Echinopsis peruviana

[adetheproducer]

I have read these are fairly hardy to both cold and water. I intend potting it in a pure mineral soil like my other plants and was wondering; can they take a British summer outside or does it need the greenhouse. We get fairly decent sun but as most will know rain can be an issue in the UK particularly here in the valleys of south Wales. If anyone growing these plants in the UK has some tips I would be greatful.

[DaveW]

Often used as a grafting stock Ade and will stand cool conditions in a greenhouse (unlike Myrtillocactus often used as a stock under the "Red Lollypop" Gymnocalycium's which is a bit tender). Never tried it outdoors though and I presume you will not be chewing them? However this site says:-

"Growing Trichocereus Species: Trichocereus peruvianus, pachanoi and bridgesii are some of the easiest cacti to grow because they can take a lot of abuse, are generally quite cold hardy down to about minus ten degrees. They can take all the rain a Canadian summer can offer and seem to be quite resistant to most bug infestations."

http://www.magicactus.com/trichocereus.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One problem in the UK is not the cold but our freeze thaw, freeze thaw winter since many other countries are less humid in winter, also it freezes at the start of their winter and it does not thaw and wet the plants again until the spring.

[adetheproducer]

Yeah I have seen the magicactus website but infomation is limited. Also when searching online you get the typical ethobotanical uses flooding Google which is a well and good but then I am not interested in consuming it. While I am motivated by my interest in the ethogenic qualities of these plants it's more of reverence rather than a need to get high that interests me. The advice these websites give is not compiled by cactiphiles but lovers of the psychedelic experience which is a completely different horticultural angle. I am not much bothered with quick growth rates or high alkaloid yields as my intension is to keep a pristine plant for as long as possible. I know it won't take the winters and I will keep it indoors but it won't fit in my small greenhouse for long given its size. I have started leaving a few plants outside in the summer and they seem to enjoy it but have to be careful when it rains. Is it going to be a similar care regime or can u leave it out in the summer elements? do they cope well in direct sun or does it need shading? Should I keep some sort of organics in the soil as they do grow quickly or fertilise? Just some of the basic questions really with out having to dig through reams of alkaloid comparisons, inaccurate "species " comparisons or preparation techniques which hold not value to me.

[greenknight]

I don't live in Britain, but it's a very similar climate here. In a marine climate like this, summer weather is usually great for cactus growing - but there's always a chance for a spell of cool, wet weather, any time of year. I think you need to be prepared to move any cactus under cover at any time, except Opuntia fragilis (the only cactus native to this climate).

[Mostly_Harmless]

I keep a T. bridgesii outside all winter that is too tall for the greenhouse, merely wrapped in some plastic with a few slits so it can breathe, but kept dry at the soil. It does ok all year around. It takes whatever rain that falls, with an occasional drink if we have a good dry week.
And some T. bridgesii and T. peruvianus in an inground bed inside an unheated greenhouse, that is often slightly damp all winter, causes no problems for them.

[DaveW]

Whilst "the cactus chewers" aren't collectors Ade, obviously they have learnt to grow a limited number of species well, therefore their horticultural methods are often applicable to our plants. I gather there are plenty of more effective legal highs for these people without the trouble of "grow your own", but maybe they are all "greens" who don't believe in non organic commercial products?

Personally if you have to use such products to make life tolerable you must be in a pretty sad state and need a change of direction, maybe grow cacti just for their interest, but then that can become addictive too! However according to the following link I am already an addict though I don't smoke or drink alcohol because I drink over 5 cups of tea a day, plus smokers and drinkers are also obviously drug addicts! A quote from the link below:-

"Now that almost any intoxicant ever used is available on the internet, anyone can get them in any combination, and we don’t know what the effects of that may be,” she says. It is even possible, she assures me, to get a perfectly legal high by combining the right ingredients with baked beans. I’m not sure if she’s joking."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/pl ... m-out.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Evidently permitted drugs are all a Capitalist plot though, they are either of commercial value and provide employment, heavily taxed, or make you more productive. Whereas the banned ones lead to absence from work and you being less productive. A quote from the above link

"Of course, there will always be people who just want to go on a psychedelic fairground ride on a Saturday night, then go back to work on Monday. But it’s notable that the 'drugs’ that are sanctioned in our society are coffee, which makes you a more productive worker, and alcohol, which helps you wind down after a hard day’s work. These are drugs that are compatible with the capitalist project, whereas tripping out for six hours doesn’t really fit."

[adetheproducer]

Don't get me wrong I'm not against people wanting to use "drugs" and appriciate that both legal and illegal drugs are only that way as a result of political not public opinion but I do not agree just because you want to use them that your life is sad or that you are necessarily addicted. I live the mountains of south Wales where psilocybe mushrooms are excessively available so as one can expect when I was younger I had a dabble I was neither sad or addicted and never missed a day of work as a result but I do see your point. Not all people use substances affective to their consiousness for the right reasons, at the right times or have the right self control to not mess them selves up. My real point to make was that when searching for other cacti you tend to get far more on cultivation but as soon as you search for any which contains mescaline there are far too many sites and forums dedicated to the consumption as the primary angle of thought with cultivation taking a back seat. Fishing out the good information is then a far more time consuming and difficult task. And yes the are far more readily available psychedelics, psilocybin containing mushroom can be found on most of the world's continents which totally renewable who use does not in any way damage the environment or put any species at risk of extinction through collection. But as ever these are deemed illicit by most governments even though there are no negative health issues accounted with there use. Clearly difficulty controling the user's thoughts and a servere lack of profit means the get demonised in modern society consumed by a lack of spirituality, a disconnection from nature and a rigid deterministic materialistic stand point means a lack of conformity requires condemnation.

Ah I ramble, anyway thanks for the post here.

[DaveW]

The problem with all drugs, illegal or legal, prescription or non prescription, is there usually are some deleterious side effects. Generally if you don't need to take them for medical reasons all are best avoided, including tobacco and alcohol and probably excess drinking of coffee or tea. But then not all the foods we eat are healthy either. Maybe death is natures way of getting rid of all the toxins or their bodily damage we build up in life, meaning our children starting initially with a clean slate again?