Melocatcus Matanzanus

Discuss repotting, soil, lighting, fertilizing, watering, etc. in this category.
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spolott
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Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by spolott »

Hello All
I just got my first Melocactus. It came bare root so I'm about to pot it. I've read that with most cactus you wait to water 10 to 14 days after repotting, does this also hold true with the melo's. I know you water them a little more in the winter and was wondering if they can stay completely dry for that long of a period. Thanks
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by Steve Johnson »

spolott wrote:Hello All
I just got my first Melocactus. It came bare root so I'm about to pot it. I've read that with most cactus you wait to water 10 to 14 days after repotting, does this also hold true with the melo's. I know you water them a little more in the winter and was wondering if they can stay completely dry for that long of a period. Thanks
Matanzanus is the one Melo species I know really well, so I think I can help you here...

Watering about 2 weeks after the repot is good, although it may be too cool to give your matanzanus a deep drench yet. I'd recommend light watering just to moisten the mix, and after giving the plant its first sip, do it every 3 weeks in winter to keep the roots from going dry too long. The species is fine down to 38F as long as the mix is fairly dry (hence my rule -- sip, don't soak), although since you live in the northeast, I'd also recommend that you keep it indoors until spring. Theoretically now is not the best time to get a Melo, but after hearing the same thing about Discocactus, I got a Disco buenekeri in December anyway. Same winter care procedure I just described, and my buenekeri has been thriving. I'm sure your matanzanus will get through winter in good shape if you're careful.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
spolott
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by spolott »

Thanks for your help Steve. It will stay in my apartment on a sunny windowsill for the winter. might go outside today as it will be in the mid 70's. Looking at the forecast probably the last time for awhile.
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oldcat61
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by oldcat61 »

I brought my melos into our warm home office (computers keep it hotter than I prefer) for the winter. Since the house air is dry, I misted them every day. Don't know if that helped but it made me feel better. My big flaw as a cactus keeper is that I love to water; so it gave me something to fuss with. Because it was warm, I don't think they knew it was winter. I had continued growth on the smaller ones & flowers on the 3 with cephs. I only reduced my summer watering a tiny bit, about once a week. I heat my GH so they'll stay in there for as long as possible to enjoy the sun. Read up about where/how they live in nature - interesting stuff. Good luck, Sue
spolott
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by spolott »

Thanks Sue. I know you treat the Melo's differently than a regular desert cactus. I've seen them in aruba where the overnight temperature rarely drops below 75. Got a saguaro and a large barrel from arizona about a month ago and nursery told me no water till spring. Maybe an light mist once a month. Kind of blows my mind but that's the enviroment they come from. In our neck of the woods it seems like we can't go 3 days without rain.
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oldcat61
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by oldcat61 »

Just my opinion but I wonder how much of the "don't water until Spring" stuff is based on being in a cold location or somewhere with no sun. My GH never went below 50 last winter & was in the 70s most days. I'm sure if I didn't water at all, I would have a bunch of dead cactus. Somewhere common sense should trump hard rules. I have a lean-to GH, so it's easy/cheap to keep warm & I have several epis that are too big to bring inside. You'll have to study your conditions, the needs of your different plants & water accordingly. Now I will put on my fire-proof racing suit because I'm about to be "flamed" by all the English growers. Sue
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K.W.
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by K.W. »

oldcat61 wrote: >>>

Somewhere common sense should trump hard rules. <<<

Sue
=D> =D> =D>

K.W.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
spolott
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by spolott »

I agree Sue. I'm in an apartment which in the dead of winter can get very dry. A light watering once a month can't hurt. If you go back in the posts there's a lot of people wondering about winter watering. Everybody's situation is different so there's probably different answers.
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by Steve Johnson »

Great discussion. I used to be one of those who said "don't water your cacti at all in winter". Found out the hard way that when I received my first Melo matanzanus in July 2011, I forgot about its need for occasional light watering in winter. As we know, a totally dry winter doesn't work for Melos or Discos -- lesson learned to good effect, so the second Melo and my first-ever Disco will do fine over the upcoming one. Also boo-booed with an Eriosyce senilis that went dry over the 2011/12 winter season. Luckily, they're remarkably tolerant of newbie mistakes -- it's the only cactus in my collection that gets full-on deep watering once every 4 weeks over wintertime.

Now, what's really changed my tune in a big way is some solid winter watering care advice coming from C and D Plants. 20 years of excellent growing experience, and it was incredibly helpful to know that Craig's microclimate is very close to mine. My Turbs need to stay dry or they're at the risk of rotting. Otherwise, the cacti that are native to the southwest US and Mexico will get light watering every 3-4 weeks (maybe 2 if I get warm spells) starting sometime next month, then through January. February tends to be the coldest month of the year in L.A., so that's when I do have to be careful about whether I should water or not.

So what do we mean by "light watering"? Aside from giving the skin of your cacti a dewy complexion, misting does little or nothing to give the roots some hydration. I use a spray bottle with the nozzle set to "stream", then target little streams around the base of the plant. You have a lot of control using this method, and it's hard to accidentally drench your cacti that way. With that said, the only climate I know well is SoCal, and cold overnights in an unheated GH could be trouble. Really depends on the grower's knowledge of his or her climate and cacti.

Getting back to the original topic -- Sue, you and I are on basically the same page here. If you're misting your Melos enough to keep them happy (or not unhappy) in winter, at least you know that they're getting hydrated well enough to prevent permanent root loss. However, overnights in the 50s and days in the 70s are actually decent conditions for some cephalium growth at least with matanzanus. If you can keep those temps up throughout winter, you may want to consider supplementing your mists with some water aimed down into the mix maybe every 2 weeks or so. Don't forget -- cephalia are vegetative bodies that don't photosynthesize. If you give adult Melos sufficiently warm conditions for indoor growth in winter, light won't be a factor.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
spolott
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Location: Long Island

Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by spolott »

Great advice Steve. With the heat in apartments in the winter the conditions are probably as dry or even more so than desert conditions. A little watering can't hurt. My melo although fairly large hasn't formed a cephalium yet. Looking at pictures of mature Melo's this is one unique plant.
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oldcat61
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Re: Melocatcus Matanzanus

Post by oldcat61 »

Steve - just so we're clear. I'm misting to increase the humidity, not as a source of water. Remember I'm indoors so there is no wind to dissipate the "dew" & I think it stays long enough to help. I also have a large pan of pebbles sitting in water under an old sweet olive who shares the window with the melos. I water when the soil is just becoming dry.
Note to spolott - don't think of melos as desert cactus. Do your reading; many of them grow near the sea in humid conditions. Plenty of info on the web or here on the list. Be sure to read jp' s posts. Sue
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