteri, and G. ragonesei either in bloom or in bud right now and our days have been in the 70s and nights in the high 40s. Just don't let her get those achlorophyllous grafted things that beginners love and are a pain for even experienced growers to do well. I worry about a dish garden because you usually get one or two things that do well and others that do poorly or even die. You can't control the water on a plant by plant basis. Other than that I'll let the more cactus oriented types help you there.

If it doesn't just have to be cacti, try showing her Haworthias and Gasterias. They do well in lower light and might perform better on a windowsill.

[fanaticactus]

Thanks for the positive news about flowering Gymnos, Saxicola. I will start with one of those. And don't worry about those awful grafted ones. Yes, they are eye-catching but highly impractical for this purpose. I will always keep my fingers crossed about the water situation with several different varieties sharing the same space and conditions. That's one reason that, although interesting shape-wise, I sort of want to avoid Astros because I know they don't like as much water as others that I'll probably end up using. Your suggestion of some succulents is excellent, especially because of the interest and contrast they will add. I hope others will join in and offer some ideas. The more I hear about personal experiences, the wiser choices I'll be able to make.

[hoteidoc]

Dave - I'll 2nd Sax's recommendation, because that's what I have a bunch of both in. If you stick with the cacti, I'd recommend using @ least casserole dishes, cuz they're deeper. But even Haworthia --if they had their "druthers" would druther be in something 3 - 4" -- when their roots are growing well. I've got @ least 1/2 dozen "gravy boats", etc with mixed H. attenuate, crispida, & G. lilliputiana. I'm really stuck with "small flowering cacti". Succulents that are small faster bloomers would be things like Lithops, Titanopsis, & Aloinopsis.

[fanaticactus]

Peter, I'm not familiar with Titanopsis & Aloinopsis (by any chance, the genus of Aloes?) I'll try to advise her on the dish she buys; when I first discussed it with her I just used my fingers to indicate a depth of about 3-4". Is that deep enough? I'm always concerned that too much soil will hold too much water, even with a loose mineral soil and good drainage. BTW, I've ventured into my GH and uncovered (took the layers of newspaper off) the cacti that over-wintered there. Yes, there were some losses but I'm amazed at the number that survived temps in the teens in good shape. Some are actually showing a bit of light green at the crown. A few are very desiccated from lack of water (esp. the E. viereckii ssp morricalli), but I know they recover as they begin to absorb Spring waterings. Bobby (our builder/contractor/ handyman) drilled holes in the beams in the GH and strung cables so I'll be able finally to string up Aluminet fabric shade to cut down the brutal sun that gets in there. Later on, he'll install the 12" exhaust fan I bought last year to expel the superheated air that will accumulate. This might not be a bad season, after all. Fingers crossed!

[hoteidoc]

Dave - really suprised E. viereckii ssp mori. made it! Both Dave's Garden & Cactipedia only have them rated to 30F! -- which is why I've haven't tried to grow it. Nice plant & blossoms, tho. The Titanopsis & Aloinopsis are "warty" leaved succulents. Blossoms sort of "daisey-like"; Titanop. calcaneus & Aloinop. spath. cold-hardy to 0F, A. marlherb. I think good to @ 10F. Had young seedlings on porch this Winter that handled 25F fine & most of them will be "live-fire" tested (in-ground) next Winter.
Also with the "shallow" dishes I use, I don't have holes drilled, cuz with loose soil & bone dry house during Winter, it completely dries out in 2 - 3 days, Even dishes upstairs, (unheated, frequently @ 50F) soil is dry in @ 4 days! Made it VERY difficult to work with the Sclumberg's I kept up there because was afraid of rotting them if I H20'ed @ those temps -- altho I did are the rare occas. it made it to 60.

[fanaticactus]

Peter, I'm so afraid NOT to have drainage holes in a dish garden, no matter how loose the soil is, based on all the cautions and "don't"s I've read here. Am happy to hear you've had success without them. Do you use an inch or so of gravel at the base of the bowl? Thanks for the descriptions of those succulents. As I find more and more successes with my winter-overs, I'll probably start posting photos. Gotta get that GH in order first. I think I'll also spray the benches with anti-mealybug solutions so there's no (well, minimal) reinfection.

[hoteidoc]

Know what you mean @ drainage holes, Dave -- but one of 1st rules I learned in vet school: Never say never, & never say always Guess it was one of those experiments where I just didn't care! Didn't use any gravel @ bottom -- as best I remember -- probably because I only use @ 10 organics with Haworthia. Many people use pure "minerals" & mildly fertilize every time. Have fun playing in the GH -- today a good day for that!

[fanaticactus]

Peter, only because it came up in this conversation, here's a photo of the E. viereckii ssp morricalli. It looked about like this after last winter, but then filled out nicely and gave me a couple of flowers. Hope it does the same this year!

DSC03529.JPG (86.96 KiB) Viewed 1186 times

[hoteidoc]

I guess I'm going to have to live to @ least 90 -- cuz even using limitations of Z6 Cold-Hardy, apparently "To Grow" list just got bigger!

And here's one example of a "dish" garden in east window of 50 - 55F bedroom!

Haw&Gasteria-Dish_0872_1.JPG (41.19 KiB) Viewed 1176 times

[fanaticactus]

Lookin' real nice there, Peter! The picture reminds me I should tell you, unfortunately, that the pot of Hawarthias did not survive the Winter, but I think the Gasteria will, although it's looking a bit pale now. (Hey, aren't we all?!)

[CactusFanDan]

Dish garden! I'd say go for small-growing, more or less bulletproof plants. That's basically a lot of Mamm's, Rebutias and maybe a xChamaelobivia hybrid or two.