Astrophytum help needed

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Mrs.Green
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Astrophytum help needed

Post by Mrs.Green »

I must be either dumb or stubborn.. Some of you may remember that I bought 3 A.myriostigma a while back. With zero success since all of them rotted from the neck. After this failure, I should probably realized that Astrophytums wasn’t for me.. :| But visiting a gardensenter today, I found four very nice looking Astrophytums ( to me anyway) and since they were pretty cheap, I fell for the temptation 8-[

They are firm and no suspicious ‘wiggliness’ at the neck, but so so was the first ones too.. They are in 6 cm. pots and as seen the substrate seems to be purely organic. After the failure with the first ones, I hardly dare do anything with them , but I suspect the substrate should have been changed. Only avaialable substrates are, aquarium gravel, perlite and leca and off course potting soil. Have been looking for pumice here for a long time, but with no luck.

MrXeric suspected the failure with the first ones could be a combination of low temperatures and humidity. At the moment the temperature indoors is around 17-18 degrees celsius and it may be a bit more humid than the average home? We have fishtanks and lot of plants, so we aren’t exactly living in a ‘desert’.

Is around 16-20 degrees celsius considered to low for Astros? If the temperature rises outdoors it will be warmer inside too but so far we haven’t had much heat and sun.

So any advice to offer on what to do next? 🙂 I would really like to keep these alive and growing.
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nes
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by nes »

Seems pretty humid, with temps that aren't necessarily the highest. Personally I would probably put them in 100% coarse inorganics to make sure water isn't being retained in excessive amounts.
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MrXeric
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by MrXeric »

Very nice plants! Good variety in characteristics too. I really like the one with the white felty line on the edge of the ribs, I believe it has a Japanese cultivar name (hakujou?), but Frank can confirm.

17-18C is pretty cool (not too far off from my winter days :lol:), but I've seen your blog and your cacti are flowering and seem happy, so maybe the change in temperature from your winter to your spring is more impactful for growth than just low temperatures alone.

I do agree that a course, 100% mineral substrate is worth an attempt, considering your history with the species. Remember, a course substrate holds less water than a finer mix. I haven't used leca before, so I can't comment on it. You might want to try a mixture of your aquarium gravel and perlite, but you'll find the perlite is a bit unruly due to it's light weight. It's a shame pumice is not readily available to you, but lava rock (also sold as scoria) is a good alternative. Whatever you use, be sure to sift away any finer sand and dust.
Last edited by MrXeric on Thu Jun 16, 2022 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Hanazono
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Hanazono »

G'day MrXeric,
I believe it has a Japanese cultivar name (hakujou?), but Frank can confirm.
Yes it is correct. Japanese name is hakujou ranpo-gyoku.

hakujou: white stripes
ranpo-gyoku: myriostigma

Frank
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MrXeric
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by MrXeric »

Hanazono wrote: Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:21 am G'day MrXeric,
I believe it has a Japanese cultivar name (hakujou?), but Frank can confirm.
Yes it is correct. Japanese name is hakujou ranpo-gyoku.

hakujou: white stripes
ranpo-gyoku: myriostigma

Frank
Hello Frank, thanks for confirming.
Mrs.Green
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Mrs.Green »

Thank you very much Nes, MrXeric and Hanazono! 😊 As mentioned I haven’t been able to find pumice here but today I found out that a local shop sells this substrate; https://www.lechuza.us/accessories-lech ... 19561.html.

I have no experience with it but ot looks interesting? Could this be a suitable substrate for the Astro’s ( and other cacti)?
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jerrytheplater
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by jerrytheplater »

Mrs Green. The link you posted says that lechuza contains fertilizer which lasts 6 months. I'd want to know what kind of fertilizer it is and what its analysis is. You don't want a high Nitrogen fertilizer for your cacti. I'd send them an email to ask.
Jerry Smith
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Hanazono
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Hanazono »

G'morning Mrs. Green,
I haven’t been able to find pumice here but today
Can you get any other permeable materials?
Since you have just 4 myriostigmas, you can make permeable potting-mix e.g. crashed red brick.

Myriostigma v nudum will grow to a large cactus.
I bought one in 2003, which was similar size to yours. The photo is current one which experienced various problems but it has survived.
The zise is 19 cm in diameter and 23 cm tall.

Frank
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Mrs.Green
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Mrs.Green »

jerrytheplater wrote: Thu Jun 16, 2022 6:59 pm Mrs Green. The link you posted says that lechuza contains fertilizer which lasts 6 months. I'd want to know what kind of fertilizer it is and what its analysis is. You don't want a high Nitrogen fertilizer for your cacti. I'd send them an email to ask.
Thank you Jerrytheplater ; You do have a point there, I do wonder if I should give the mix a little soak and then drying it before use, thinking that the procedure maybe would wash off some of the fertilizer?
Hanazono wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:45 pm G'morning Mrs. Green,
I haven’t been able to find pumice here but today
Can you get any other permeable materials?
Since you have just 4 myriostigmas, you can make permeable potting-mix e.g. crashed red brick.

Myriostigma v nudum will grow to a large cactus.
I bought one in 2003, which was similar size to yours. The photo is current one which experienced various problems but it has survived.
The zise is 19 cm in diameter and 23 cm tall.

Frank
Thank you very much Hanazono. I haven’t seen new bricks here for a long time. The ones I have seen, have been lying outdoors on the ground for years and therefore possibly would have taken up all sorts of unwanted stuff. Do you think I could use the Lechusa-Pon if I added some gravel to the mix, to get it less water absorbing? I have also wondered if it could be a good idea to use terracotta pots for the Astrophytums, due to my climate?
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7george
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by 7george »

Changing the soil is a must. But Astros also need high temps to grow and bloom so I haven't had success growing them at home so far.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
Mrs.Green
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Mrs.Green »

7george wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 1:56 pm Changing the soil is a must. But Astros also need high temps to grow and bloom so I haven't had success growing them at home so far.
Thank you 7george. Yes I am aware of that but to be honest, what I really would prefer, is to don’t touch them at all and just admire them from a safe distance.. :lol: Which of course in the long run will not work. I am dreading taking them out of the pots and rinsing the roots, fearing that just the prosess itself will kill them .

The high temps are interesting in the way that I wonder if there are very few people who have success with them indoors in ‘normal’ room temperature? But of course, what people sees as ‘normal’ or ideal room temperature seems to vary a lot!
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7george
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by 7george »

Well, of course it differs at different homes. If you live at sunny place or in warm country in a home without AC you may have a summer with lot of temps 25 - 30 or more and these plants will like it. It always worth trying it and see what will happen. My plants including some seedlings grow slowly but haven't seen any flowers yet here in Calgary.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
Mrs.Green
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by Mrs.Green »

7george wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 6:14 pm Well, of course it differs at different homes. If you live at sunny place or in warm country in a home without AC you may have a summer with lot of temps 25 - 30 or more and these plants will like it. It always worth trying it and see what will happen. My plants including some seedlings grow slowly but haven't seen any flowers yet here in Calgary.
My bad, I should have been more precise. Of course it will depend on were you live and if you have AC or not. What I was thinking about is people lives in colder climates ( like me for instance) and who raises the temperature indoors above what’s seen as ‘normal’ ( normal is a difficult term here, as it varies a lot). I have visited homes were the heat hit me like a wall when coming inside and the homeowners told me that anything below 25-26 degrees celsius was considered freezing..preferred temps was around 28-30.. :shock:
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jerrytheplater
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by jerrytheplater »

Mrs.Green wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 9:29 am
jerrytheplater wrote: Thu Jun 16, 2022 6:59 pm Mrs Green. The link you posted says that lechuza contains fertilizer which lasts 6 months. I'd want to know what kind of fertilizer it is and what its analysis is. You don't want a high Nitrogen fertilizer for your cacti. I'd send them an email to ask.
Thank you Jerrytheplater ; You do have a point there, I do wonder if I should give the mix a little soak and then drying it before use, thinking that the procedure maybe would wash off some of the fertilizer?
Mrs. Green. The fertilizer in the lechuza must be a slow release type for it to last 6 months. Rinsing will only remove what is currently soluble. The rest will be in capsules that take more time to dissolve before releasing the fertilizer. It will still be there. I'd still send an email to find out. You could always fertilize with straight Mono Potassium Phosphate which will give the other two nutrients P and K without the Nitrogen. I'd still want to know the analysis of the fertilizer they are using.
Jerry Smith
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45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
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MrXeric
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Re: Astrophytum help needed

Post by MrXeric »

Mrs.Green wrote: Sun Jun 19, 2022 4:18 pm
Thank you 7george. Yes I am aware of that but to be honest, what I really would prefer, is to don’t touch them at all and just admire them from a safe distance.. :lol: Which of course in the long run will not work. I am dreading taking them out of the pots and rinsing the roots, fearing that just the prosess itself will kill them .

The high temps are interesting in the way that I wonder if there are very few people who have success with them indoors in ‘normal’ room temperature? But of course, what people sees as ‘normal’ or ideal room temperature seems to vary a lot!
Make sure they're dry before potting. Put them on paper towels and place them in the warmest, driest part of your house. Change the paper towel after a couple of hours. Even better if you can get a small desk fan pointed at the roots to get the air moving and accelerate the drying.
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