Uebelmannia Pectinifera

[CactusFanDan]

You might want to mist them occasionally over Fall and Winter to prevent the roots from dying back too much, as with Melocactus, they are slow to regrow damaged root tissue and the roots never stay very dry for very long in habitat. Pumice and DG should be good! I assume you fertilise regularly too? As for misting in Summer, I don't think it's 100% vital, but it helps the skin to stay looking at it's best. Since you don't manage a huge collection, it might be a worthwhile option.

[Steve Johnson]

You might want to mist them occasionally over Fall and Winter to prevent the roots from dying back too much, as with Melocactus, they are slow to regrow damaged root tissue and the roots never stay very dry for very long in habitat. Pumice and DG should be good! I assume you fertilise regularly too? As for misting in Summer, I don't think it's 100% vital, but it helps the skin to stay looking at it's best. Since you don't manage a huge collection, it might be a worthwhile option.

Then maybe U. pectinifera is even closer to Melos than I thought? The Fall/Winter routine I follow with my Melo matanzus is to dribble some water around the top of the pot once a month. A few drops of water coming of the drainage hole is nothing to stress about, but I avoid drenching the pot. Since Melos won't tolerate anything close to cold temps when they get watered, I bring mine in overnight until the mix dries out. I'll give it 4 or 5 days before it's ready to go back outside until its next watering appointment. I don't fertilize at all in Fall and Winter, although maybe I should. Bringing 2 plants inside when the nights are too cold for them is absolutely not a problem, so let me know if this routine applies to pectinifera. Misting in Summer also not a problem, although I don't know how often I should do it. This is a new experience for me, so I do appreciate your advice!

[DaveW]

See:-

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/UEBELM ... nifera.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.cactusinhabitat.org/index.ph ... d=166&l=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.cssainc.org/index.php?Itemid ... &task=view" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus_co/New_Uebelmannia.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unfortunately whilst that new Uebelmannia looks like that when young it eventually grows up to look just like most of the others!

Marlon Machado commented on the BCSS Forum:-

"In Brazil, most cacti are found in soils which are not limestone derived, and some species grow in very acid substrates, for example Uebelmannia, Discocactus placentiformis, D. pseudoinsignis, D. horstii, Cipocereus, some Pilosocereus. However, there are species which grow in limestone derived soils and even on limestone rocks, and these may benefit from the addition of limestone in the soil mix: Melocactus azureus, M. ferreophilus, M. levitestatus, M. pachyacanthus, Siccobaccatus dolichospermaticus and S. estevesii, Pilosocereus densiareolatus, some forms of Pilosocereus gounellei, all grow exclusively on limestone rock outcrops. Some species grow only in limestone derived soils: Discocactus bahiensis and Stephanocereus leucostele come to mind, and the first grow in areas with lots of limestone gravel mixed in the soil as well."

[John C]

Thanks for the links DaveW! I especially like the second link. It is really interesting to see them in habitat! I don't think I have seen any pictures of them in habitat before. That would sure be a neat trip to see them, one day!

[Jenny29]

Hello,

I would like to ask that can I water it at Summer every week once? Also I heard that mist spraying is good for them, how is that works I should spray the plant itself or its soil? So it needs mist spray and watering too at once? Or give them a water every week and a mist spray in the middle of the week?

[CactusFanDan]

You want to be misting the plant itself, however I don't bother, but instead I always water over the body of the plant. So far I've not had any problems. Be sure to water with rain-water and water them whenever the soil has been allowed to dry completely, or perhaps a little more depending on how porous the soil mix you're using it.

[Sutremaine]

And here's what we like to see on our Uebelmannias...



That's all from the last week, as it's only just started getting considerably above 15 degrees during the day.

[Jenny29]

Hello,

sorry, I don't understand what do you mean? Flowers?
Here is the current situation, I think it will flower tomorrow.

20130505_1407a22 másolata.jpg (126.64 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

DSC_0965.JPG (57.67 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

20130505_140729.jpg (90.2 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

[Sutremaine]

Fresh growth -- a good sign on anything, but especially species with difficult roots. I got these just under a month ago and repotted them into something completely different to what they were in, so it's good to see them settling in. Speaking of roots, the other one (which had a worse start due to being knocked out of the pot and left for a few days with bare roots and frequent misting ) grew a whole millimetre of roots overnight after being put on the radiator, the top of which registers as a toasty 30-32 (84-86) degrees. That's some bottom heat...