Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Discuss hardy cacti grown outside all year.
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JDirks
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:38 am

Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by JDirks »

After keeping cacti and succulents in pots for some time, the idea came to mind to transform our front garden into a “habitat-garden”. On purpose I mention it as being “habitat” since that what I have in mind is a little different to what is usually seen.
Despite me absolutely understanding, and seeing, the appeal of a garden in which the plants really stand out, I am more after a closer representation of how they are found in nature.
Most cacti are somewhat hidden, partially buried or tucked away between rocks or other vegetation and that’s the look that I’m after.

Now the big challenge is sorting out proper substrate to accommodate that what I have in mind.
The current garden consist of maintained vegetation so to say. It has been like this since my wife and I moved in and other than keeping it presentable we didn’t do too much about it.


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583A0FC9-EBC7-4B7E-B3A7-E2885DB062FB.jpeg (166.54 KiB) Viewed 3974 times
Photo shows our current garden

We are living in Indonesia and ofcourse I need to be aware of what the climate is like and rain plays a big role. Depending on where you look online it averages at about 60-80 inches a year, which is a lot.
Combine that with fierce sunshine and you have a serious climate to keep in mind.

The surface area of the garden is roughly 20 by 10 ft and the plan is to dig out the garden for about 12-15 inches or so and to reuse some of the soil into the mix that I want to be using.
But..finding the right supplements in Indonesia is easier said than done. With our plants in pots and working with small amounts of soil it’s easier, but working with these large volumes is a bit of a challenge. It’s quite a serious volume we’re talking about.

After some looking online and trying to figure out what I want, I kinda stumbled across limestone. I really like the look of it and it’s the type of “substrate” that I’m after. Bonus is that I can buy it per truckload.


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0A837537-4BB5-4548-8187-77CED5520845.jpeg (225.71 KiB) Viewed 3974 times
Photo shows what’s sold as being limestone

However, after some research online, including this forum, I found that there are some mixed opinions in regards to limestone for cacti.

The entire post above basically comes down to one question, which is what you would do in my situation?
The market for rocks isn’t as big in Indonesia as what can be found online for the US market for example so I’m a little stuck.

When it comes which cacti and succulents, it’s gonna be a mix with most likely the following species;
Mammillaria, Gymnocalycium, Notocactus, Ferocactus, Echinopsis, Echinocactus, Melocactus, Astrophytum, Opuntia, Euphorbia, Aloe, Haworthia, Agave, Gasteria and so on.
And perhaps a few others if I want to experiment with for a bit (Turbinicarpus and Lithops are two that come to mind).

A big thank you in advance for those willing to chime in
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ohugal
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Re: Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by ohugal »

JDirks wrote: Thu Sep 29, 2022 11:03 am After keeping cacti and succulents in pots for some time, the idea came to mind to transform our front garden into a “habitat-garden”. On ...
Is it an idea to get the limestone you have access to, but instead pot your plants up and insert them with the pot into the limestone? I have no experience with outdoor planting though.
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Antwerp, Belgium
temperate, maritime climate with mild winters and cool summers
hardiness zone 8a
JDirks
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:38 am

Re: Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by JDirks »

Thanks for your reply ohugal!
That indeed might be an option although it won’t result in the natural look that I’m after. Plus I think it won’t have the same effect on the plants as “free-planting” would.
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leland
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Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by leland »

I also live in the tropics. This year we had a very wet rainy season and I installed polycarbonate roofs over my terrestrial cactus. mold and root rot are quick to destroy things if cactus are wet too long, even with my plants that are mostly natives.
If anything, I would build your planter up a little to make sure the drainage was really good. Common building materials used to make concrete like sand and gravel should be available anywhere by the truck load. You can find some decorative rocks to put on the surface to make it look more natural.
JDirks
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2022 9:38 am

Re: Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by JDirks »

Thanks for your reply Ieland. Nice to hear from someone who lives in a similar climate.
Mold and rot are indeed my biggest fears and issues to overcome. But I guess with a drainage big and deep enough it should work, especially when I look at how fast the current garden dries up again after really big rains.
I think in a while I’m just gonna give it a go and see what happens. It’s really something I want to realize and I guess at one point I just have to do it. Lol!
Sand and gravel is thankfully easily available, but the decorative stones are the biggest obstacle. Decorating gardens as such is not that common over here and other than “broken mountain stones”, which don’t have to right look I’m after, and river stones for example, which are round and also not what I’m after, limestone is pretty much the only option which suits what we’re going for.
Guess I just have to get a little creative with the placement of the cacti and avoid species like Gymnocalycium in a limestone substrate.
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leland
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Location: North central Nicaragua

Re: Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia

Post by leland »

I also found that white polycarbonate that works so well in the desert is less useful in the tropics. Algae and things darken it rapidly so now for future projects I will use clear polycarbonate which is easier to obtain locally. The clear also darkens with time but you start out with more light transmission so it balances out within a few years. A friend has aged clear and it lets thru about as much light as new white. Fiberglass white is cheaper but it darkened very rapidly.

If you do not roof your cactus garden had a Plan B like greenhouse plastic and some sort of wood framing in case you get a wet spell. Occasionally we have a hurricane hit or blow by the coast and here in the mountains we get a week of rain, clouds and 100% humidity.
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