Dorstenia and Pachypodium in plastic pots?

[mmcavall]

I’m systematically changing all my cacti to plastic pots. Contrary to my previous beliefs, I’m convinced now that they do best in plastic pots than in clay pots, at least in my conditions (substrate, watering schedule, etc).
But I’m still not confident to repot my Dorstenia and Pachypodiums in plastic pots. They are in very well aerated clay pots, with big draining holes.
The mature Pachys are doing fine, but the young P. horombense is kind of stopped. It could be happier in a plastic pot?
The Dorstenia is not very happy, although growing. Maybe it could grow better in plastic, but I don’t have other individuals to compare: it is my single plant of this genera. (Also: do it prefer full sun, partial shade or full shade?).
I would like to hear from you guys any experiences in growing these genera in plastic/clay pots, so I can make a decision.
Thanks in advance for any comment.

[autodikaktos]

I made the same decision this past spring and the vast majority of my plants are now in plastic, with a few holdouts that weren't due for a repot still in clay (including one of my pachypodiums, P geayi). I'm very interested to see what kind of results you get.

The short answer is that all the Pachys seemed to like it. But it's also a little hard for me to tell if they didn't just get a boost from the repot. In general though, regardless of species, anybody who had seemed stunted in clay had a little boost of growth. P cactipes and P makayense both responded very nicely. P horombense and P densiflorum were both newer additions, so I can't contrast them to clay, but there have been no problems with them. It was hard to tell the difference for P rosulatum gracilis and P namaquanum, I got more foliage than in the past, but didn't notice much new growth. Out of the tree-like madagascar species P rutenbergianum and P lamerei definitely responded positively. I have a less experience overall with the Dorstenias as they have always been in plastic. I haven't had any issue with my D gigas or the volunteer D crispa/foetida that I pull and pot separately. I give the D gigas a little more sun than the D crisps/foetidas. Maybe an hours worth more a day. 30% shade cloth by the growing season and I'd say direct sun filtered through that for a handful of hours daily. I base that off of my understanding that they tend to be an understory plant, with D gigas on Socotra being the outlier and growing into a full sun disposition after many years. A personal observation of my plants is that they need to be coaxed a little more than others when it comes to introducing them to sunnier conditions. It may also be of use to know that all my plants are young. I do not have experience transplanting mature and well established specimens of these genera.

If it helps, the reasoning for switching to plastic was to retain more moisture during the more arid, pre-monsoon summers here. My soil mixes all are fairly high in inorganics and when combined with a clay container led to a condition where the rains just couldn't make up for everyone having dried out for months. They were all focused on playing catch up and not growing very much at all. I also lost a couple succulent Asclepiads because of this and that led to the change.

[7george]

I keep my Pachypodiums in clay pots, all glazed or painted. But all of them started their life in plastics and I don't think they feel much different. If you mean moisture retaining that will depend more on your climate, GH, soil, top dressing and maybe the material pots are made of. Pachypodium are large plants and growing bigger finding a decent shape and size of plastic pot will be getting harder and harder – they will all end up in a common plastic bucket or so. Another thing I don't like in plascics: these easily heat up under a direct side sun and heated soil can stop plant growth. That is from my point of view, in other conditions everything might me different and plastic pots could be fully appropriate for these plants.

[mmcavall]

Hello Autodikaktos and George. Thanks for replying and sorry for my delay in replying. I have not yet find time to write a decent answer here. But since I read your comments I decided to change the Dorstenia and the smallest Pachypodium to plastic pots. And I effectively did it.
For your comments, I understood that plastic pots will not do harm.
George, don't you think that glazed clay pots act physically more like plastic pots than like clay pots? I mean, don't they become impermeable? This made me think I could glaze my clay pots. Probably I will find a recipe to do that here in an old thread of the forum.
Autodikaktos, I'm not sure about what you meant by being interested in the results I got (if it is about Pachys or cacti). Roughly speaking every cacti that passed the first half of the growing season completely stopped, when repoted in plastic pots responded very quickly and showed vigorous growth. I am sure that this can't be due to fresh substrate, because I have few plants and all have been repoted not a long ago. So the response is certainly due to the pot material. Also, all my plants that are taken out the clay pots show poor root systems, while the plants in plastic pots displays vigorous roots grabbing all the substrate (even when it is made by pure grit).
Back to Pachys and Dorstenia: I have only the following plants and respective situation:
Pachypodium lealii: old plant that lived it's first 10 or 15 years treated like a tropical plant, in clay pot but in topsoil under some shade and taking all rain that Brazilian summer can give to it. It was only three years ago that I rescued it and give it a harder life. It seemed to like it, blooming the last two years. But now I wonder if it is being kind of over stressed. Anyway, I will not repot this plant now. I can find a picture of it's bloom and post it here latter. Also I can find the old thread where I once asked for help with this plant. But anyway that's the plant in a very recent picture (remember it is summer now here in Brazil)

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The second plant is a Pachypodium succulentum recently acquired, maybe in 2017. It looks very very happy in this deep clay pot, also flowering in spring:

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The third Pachypodium is really recent, I bought it in November. It was growing in plastic pot with peat. I changed it to clay pot with mix. Maybe I consider reporting it, if it doesn't show good growth:

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Next there are the two P. horombense grown from MG seeds sow in 2016. The biggest is doing fine and I will not repot it this season:

IMG_20190105_180150385_BURST000_COVER_TOP-768x1024.jpg (82.76 KiB) Viewed 3840 times

The smallest brother is kind of stubborn and I have just repoted it (after reading your answer here):

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Finally, the Dorstenia. You can see it is not very happy:

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The small root system:

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And the plant in it's new pot:

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Thank you very much. I hope I can come back here with good news about these plants.

[autodikaktos]

mmcavall, all of your plants still look beautiful to me, especially that slightly bigger P horombense. What I meant by being "interested in your results" was that I'm looking forward to any future observations you make, as we seem to both have went in this direction recently. I still feel secure in that it was the way to go as far as my plant's culture, after observing similar deficits in their growth rate and appearance. For instance, I had two Ferocactus, same mix, same water schedule, same location, and the one in plastic has grown twice the size of the other in less than half the time. I was also noticing much healthier root development in my barrel/bottle shaped Fouquierias in plastic. That being said, I still have had good results with some species by over potting them in clay, including Pachypodium geayi. Who knows? If anything younger plants tend to like more water, and growers with much more experience than me seem to have their larger specimens in clay. Partially for aesthetic, yes, but also no doubt because older plants neither need nor desire the same nursery conditions of their youth.


Young P lamerei root system after a year in clay under my growing conditions, not ideal

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D gigas, midway through growing season, seems to be doing just fine

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P rosulatum gracilius and P namaquanum, early growing season. Nothing particularly astonishing, but they appear happy in plastic

IMG_7742.jpg (233.87 KiB) Viewed 3743 times

[mmcavall]

Hello AUTODIKAKTOS,
Thanks for your comments on my plants. Yours are also great. I loved the D. gigas, and your plants all together in square plastic pots make a cool display.
Yes it is of my interest keep sharing my results here in the forum. I like to do experiments like yours (with the Ferocactus). It is the best way to learn.

[nachtkrabb]

Hi folks, your plants just look awesome. Really great. Well made photographs, too.

I have next to everything in plasic pots. If I use clay, then usually with a glazing -- only rarely I leave plants in very well fitting terracotta pots with BIG holes, if I receive them in such pots. So I do encourage you to go on with plastic. (You can even throw them into the dish washer to clean them again... Very convenient....)

Have you seen the general discussion "Why do novices always use clay pots?" http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... =2&t=34165 That may answer some questions, too, and show the different experiences. I am convinced it has to do with the local climate and your "watering style" what is definitely better for your plants.

N.

[mmcavall]

Thanks Nachtkrabb, for your kind comments. And alfo for the tips. I'm considering now glazing some of my pots. The tip about the dish washer is great (although I think my wife would not appreciate the idea).
Yes I read the thread about novices and clay pots. I found the name of the thread very appropriate, at least for me, as a novice which tried clay pots and them get surprised with the better results with plastic.

[nachtkrabb]

I'm considering now glazing some of my pots.

Hi mmcavall, do you have a kiln...? I think you need quite some temperatures to make a glazing work.
N.

[mmcavall]

I'm considering now glazing some of my pots.

Hi mmcavall, do you have a kiln...? I think you need quite some temperatures to make a glazing work.
N.

No...oh thanks for reminding me what "glazing" means. I was thinking it was just a kind of painting

[mmcavall]

Only 20 days has passed since I transplanted the Dorstenia (and increased watering frequency) and I can see the results. The plant looks much happier now, leaves are greener and caudex is pumped.

dorst4.jpg (102.3 KiB) Viewed 3336 times

[nachtkrabb]

What a lovely plant -- compared to the pictures above, it looks much healthier & happier.
N.

[mmcavall]

What a lovely plant -- compared to the pictures above, it looks much healthier & happier.
N.

Incredible, isn't it?

[mmcavall]

Just repoted the P. lamerei. Pictures of the plant just repoted.

[autodikaktos]

Wow, that is quite the turn around on the Dorstenia! Good to see your theory is paying off for your plants. I imagine you'll get a good season out of your P lamerei. One of the reasons I find those kinds of Pachys so fun is because they don't grow at a snail's pace.