Watering and Care for these guys

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CaudexMania
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Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2022 2:11 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Watering and Care for these guys

Post by CaudexMania »

Hi wonderful people of CactiGuide.com,

I'm a relatively new to the wonders of water smart plants and all, least to say I have been bitten by the cacti bug and my collection sees no signs of stopping anytime soon!

I have recently acquired these guys into my collection and I was wondering how do I care for them. They include 4 species from the Copiapoa family, 2 Euphorbia Abdelkuri, Euphorbia Polygona Snowflake (Female) and a wonderful deuterocohnia brevifolia. I have attached images of them in all their glory sitting on my balcony floor!

So far the old squeeze it and see if it's soft :lol: trick has worked well for me but as my collection becomes more spiky or contorted in shape, the difficulty to perform this trick well is becoming increasingly difficult. [-(

I'm looking for advice on when to water them and what are some tell tale signs to look out for these guys when they're not happy/thriving.

Any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you in advance!
Attachments
Euphorbia Abdelkuri, Snowflake, deuterocohnia brevifolia
Euphorbia Abdelkuri, Snowflake, deuterocohnia brevifolia
IMG_6441.JPG (141.78 KiB) Viewed 692 times
The Copiapoas
The Copiapoas
IMG_6393.JPG (134.76 KiB) Viewed 692 times
New or possibly the only cacti guy on the block.
Don't get me started on Abdelkuris, You won't hear the end of it :lol: !
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mikethecactusguy
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Re: Watering and Care for these guys

Post by mikethecactusguy »

I work by weight.
Water them, feel how much they weigh. Wait a week or 2 and feel the weight again dry. The Euphorbia , succulents, need a bit more water than the catus. I don't cover all my soil with pretty stone. It prevents me from seeing the condition of the soil.
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
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CaudexMania
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Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2022 2:11 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Watering and Care for these guys

Post by CaudexMania »

mikethecactusguy wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 12:18 am I work by weight.
Water them, feel how much they weigh. Wait a week or 2 and feel the weight again dry. The Euphorbia , succulents, need a bit more water than the catus. I don't cover all my soil with pretty stone. It prevents me from seeing the condition of the soil.
I feel attacked about the pretty stones hahaha but you bring up a very good point! Perhaps I will change to a top dressing that changes appearance when it is wet.

Is the weight method pretty good for the Copiapoas? Since I have heard that they are a bit finicky with their watering being from the driest place and all.
New or possibly the only cacti guy on the block.
Don't get me started on Abdelkuris, You won't hear the end of it :lol: !
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7george
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Re: Watering and Care for these guys

Post by 7george »

So far the old squeeze it and see if it's soft :lol: trick has worked well for me but as my collection becomes more spiky or contorted in shape, the difficulty to perform this trick well is becoming increasingly difficult. [-(
Conditions in hot Australia are quite different from these in the North so be selective which advice to use or not. First of all if your plants are not in active growth no need to water them (or do this occasionally) whatever "unhappy" these would look for you. During the rest no need to keep them hard and fully pumped but rather softish. One of the signs I use for my plants without even touching those is the colour of the skin, many green ones become greyish when thirsty.

Copiapoas need more often but not always profound watering during the summer and dry keeping or just spraying in the winter. Succulents are very different and watering may vary depending on the origin. Some like Havortia need regular water in winter period and less to occasional in summer when growth is halted. Euphorbias can stand very long periods of drought and even in summer time can be watered once in two weeks if the pots are not very small. If the temps do not fall below 15 C watering can be regular and brave but if days or nights are cool better be careful and check soil moisture before to water. Weighting works if you have several plants but with hundreds is not appropriate.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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mikethecactusguy
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Re: Watering and Care for these guys

Post by mikethecactusguy »

7george makes a good point. Color. He's right about weight when one has a large collection. Mine has grown to 760 plants. I use weight with about 36 of my plants. A lot of my plants outside of the greenhouse are done with skin color. The rest are just by time. Larger pots less often than smaller pots. Here in Indio Ca. the temp. swings have been 45°f at night to 95°f during the day over 24 hrs. And this is winter.
Mike The Cactus Guy
Enjoying the Spines
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