Beginners mistake quadfecta--golden barrel help please!

[DaveW]

I don't think mealies make a plant very sick Ian unless they are a really heavy infestation, so unless you never go into the greenhouse you would have noticed them well before that state is reached. Maybe it's just dead roots don't take up systemic insecticides, so they survive better on sickly plants? I usually find the worst infestations happen late in the year. With around 1000 plants it's hard to keep constant tabs on them all and actually have a life!

[iann]

Definitely not dead yet.

[tomo]

They may have had a bunch of plants crowded together in a nursery tray and it had more space to grow roots on one side. It's normal for the old part at the base of the cactus to shrivel up and become corky, I think you can just see is better on the side with no roots. As long as it's not soft and mushy there's no problem.

That's good to know re: the roots and how they grew. Also interesting about the base of the cactus looking "corky". Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever really seen the base of a cactus before, glad to hear it looks OK. I'm learning so much here!

[tomo]

2. Pumice is excellent, and a good number of growers do well with that and nothing else. If you live in a hot, dry climate, you should probably add some soil for better moisture retention. Best to use a soil with minimal organic materials, although commercial potting soils are so heavily composted with plant wastes that getting anything decent for cactus mixes has become difficult.

Thanks for the advice. I worked on the roots today and got rid of most of the soil, soaked them in hydrogen peroxide, and now letting them dry.

As far as potting mix--what about a hot, humid climate? I live in Florida, so should I go with more pumice, less soil? Like maybe 75% pumice, 25% cacti soil?

Speaking of soil, I'm curious--where do cacti get their nutrients if they're not planted in soil?

Thanks again to you and everyone for the great input and suggestions, I feel like I'm starting to go in the right direction with this cacti!

[Steve Johnson]

I live in Florida, so should I go with more pumice, less soil? Like maybe 75% pumice, 25% cacti soil?

Speaking of soil, I'm curious--where do cacti get their nutrients if they're not planted in soil?

The ratio sounds right for you, although with your high humidity, you may be fine growing in straight pumice. Remember that pumice holds a surprising amount of water, and its unique combination of open porosity and good moisture retention is the reason why quite a few growers (myself included) have done really well going soil-less. Only drawback is that you'll have to fertilize your cacti every time you water. I thought this might be kind of a pain when I moved my cacti to a pumice-decomposed granite mix in early 2012, but it turned out be easy keeping up on the regular fert regimen. My fert of choice is Dyna Gro All-Pro 7-7-7 -- great stuff, although expensive since you can't get it in anything less than a 1-gallon jug. Next best thing is their 7-9-5, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dyna-Grow-7-9-5 ... 2ebe7d5b88" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dilute 1/2 tsp. per gallon of water. Because my tap water is hard, I've also been acidifying it with 5% white vinegar -- 2-3 tsp. per gallon. Rainwater is probably better, but living in a drought state makes it tough to rely on from year to year.

[DaveW]

You can get cheap PH test strips off EBAY for testing the acidity/alkalinity of the water you use and how much acid is needed for the correct PH. No need for fancy PH test meters.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_ ... cat=179654" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... s&_sacat=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is the best PH? It's still a matter of opinion, but usually S. American cacti prefer a slightly acid PH whilst most N. American ones are more tolerant of neutral to slightly alkaline water. However as Steve says cacti in habitat are watered by rainwater and that has a slightly acid PH:-

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yvg ... ty&f=false" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://cactusnursery.co.uk/ph.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.centralarizonacactus.org/jerk ... ownson.PDF" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://ralph.cs.cf.ac.uk/Cacti/Cactus%2 ... linity.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[iann]

Rain in South America isn't much different to rain in North America. What's different is the soil. Loads of limestone in Mexico and some parts of the US, esp. Texas. Some limestone in parts of Brazil and the Caribbean but not in most of South America and not in the Andes and Chile.

[greenknight]

I agree with Steve about the potting mix. I really think humidity matters more than temperature. Where I live in Western Washington, it doesn't often get very hot, but the summer humidity is extremely low and my plants dry out quickly. The mix I've used successfully for many years would probably be a disaster in your climate.

[DaveW]

Regarding fertilisation of purely mineral soils in pots, this is an interesting quote from Acta Succulenta vol. 2 - n° 2 (2014)

"Fertilization plan

Nitrogen in plant nutrition plays a vital role in the formation of the soft tissues (i.e. an excess increases the production of hydrated tissue), but its deficiency can cause disturbances in growth, especially if it is determined in the early stages of development. For this reason, in the WIG style is used a balanced fertilizer (N:P:K = 12:12:12) with the first spring watering in order to boost the activation of growth, then move on to use a low-nitrogen fertilizer (N:P:K = 4:8:16) for the remainder of the year."

http://acta-succulenta.eu/index.php?pg= ... c=1&zc=BeC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of our old members, who was also a nurseryman and renowned for the quality of his succulent plants initially used to use a high nitrogen fertiliser early in the year then soon move to a lower nitrogen one towards summer to promote flowering as well as later in the season to harden the plants off for winter.

[Steve Johnson]

The mix I've used successfully for many years would probably be a disaster in your climate.

Yup, and for the benefit of tomo and anyone else on the forum who haven't heard this before, it confirms a nugget of wisdom I learned from Peter a few years ago -- "local conditions rule."

[tomo]

Thank you all for the fascinating answers and links re: soil, fertilizer, and ph levels of water! (Chalk up another beginner mistake! I've been using tap water! Which in Florida is very hard water. But I switched to bottled water about a month ago and would like to switch to rain water.)

Aha! That answers my question about where cacti get their nutrients if they're planted in pure pumice--so they are fertilized everytime they are watered! Wow, interesting. That sounds a bit daunting for a newbie like me, so I'm leaning towards the 75% pumice/25% cacti soil...I've read that cacti growers fertilize three times a year: spring, summer, and fall, is that correct? Could I use the higher nitrogen dose in the spring, than lesser nitrogen in the summer and fall?

greenknight, that's interesting about the humidity levels. For some reason, I thought of Washington state being very rainy and humid? Interesting that it actually gets quite dry in the summer. Also good to know about how local climate effects growing conditions.

OK, I've got another question about a new cacti friend I picked up at a local nursery--he's sort of leaning at about a 55 degree angle? Maybe this is a silly question, but when I replant him, can I repot him so he's standing up straight? Or would that mess with his growth pattern and should I repot him so he's at the exact same angle as he is now?

Also, when I buy new cacti/succulents, especially ones from "big box stores", should I soak the roots in hydrogen peroxide like I did with my golden barrel to kill off any unwanted bugs, germs, etc.? Is that a good procedure to adopt with all new cacti? Or should I only wait until I see some bugs, etc.

I think that's all my questions for the day, lol! Thank you again so much for all the insightful information and help, really appreciate it!

[Steve Johnson]

Glad to help whenever I can, so I'll answer your latest questions in order:

I've read that cacti growers fertilize three times a year: spring, summer, and fall, is that correct? Could I use the higher nitrogen dose in the spring, than lesser nitrogen in the summer and fall?

If you'll be going with a 75% pumice/25% soil mix, 3 times a year won't be enough. Once a month over the growing season is more like it, although IMO better if you fertilize with every other watering. I wouldn't stress about this too much, and with cacti it's actually better to under-fertilize than overdo it. It should therefore come as no surprise that I'm not a fan of the high dose-low dose idea concerning Nitrogen. If you give your cacti a low, but steady supply of nutrients, they'll be happier in the long run. (Whenever I go to nurseries, I often see cacti that look like blown-up beach balls. The telltale sign of Nitrogen overdose.)

OK, I've got another question about a new cacti friend I picked up at a local nursery--he's sort of leaning at about a 55 degree angle? Maybe this is a silly question, but when I replant him, can I repot him so he's standing up straight? Or would that mess with his growth pattern and should I repot him so he's at the exact same angle as he is now?

Totally fine if you straighten out your plants, and that's what I do. Whether they stay that way depends -- a number of my cacti slowly develop a natural lean toward the south after I repot them. With that said, cacti don't rotate themselves in the wild, so we shouldn't be doing it to our plants either. For the cacti that don't have a south-facing tilt, I mark their pots so I'm not accidentally changing their light exposure.

Also, when I buy new cacti/succulents, especially ones from "big box stores", should I soak the roots in hydrogen peroxide like I did with my golden barrel to kill off any unwanted bugs, germs, etc.? Is that a good procedure to adopt with all new cacti?

Absolutely! However, if you're getting plants bare-root from trusted sellers, I see no need for it. CoronaCactus, Miles' To Go, and Mesa Garden are 3 that come to mind. General-purpose nurseries and big-box stores are the last places I'd go to for cacti and/or succulents.

[tomo]

Thank you Steve for answering my latest group of questions! I appreciate the info about the fertilizer dose and schedule, once a month in the growing season sounds like a good place for me to start!

Glad to hear it's OK to straighten the cacti when repotting. At the place where I bought this one, I saw some other larger cacti that were leaning over at crazy angles to get to the sun, it was sorta sad. Your comment about cacti not rotating themselves in the wild made me laugh--what a funny image to picture cacti constantly turning themselves around!

Good to know about the hydrogen peroxide soak, and thanks for the links! I'll enjoy perusing those websites!

[greenknight]

Yep, can't hurt to try standing it up straight, but don't be surprised if it refuses to stay that way. It's common for many columnar Mammillarias (and others, but Mamms especially) to develop a leaning or even semi-trailing form. Browse through the gallery, you'll see quite a few of them. If they're inclined that way (pun intended) there's not always anything you can do to change it.

As to the climate here, most people have the same impression as you. Really our weather depends on which direction it's coming from. From the West, the typical Winter pattern, it's coming off the Pacific Ocean, and is cool and wet. From the East, which is usual in Summer, it's coming off the high desert, very dry air which is warm in Summer and cold in Winter. North and South - too complicated, not even gonna go there. Suffice it to say the weather here can do just about anything, and it can change very quickly, but it's pretty reliably nice from July to about mid-September. That's the best time to visit the region, people from the East marvel that "There's no humidity!"

Come now if you like rain.

[DaveW]

Some cacti do naturally incline towards the sun in habitat, some Copiapos'a for instance. In their case it is said they orientate their wool covered protected crown towards the sun whilst aligning the body in the suns direction to keep most of it in shade. You will note in the picture in the link below, though it is sunny the plants are casting no shadow, indicating the crown is shading the rest of the plant:-

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/5126210" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is known as phototropism. However whilst this can be normal in sunny outdoor conditions, with windowsill growing with the light from one side, or plants in shops or garden centres it can often indicate lack of light, therefore the plant inclines itself to receive the maximum light available.

http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Phototropism.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;