My first cactus! Please identify....

Nkomo-A-Gogo · Post by **Nkomo-A-Gogo** » Wed May 12, 2010 2:21 pm

Hi all.
New to the forum.
Id like you to identify this cactus.
I would say its common enough as i bought it at a jumble sale nearly thirty years ago!!!
It is 10-12 inches tall....has sharp rigid spines and a smattering of fuzzy buds(dark but getting whiter at the tips)
Its given off 20 "babies" which i transferred to pots already.
Tell me is it okay to just tug these off? some of them had roots reaching out and im sure they were ready to do their own thing anyway.
Havent seen any flowers yet but i heard its a blink and you miss them kinda thing anyway.
They are getting a great few hours sunshine where they are as my home is akin to a greenhouse.Im worried about watering them though...how much and how often.I have the right soil mix which i bought ready made from the garden centre.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Alex

Post by **daiv** » Wed May 12, 2010 4:04 pm

That is an Echinopsis. I suspect it is a hybrid.

It certainly has tried to flower. Those fuzzy buds are the beginning of flowering. Have they been on there a while? It seems like the flowers were aborted.

The flowers often only last a day, but you sure wouldn't miss it if it did flower. True, you may not see the flower open, but the buds take a couple weeks to develop and stand 6-8 inches off the stem and after the flower it takes a while for the huge spent blooms to dry and fall off. It isn't as though they appear one day and then vanish.

Your plant appears healthy for the most part. It seems to be getting adequate light. I think it would be happier if you repotted it with some more "cactus-friendly" soil. I would bet that this plant has a very limited root system.

Take a look at this article:

http://www.cactiguide.com/article/?article=article8.php

The pot you have it in seems fine, but you are only using the bottom half of it. A plant that size would fill a pot like that with roots with the right soil. Then I'm sure it will produce flowers for you and you'll be blown away when it does!

Nkomo-A-Gogo · Post by **Nkomo-A-Gogo** » Wed May 12, 2010 6:39 pm

Thanks. i thought it was an echinopsis after seeing the pictures of them but there are so many different types.
Yes the buds have been there a while.years even.
i only got this cactus after my mum had it for years and i think its not had much TLC just water and possibly baby bio fertilizer.
ill re-pot it using the leftover soil i have.
would it be ok to kind of gently tap the old soil off the roots and transfer to a new pot or just put the whole thing into a larger pot lined with the new soil?
Also how long can i expect this to live? i know for sure it is hitting thirty.

Post by **daiv** » Thu May 13, 2010 12:29 am

I would recommend cleaning the old soil off the roots for sure. This plant could easily out-live you with proper care. Even if the main stem were to die, the pups would live on!

You can pick those dead buds off of it now. They should come off very easily.

If you can, take a pic of the roots and post it here too. I'm curious what they look like.

Nkomo-A-Gogo · Post by **Nkomo-A-Gogo** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:45 am

Ok an update on the cactus.

i took Daivs advice and repotted using cactus soil, the soil that it was in before was more like mud.i also pulled off all the fuzzy buds except one which was stuck fast. 1 month later the little bud has flowered.
we are getting some great sun over here at the moment and i can see three more buds started.
sorry about the quality of the pictures.
I was amazed how fast the bud grew into a flower!

Post by **daiv** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 2:09 pm

OK, that looks like a standard issue Echinopsis oxygona flower and not a hybrid.

I hope it makes flowering a regular thing for you now.

My E. oxygona seriously needs to be repotted and it only gave me one flower this year.

They will flower more than once in a year if they are happy so don't be surprised if you see some more buds forming!

Peterthecactusguy · Post by **Peterthecactusguy** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:26 pm

That's a cool update!

Gallows · Post by **Gallows** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:44 am

Nice. Are you going to get some more cacti now to expand your collection?

DannabisAx · Post by **DannabisAx** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:32 pm

daiv wrote: Take a look at this article:

http://www.cactiguide.com/article/?article=article8.php

Excellent article. I think I have a better idea of what a cactus soil should be and am excited to mix one up. Thanks for throwing that link out there and for writing such a nice 'lesson'/recipe/article.

DannabisAx · Post by **DannabisAx** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:34 pm

Nkomo, that cactus looks much happier!
Good job!