A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Discuss repotting, soil, lighting, fertilizing, watering, etc. in this category.
ImNotTelling
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by ImNotTelling »

I always repot and clean the soil from the roots. I use my own mix of gravel and soil and such. I either brush the soil off, or wash it away when I cannot. Turns out that when I dont do it, the plant has a higher chance of dying(my most recent being a lobivia, and some parodias before that).
CactiJim
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by CactiJim »

I just did the same thing: I went to Lowe’s and bought two Old Man of the Andes and a Silver Torch (cleistocactus strausii). I need to report them as they are all root bound and have roots coming out of the drainage holes. Can’t wait to repot them.
-Jimmy, Phoenix, AZ
Mrs.Green
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Mrs.Green »

I may have missed it but I can’t see any mentioning on when NOT to repot? I Iearned that you shouldn’t repot plants during the winter, when they rest.

Having bought several cacti resently potted in mostly peat it seems, they need repotting. But it is really safe/good to repot them now, its winter here, or should I wait for the spring to repot? ? :)
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WayneByerly
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by WayneByerly »

Hello Mrs.Green ... looks like you are new to the forum ... so let me welcome you and pass on a little piece of info. I've been a member since 2014, and I have not had ONE SINGLE PERSON be short with me, or rude, or in ANY fashion anything like a TROLL with or to me. NOT ONCE! The people that you find here are good quality people ... VERY much unlike so many sites where it is not unusual at all to find a great number of trolls ... people that you would be proud to call your friend. So I think that you will always find that all of your experiences here will be positive ones. I just LOVE the people that I have found here. All of them. And I think that you'll find that MANY of them are quite knowledgeable about growing succulents and Cacti.

So ... on to your question and MY response ...
Mrs.Green wrote: Sun Nov 08, 2020 9:16 am ... is it really safe/good to repot them now, its winter here, or should I wait for the spring to repot? ? :)
Hah! Interesting ... I've been growing/collecting cacti since 2009, a member of this forum since 2014, and this is the first time I've run into the question as to when you should NOT repot your cacti.

So I guess you should not take this as anything like reliable information ... but it just SEEMS to me that if the cactus is dormant, why would it be harmful to the plant to repot it? Unless what you have learned is in response to watering them during the repotting process. Many cacti want much less water during their dormant season, and some are SO sensitive to water during their winter dormant season that the application of any water will result in root rot and eventual death.

If I were you, I would wait for a while and see if you get any more responses to this question. And if you DO repot your new cacti, I would refrain from watering them until spring depending on what species you are repotting. Do a little research via a "Google Search" to find out if your particular species is this sensitive to the application of water during its dormant period.

What are the species of your new cacti, and what is your Plant Hardiness Zone? These would be useful pieces of info.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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greenknight
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by greenknight »

After repotting a cactus, you should wait for a while before watering so the roots have a chance to heal. If you repot during the winter, you just wait longer before watering, until spring (unless it's a species that needs an occasional light watering during the winter).

Cacti are only semi-dormant during the winter, they can still heal the damage to their roots while in this semi-dormant condition. The only case where you would need to hold off on repotting is where the cactus is dehydrated, it needs to have enough stored water to survive on during the dry period after repotting.
Spence :mrgreen:
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WayneByerly
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by WayneByerly »

I actually expected a response from you Spence. I knew i could count on you for truly valuable advice.

I didn't think about a dehydrated cactus... All I could think of was waiting for spring to water a repotted cactus in a winter dormancy/rest.

As always, thanks for the expert advice. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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Steve-0
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Steve-0 »

WayneByerly wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 4:58 pm I actually expected a response from you Spence. I knew i could count on you for truly valuable advice.

I didn't think about a dehydrated cactus... All I could think of was waiting for spring to water a repotted cactus in a winter dormancy/rest.

As always, thanks for the expert advice. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Same here! Those kinds of answers MAKE this forum what I need it to be. :D
Mrs.Green
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Mrs.Green »

WayneByerly wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:17 pm Hello Mrs.Green ... looks like you are new to the forum ... so let me welcome you and pass on a little piece of info. I've been a member since 2014, and I have not had ONE SINGLE PERSON be short with me, or rude, or in ANY fashion anything like a TROLL with or to me. NOT ONCE! The people that you find here are good quality people ... VERY much unlike so many sites where it is not unusual at all to find a great number of trolls ... people that you would be proud to call your friend. So I think that you will always find that all of your experiences here will be positive ones. I just LOVE the people that I have found here. All of them. And I think that you'll find that MANY of them are quite knowledgeable about growing succulents and Cacti.

So ... on to your question and MY response ...
Mrs.Green wrote: Sun Nov 08, 2020 9:16 am ... is it really safe/good to repot them now, its winter here, or should I wait for the spring to repot? ? :)
Hah! Interesting ... I've been growing/collecting cacti since 2009, a member of this forum since 2014, and this is the first time I've run into the question as to when you should NOT repot your cacti.

So I guess you should not take this as anything like reliable information ... but it just SEEMS to me that if the cactus is dormant, why would it be harmful to the plant to repot it? Unless what you have learned is in response to watering them during the repotting process. Many cacti want much less water during their dormant season, and some are SO sensitive to water during their winter dormant season that the application of any water will result in root rot and eventual death.

If I were you, I would wait for a while and see if you get any more responses to this question. And if you DO repot your new cacti, I would refrain from watering them until spring depending on what species you are repotting. Do a little research via a "Google Search" to find out if your particular species is this sensitive to the application of water during its dormant period.

What are the species of your new cacti, and what is your Plant Hardiness Zone? These would be useful pieces of info.
Hi WayneByerly and thank you for the warm welcome! Very kind of you :) Yes, I am new to the forum and I agree , people here seems to be very friendly and very knowledgeable. I have the same experience as you with different forums, some people seems to be posting, just to be unfriendly, to put it very mildly..

Haha..good to be the first one who asks that question! :D I have had houseplants for many years ( all kinds of them) and one of the things I learned early on; do not repot in winter. , when the plants rests. Since I live in Norway and several months of the year there are very short days and long ‘nights’ , winter here means something quite differnt then f.ex in Arizona :) On an international forum, one have to take into consideration that people may have a very different understanding of what f.ex winter means. On the other hand, in summer there is no ‘night, meaning there is light 24/7. People who aren’t used to this, often have trouble sleeping when visiting.

Now; back to the cacti :D Ehm,...I have to admit that I have already repotted them.. Patience isn’t one of my virtues.. :D Oh, no no watering, quite the contrary! I had to dehydrate them befor potting, since they came soaking wet from the shops.. Since they came in very small pots ( apart from one) I just took them out of the pots and placed them on several layers of toiletpaper and replaced the paper several times.

Since these new cacti will be in their own unheated room , I guess the temperature will go down as far as 10 celsius at times, depending on the outside temperature, so there will be very little or no watering.

Several different species but my ‘new’ collection is very small so far, 10 or 12 plants only. Trying to restrict myself.. :D
Mrs.Green
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Mrs.Green »

greenknight wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 3:41 pm After repotting a cactus, you should wait for a while before watering so the roots have a chance to heal. If you repot during the winter, you just wait longer before watering, until spring (unless it's a species that needs an occasional light watering during the winter).

Cacti are only semi-dormant during the winter, they can still heal the damage to their roots while in this semi-dormant condition. The only case where you would need to hold off on repotting is where the cactus is dehydrated, it needs to have enough stored water to survive on during the dry period after repotting.
Thank you Greenknight , your advice is much appreciated! :) As mentioned above , dehydration wasn’t the problem, quite the opposite. Good to know that my lack of patience probably want hurt them .
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greenknight
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by greenknight »

You're welcome, always glad to help - though is sounds like you figured it out quite well on your own! You probably saved the lives of those cacti by getting them out of that soaked peat.
Spence :mrgreen:
Mrs.Green
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Mrs.Green »

greenknight wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:17 am You're welcome, always glad to help - though is sounds like you figured it out quite well on your own! You probably saved the lives of those cacti by getting them out of that soaked peat.
Thank you very much Greenknight :)

I hope so, some of them is a bit more plump than I like them to be for the season ( winter) . Hopefully the overwatering haven’t destroyed them.
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Ferocactus
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Ferocactus »

I have a small Ferocactus recurvus seedling that I recently got from a seller in China; it was shipped bare-root, dry, and arrived after about 25 days. I immediately unpacked it, repotted it, put it under some LED grow lights, and have watered it once since then. It's been a couple weeks since I repotted it, but it is showing no signs of growth activity. The room I'm keeping it in is about 70˚F.

Am I doing anything wrong, or is there anything I should do for a cactus that was bare-root in the dark for nearly a month? I'm a little concerned.

Thank you!
I hope I'm not the only one that enjoys a taking bit of crystallized sugar from a Ferocactus' nectaries. :wink:
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Steve Johnson
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Steve Johnson »

Ferocactus wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 3:24 amI have a small Ferocactus recurvus seedling that I recently got from a seller in China; it was shipped bare-root, dry, and arrived after about 25 days. I immediately unpacked it, repotted it, put it under some LED grow lights, and have watered it once since then. It's been a couple weeks since I repotted it, but it is showing no signs of growth activity. The room I'm keeping it in is about 70˚F.

Am I doing anything wrong, or is there anything I should do for a cactus that was bare-root in the dark for nearly a month? I'm a little concerned.
Not sure if getting a cactus all the way from China was a good idea, and the seller doesn't know anything about your climate. In case the F. recurvus doesn't work out, you may want to buy another one closer to home:

http://www.miles2go.com/cac2.htm

That's Miles Anderson -- excellent grower, and even though his climate is quite a bit different than yours, he should be able to give you some useful advice.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
A_G_R
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by A_G_R »

Ferocactus wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 3:24 am I have a small Ferocactus recurvus seedling that I recently got from a seller in China; it was shipped bare-root, dry, and arrived after about 25 days. I immediately unpacked it, repotted it, put it under some LED grow lights, and have watered it once since then. It's been a couple weeks since I repotted it, but it is showing no signs of growth activity. The room I'm keeping it in is about 70˚F.

Am I doing anything wrong, or is there anything I should do for a cactus that was bare-root in the dark for nearly a month? I'm a little concerned.

Thank you!
Can you share a photo of the plant? Is it looking shriveled? To me 70f is a bit cold for it to start growing, maybe it just needs more heat.
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Ferocactus
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Re: A beginner's guide to repotting newly-purchased cacti

Post by Ferocactus »

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I checked out miles2go.com, and he actually has a Ferocactus recurvus seedling available; after seeing the representative pic (it's pictured in a 4" pot, so it's definitely the same size plant as my plant, maybe a little larger), I'm not sure I have an F. recurvus, since my plant's ribs seem more deeply developed, and is much more flattened and a darker green; the spines are practically the same, though. Maybe it's just variance in the species' genetics, or maybe the photo is of a plant half my plant's size? It's a nice-looking plant, though.

The seller I bought from did have pictures of his growing area, and it appears to have been in full direct sun on a couple hundred feet long, flat, uncovered rooftop/patio(?).

The seedling I have is very plump and it arrived with perfectly bright, cream-colored roots. The colors in my photo aren't very accurate, as it's under the LED grow light with a color temp. of 4,000K.
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I hope I'm not the only one that enjoys a taking bit of crystallized sugar from a Ferocactus' nectaries. :wink:
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