I had one of the plants rot although completely dry but that always happens with these wholesale cacti
So i thought i'd repot them. As always, i'm very unimpressed with the roots in peat cacti.
The Polaskias where still root bound in the initial plug of peat they grew in. 11 of them in less than 1 inch! They were sown so close that 3 of them fused their roots together! I found that to be very impressive! I'm curious to see how they would grow.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
I have bad experience splitting cacti- they usually all end up dead. Best choice would be to place them together until only one survives . And this has happened with "easy cacti" like pilosocereus, neoraimondia, pachycereus, polaskia etc.
I have generally good luck re-potting cactus. I let them dry for a week or so (in the pots) so the media is mostly dry. Then I separate them from the media/dirt/soil. I trim the roots back (for instance, I would leave about an inch of roots on the plants pictured. The idea being that you can separate the roots when re-potting so they're not in the pot in a big wet clump.
Next I let them rest in a dry shady place for between 4 days and a week. Then pot them up in lightly moistened media (grab a handful and squeeze, it SHOULD NOT for a solid clump. If you are concerned use completely dry media. I use top dressing on all my plants. I leave the plants without water for 1-2 watering cycles. Then I just barely moisten the top of the soil.
At this point you should be inspecting the plants carefully, are they shrinking/drying out? Are they growing? Keep doing this until you see some growth (assuming you did this during a growth period). Then resume normal care.
I have the benefit of living in Arizona so dry and hot is normal. Your're mileage may vary.
One reason to do this: the seedlings tend to grow vigorously after transplant.
Disclaimer: I'm in sunny Arizona, so any advice I give may not apply in your circumstances.
TimN wrote:I have generally good luck re-potting cactus. I let them dry for a week or so (in the pots) so the media is mostly dry. Then I separate them from the media/dirt/soil. I trim the roots back (for instance, I would leave about an inch of roots on the plants pictured. The idea being that you can separate the roots when re-potting so they're not in the pot in a big wet clump.
Next I let them rest in a dry shady place for between 4 days and a week. Then pot them up in lightly moistened media (grab a handful and squeeze, it SHOULD NOT for a solid clump. If you are concerned use completely dry media. I use top dressing on all my plants. I leave the plants without water for 1-2 watering cycles. Then I just barely moisten the top of the soil.
At this point you should be inspecting the plants carefully, are they shrinking/drying out? Are they growing? Keep doing this until you see some growth (assuming you did this during a growth period). Then resume normal care.
I have the benefit of living in Arizona so dry and hot is normal. Your're mileage may vary.
One reason to do this: the seedlings tend to grow vigorously after transplant.
Thanks for the answer tim! I generally wash the roots and clean the peat with a brush and repot in my mineral mix. I've been growing cacti for a few years now and never had a problem with this method.
These wese a supermarket buy so i though i'd leave repotting for spring but they started rotting so i opened them up and it was the first time i see fused roots.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
