Small Cactus Help Needed

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signal
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Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by signal »

Hello. I am very new to cactus care. I have a few cacti that I need help taking care of. I would also like to identify them.

I currently have 2 medium (normal small plant) sized cacti, and 3 miniature cacti.

Here are the two medium cacti:

#1
This one I got last month. It has had no problems. I would like to know how often to water it.
Image

#2
This one isn't doing so well. I have had it for 6 months, and recently it started its decline.
In the picture below, 2 of the 3 large stems are dead. The one on the right kind of rotted; the one in the center was knocked by something and broke off at the base; and the one on the left is alive.
I need to know how often to water it, and any other care instructions that can keep the last piece alive. And is it possible to save the broken off part?
Image
Image

Here are the 3 mini cacti:

1&2
These I got in a kit a few days ago in Arizona. Flew them back to Virginia, and planted them.
In the care instructions, it says to water 1 tablespoon/per month/per plant (if soil is dry). Is that a good amount?
Also, I think it may need a bigger pot. Does it?
One of the cacti looks shriveled at the base, but I don't know if it is supposed to be like that, since that part goes under the soil. Is it okay?
Image
Image
Image
Image

#3
This little guy I also got from Arizona. It is in a little pot the has the top of the soil glued down. The instructions say to set it in a saucer of 1/4-1/2" water for 10-15 minutes every month.
Should I removed the glued-down part and/or transfer it to a bigger pot, or is it okay as it is?
As with the first one, I'm also wondering if it is okay for the base to be yellow.
Image



I also have cactus seed, how should I go about planting it?


Thanks!
Last edited by signal on Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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tumamoc
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by tumamoc »

Medium Cacti
#1 Gymnocalycium (moon cactus) grafted onto Hylocereus stock
#2 Mammillaria elongata. It needs better sun lighting to keep it from growing spindly.
Mini Cacti
#1&2 Ferocactus sp.--maybe F. emoryi
and Echinocactus grusonii, or perhaps Carnegiea? (saguaro). Those two will be OK together for a while, but both can get really big! If those plants are out in the hot sun, 1 tbsp. per month is not nearly enough water.
#3 Stenocactus crispatus. Remove the glue and gravel--definitely!
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CactusBoss
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by CactusBoss »

Yeah some of those soils look terrible. I even think a cactus mix would be better lol. I grow my cacti in a cactus mix but then i add lots of perlite to improve drainage. And when handling perlite I HIGHLY recommend wearing some sort of mouth and nose coverage because perlite is very dusty and is actually carcinogenic.
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majcka
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by majcka »

tumamoc wrote:Medium Cacti
#1 Gymnocalycium (moon cactus) grafted onto Hylocereus stock
#2 Mammillaria elongata. It needs better sun lighting to keep it from growing spindly.
Mini Cacti
#1&2 Ferocactus sp.--maybe F. emoryi
and Echinocactus grusonii, or perhaps Carnegiea? (saguaro). Those two will be OK together for a while, but both can get really big! If those plants are out in the hot sun, 1 tbsp. per month is not nearly enough water.
#3 Stenocactus crispatus. Remove the glue and gravel--definitely!
Relly. On my comp it looks much like a Mammillaria. :-k
Maja

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hendryterok
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by hendryterok »

Relly. On my comp it looks much like a Mammillaria. :-k[/quote]


8-[ How could monitor be different......Mine looks like small Echinocactus Grusonii :lol:

Hendry
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by Onzuka »

Yes, pretty certainly an E. grusonii. I don't do it now, but I've grown lots of these from seeds and they start out with individual tubercles like the pic shows. The tubercles align themselves into ribs as the plant gets bigger. It had me confused the first time that I grew them and I though that I had been supplied some mis-named seeds. Mr Brian Fern (or is it Fearn?) at Abbey Brook Cacti Nursey assured me that all was well and as usual he was right.

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sabotenmen
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by sabotenmen »

hendryterok wrote:Relly. On my comp it looks much like a Mammillaria. :-k

8-[ How could monitor be different......Mine looks like small Echinocactus Grusonii :lol:

Hendry[/quote]
I can understand Majka's confusion; it probably is a Grusonii , but this specimen is almost columnar and there's no trace of those beautiful yellow Gruso spines (yet?). : I have one juvenile Gruso myself and on that one the spines are already very yellow!The Ferocactus is beautiful! sabotenmen ,Japan
signal
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by signal »

Thanks for the names!
tumamoc wrote:Those two will be OK together for a while, but both can get really big! If those plants are out in the hot sun, 1 tbsp. per month is not nearly enough water.
Okay, thanks. They are (inside) in a second story window facing west, with some tall trees on the other side of the yard. They do not get as much sunlight as I would like, but they do get some. (I might move them to the east side, so they can get morning sun, and the trees are farther away.)
Remove the glue and gravel--definitely!
Should I just do that, or re-pot it too? (If so I'll just water it like the others)





Also, still wondering how much/month I should water the medium ones?
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tumamoc
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by tumamoc »

signal wrote: I would like to know how often to water it.
I need to know how often to water it, and any other care instructions that can keep the last piece alive. And is it possible to save the broken off part?
In the care instructions, it says to water 1 tablespoon/per month/per plant (if soil is dry). Is that a good amount?
The instructions say to set it in a saucer of 1/4-1/2" water for 10-15 minutes every month.
How much should you water? The basic answer is to water as much as the cactus will take without bursting or rotting. But how do you know when that is? You should water again when the upper-third to half of soil feels dry. But, really, this is a difficult question to answer, as there are several other factors you need to look at.

1) How well-drained is the soil you are using? It looks too me like it is either too well drained or poorly draining. What do I mean by that? If that is a peat-based soil, then water will probably bead right off, and you will really not be watering your cactus at all. If it is non-peaty soil, then the water will be standing in the pot, and that is a real cactus killer. Cacti require a well-drained soil to thrive. You will see a lot of threads on this forum about amending potting soil or mulch with perlite, pumice, and calcined clay bits. These all add porosity to the soil, encourage root growth, help distribute water rapidly throughout the pot, and retain just enough moisture for the roots to take in what they need. Check out the Cultivation Forum for tips on cactus soil.
2) Kept indoors, cactus soil will not dry out as fast as those in the outdoors or a greenhouse.
3) Also, cacti don't require much water--and some none at all--during the fall and winter when they are not growing. So, from about early September through early March, you should water very sporadically, and just enough to give the roots a quick drink.
4) Don't worry too much about watering instructions. Cacti are famous for their ability to withstand drought, and if it is well-drained soil, the plant can handle occasional overwatering. You need to find a happy medium (no pun intended :D ). By the way, the instructions for your glued down cactus are for bottom-watering (as there is no way to water it the normal way from the top). I highly recommend you remove the glued top portion and see what type of soil is there. Then begin a normal top-watering regimen.
5) Don't forget to use plant food, either mixed in with the water, or sprinkled on the top of the soil.

RE your Mammillaria, you should be able to root the fallen-off part, if it is healthy. Hard to say from the pictures, though.
RE the moon cactus, the top (the scion) can't survive without the bottom green plant (the stock). And, in my experience, they just wither up and die after a time. It is what it is.
signal wrote:I also have cactus seed, how should I go about planting it?
For this, I recommend you check out the Grown From Seed forum. There are several ways to go about it. I find the baggie technique to work great most of the time.

Good Luck! And if others have tips or corrections to what I wrote, please feel free to reply :D .
daiv
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by daiv »

Great advice given above. I just wanted to add that none of those species above are Arizona natives. Most are from Mexico - the orange one is from South America.
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CactusFanDan
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by CactusFanDan »

daiv wrote:Great advice given above. I just wanted to add that none of those species above are Arizona natives. Most are form Mexico - the orange one is from South America.
I can picture a few people wincing at the last statement there. :wink: I suppose the original species came from S. America, but the coloured forms are all Oriental, as I'm sure you know Daiv. :)
-Dan
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by daiv »

Dan,
Ahh - I didn't think about it from that perspective. Yes, it isn't exactly a "wild" plant!
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Harriet
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Re: Small Cactus Help Needed

Post by Harriet »

daiv wrote:Dan,
.... Yes, it isn't exactly a "wild" plant!
"Wild and crazy" maybe...
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