Windowsill and patio growing

[jp29]

.......... Ah I understand now thanks. I have also moved to a place with limited plant space, just a small balcony, but I have plenty of south facing windowsills. I was hoping I would be able to grow some exclusively on the windowsills.

Actually I could grow my plants exclusively indoors on windowsills -- I just prefer to grow them the way I do.

James

[jp29]

I have always experimented with soil mixes -- I think I have used about every one that has been devised during my growing lifetime -- and I have found all those that provided excellent drainage and root aeration produced healthy and robust plants for me -- regardless of the soil constituency.

The soilless medium consisting of 50% coarse pumice and 50% coir that I mostly used this past year grew healthy and robust plants but dried out too quickly under our blazing Arizona summer sun. Early this year I began experimenting using a soilless medium consists of 50% coarse pumice and 50% Bach's Cactus Nursery mix (coarse, friable, gritty, light weight mix containing ground up dolomitic limestone rock and encapsulated slow release fertilizer) which, like my pumice/coir mix, met my requirement for light weight while providing easy plant maintenance. I am now using this mix for most of my plants.


Arrojadoa penicillata growing in the latter mix

James

[tudedude]

I too find that coir dries out really fast. It's very airy. Have you ever tried adding quartz or gypsum to certain species? If so, was there any significant effect?

[jp29]

.......... Have you ever tried adding quartz or gypsum to certain species? If so, was there any significant effect?

I use the same mix for all species,

James

[fanaticactus]

Looks like that cactus REALLY loves that mix--lots of air. Too bad it dries out so fast in the desert sun. I think it would be almost ideal for more temperate climates.

[Pushrestart]

James, that plant is thrilled being potted up in that medium. Would you mind sharing what is the Bach's Cactus soil ingredient wise? Im still trying to get down an appropriate potting medium that provides aeration yet has a small organic component!
Thanks!

[jp29]

Looks like that cactus REALLY loves that mix--lots of air. Too bad it dries out so fast in the desert sun. I think it would be almost ideal for more temperate climates.

Please read post below for my more information.

James

[jp29]

.......... Would you mind sharing what is the Bach's Cactus soil ingredient wise? Im still trying to get down an appropriate potting medium that provides aeration yet has a small organic component!
Thanks!

Dan Bach's Cactus Nursery growing medium (as used for the past forty-five years):

60% coarse (±3/8"/9.53mm) pumice

20% Canadian sphagnum peat moss

20% composted shredded pine bark

Amendments (variable, based on producing growing medium that tests to pH 7.0)

Ground-up (peletized) dolomitic limestone rock

Granular triple super-phosphate

Granular horticultural potassium

Osmocote encapsulated slow release fertilizer

James

[BarryRice]

How do you deal with the exhaustion of fertilizers, and then the disappearance of the organic matter? Do you repot? If so, how often do you have to do that?

[jp29]

How do you deal with the exhaustion of fertilizers, and then the disappearance of the organic matter? Do you repot? If so, how often do you have to do that?

I use Algoplus (Algoflash) 5N.7P.5K Cactus Formula liquid fertilizer (which contains magnesium and micro-nutrients) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions approximately once per week during the growing season. I only repot plants that outgrow their containers.

James

[Pushrestart]

James,

Thank you so much for sharing, Im still trying to work out my mix situation, and since I like to make my life difficult I ask several different growers how they tend to their plants. And as we know every grower has a completely different approach and potting ingredients (with some common ground).

[jp29]

James,

Thank you so much for sharing, Im still trying to work out my mix situation, and since I like to make my life difficult I ask several different growers how they tend to their plants. And as we know every grower has a completely different approach and potting ingredients (with some common ground).

You are welcome.

I have always used very open and porous media in order to insure superior drainage and root aeration. No matter what the composition of the growing medium, it is important to keep the need for excellent drainage and good aeration constantly in mind.

Over the years I have used countless soil mixes for my container grown cacti. Most have performed very well. The plants that I grew some fifty years ago in Victorville, California (high desert approx. 90 miles north east of Los Angeles) using my mix of the day (actually Tegelberg Nursery mix) ..........

1 part coarse desert wash gravel
1 part desert plant leaf mold
1 part desert top soil

.......... were as as robust and healthy (as were most of the cacti I grew at that time) as any I am growing today.

Of course, your own selection of a soilless mix should be based on the specific requirements of the plants that you cultivate, your growing environment, your climate, where you maintain them and the type of containers you use.

James

[jp29]

I am beginning another chapter in my Cactus cultivation life. My disabilities now dictate that I grow fewer plants in smaller lightweight containers on windowsills and patios here at my townhome than I have in the past. That is fine by me, for it enables me to concentrate on the cacti that I love the most: thin stemmed species of the genus Arrojadoa. This is the collection that I will maintain here from now on:



The selected species are:




A. multiflora




A. dinae




A. penicillata

The A. multiflora are just starting to develop cephaliums and should be in flower and producing fruit by the Christmas season. The A. dinae are just starting to flower and should be in full flower by early spring. The A. penicillata are recently rooted cuttings and will probably not attain mature flowering size until next summer. I maintain these cacti in wooden plant boxes to insulate the small plastic pots from the fierce Arizona sun.

All plants are growing in 2"(5 cm) square plastic pots using my current soilless medium which consists of 50% coarse pumice and 50% Bach's Cactus Nursery mix. During the winter months I will stage the plants indoors on south facing window sills during cold days and nights -- sub 40°F (4.4°C) -- and carry them outside to the patio for the benefits of sunshine and fresh air during the 60°F+ (approx. 16°C+) days that we frequently experience during our Tucson winters. I do not use shade cloth during this time, but I do stage them outside under under 30% shade cloth during late spring until autumn.

James

[Ron43]

Looks great James.

[jp29]

Looks great James.

Thanks Ron.

James