Grafted vs. NON Grafted Astrophytum Winter Care Help!

ExtremeFlora · Post by **ExtremeFlora** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:37 pm

Greetings Cacti Enthusiasts!

My daughter and I have a large cacti collection in the Washington, DC area. And, we need some expert care advice for the winter season. We get strong morning sun from the east and afternoon sun from the south. Some cactus we keep in our windowsill and others we keep on our balcony. We are on the 5th floor and get some extreme heat in windowsill...sometimes up to 120º!

Some of our cactus read the book and have grown huge this summer. Others couldn't bear the heat. Below is our Golden Barrel.

SPRING

FALL

Our favorites are ASTROPHYTUM and we recently purchased some rare SUPER KABUTO variety from China, Germany and Thailand that are GRAFTED. The graft stock is Justiberti and Hylocerus (spelling).

We also just purchased a Floracart with three shelves and (4) 40 watt full spectrum bulbs per shelf. This will be located by a wall to wall window and hold around 50 various cacti and succulents in 4 to 6 inch pots.

QUESTIONS
1. If we use the grow light ssytem next to the window...should we let the cactus go dormant if they are grafted?
2. What if the Super Kabuto or other Cacti are NOT grafted?
3. How much water do you give grafted VS. non grafted cacti during winter?

ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks in advance for your expertise! Below is some examples of our rare Astrophytum collection! Enjoy!

~Brett and Hadley

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 4:45 pm

Hi- Great looking plants. Welcome to the forum. There are some expert Astrophytum growers on here who will no doubt offer some advice for overwintering your plants. In general, cooler temperatures and less water go along with the winter dormancy, even when plants are grown in a centrally heated house or apartment. Grafted plants may very well continue to put on growth and need light and a little more water; I'm not sure as I haven't ever grown any.

happy growing,

peterb

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:07 am

Hi, welcome to the forums. Nice collection you have going. That E. grusonii sure likes where it's at. Nice amount of growth.

redg408 · Post by **redg408** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:26 am

Nice collection you have there. Also post some of your pic on Astrophytum Lover

QUESTIONS
1. If we use the grow light system next to the window...should we let the cactus go dormant if they are grafted?

I have all my grafts, grafted on Pereskiopsis plants and they continue to put on growth in the winter. So your graft may very well continue to put on growth in the winter.

2. What if the Super Kabuto or other Cacti are NOT grafted?

If they are not grafted I keep them almost dry in the winter.

3. How much water do you give grafted VS. non grafted cacti during winter?

Since most of the graft stocks are Hylocereus undatus, they are Jungle Cacti and need regular watering.

Also Hylocereus undatus will live with short periods of frost, but prolonged cold will damage or kill the plant. I would bring it inside since they grow in tropical or subtropical climates.