garden centre plants in peat

Discuss repotting, soil, lighting, fertilizing, watering, etc. in this category.
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sundanz
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by sundanz »

Excellent post!! I repot everything the same day I buy a plant. Right after I started my cacti hobby I bought a book about cacti care and it explained to remove all of old soil before repotting. I have done that and it's also a good time to inspect for mealies or other bugs while you're repotting.

Karin
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
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1bigfruit
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by 1bigfruit »

I really hate this, often buying plants from garden centres which have massive tops and a tiny 5cm, 2inch pot with a hard peat plug and some slow release pellets. Grrr! Traditionally nurseries use peat because it is a binder. You can litterally turn the pot upside down and neither the plant or the dirt falls out. Which has its advantages commercially. Speciallist nurseries always sell bare root plants here. Removing the peat though damages the roots. Peat contains very few nutrients and retains moisture, assuming you can re-wet it of course. I think it causes problems and would get rid of it. Or buy from a diferent source.
A Moth is Lighter than the Sea, but Dimmer than the Light it Sees.
willow
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by willow »

Hello everyone, I am new on here but have been reading with interest.
Ionly have a few cacti and now realise after reading on here that they are in the wrong compost! Levingtons cactus mix. I did mix some today to repot a ariocarpus agavoises but replaced with a mix of sharp sand, John Innes no 2, cat litter ( pink non clumping ) Clay granules and limestone chippings from Wickes. I did have to smash some of the larger pieces with a hammer.
Iwould like to buy a strombocactus disciformis if Imanage to keep my Agavoides alive through the winter. I have a very old cactus that I have had for nearly 20 years and seems to thrive in its shop bought peat mix compost!
Ihad no idea about soils for cacti until reading tyhe information on these forums, so thankyou all for the information and advice!
JimHSoars
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by JimHSoars »

How about a pic of your "very old cactus."

- Jim
willow
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by willow »

Well a long time later! I have photo of this old boy. We found it when we moved house nearly 20 years ago and it was very brown and neglected, but we were going to throw him in the bin but took pity on him! However we continued to abuse him and kept him on a too dark windowsill. Now hes kept in a sunny hot conservatory, maybe too hot but it is developing spines now. It stands about 1 foot tall.
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KittieKAT
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by KittieKAT »

Some plants take forever to get the old peat soil off the roots without destroying all the roots and your hands!!
I have a few I've been needing to repot but super SCARED of those opuntia types attacking the crap outta me!

I repotted an opuntia and it was in a mix of peat and peanut shells(??)
You don't wanna kno how long it took me to repot that SOB!
And you wanna kno even less about how many spines i had in my body!
Cactifan800
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Location: NSW Australia

Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by Cactifan800 »

The sanseveria and a few hydrid gasteria I bought from IKEA the other day was in sphagnum moss.
They also use this for their cacti and euphorbias.

The 70mm collection of cacti and succulents I buy from nurseries come in mix with plenty of gravel, but they charge more than IKEA.
Cactifan800
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by Cactifan800 »

willow wrote: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:46 pm Well a long time later! I have photo of this old boy. We found it when we moved house nearly 20 years ago and it was very brown and neglected, but we were going to throw him in the bin but took pity on him! However we continued to abuse him and kept him on a too dark windowsill. Now hes kept in a sunny hot conservatory, maybe too hot but it is developing spines now. It stands about 1 foot tall.
I have the exact same cactus as you.
It was sold under the name "cereus monstrose", does anyone have an ID? Could it be cereus repandus, the Peruvian apple cactus?
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ElieEstephane
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by ElieEstephane »

Cactifan800 wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 4:05 am
willow wrote: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:46 pm Well a long time later! I have photo of this old boy. We found it when we moved house nearly 20 years ago and it was very brown and neglected, but we were going to throw him in the bin but took pity on him! However we continued to abuse him and kept him on a too dark windowsill. Now hes kept in a sunny hot conservatory, maybe too hot but it is developing spines now. It stands about 1 foot tall.
I have the exact same cactus as you.
It was sold under the name "cereus monstrose", does anyone have an ID? Could it be cereus repandus, the Peruvian apple cactus?
It can be many things as these are often hybrids so cereus monstrose is just about right
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
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MitchellM
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by MitchellM »

BiscuitCactus.jpg
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This one I call a "biscuit cactus" has just survived since I bought it at a garden center. Today I decided to repot it in some Sunshine Number 4 mix with added perlite and a little bit of Growstone. Here is the "before" picture. I'll post the "after" when I know the outcome.
Dodi Russell
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by Dodi Russell »

MitchellM wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:35 pm BiscuitCactus.jpgThis one I call a "biscuit cactus" has just survived since I bought it at a garden center. Today I decided to repot it in some Sunshine Number 4 mix with added perlite and a little bit of Growstone. Here is the "before" picture. I'll post the "after" when I know the outcome.
I can't believe they sold you that. How much did you buy it for, did you get a discount. That's a gymnocalycium by the way.
I think it's better to buy cacti from a private collector, the price may be a bit high.
Location: Sri Lanka, tropical climate, high humidity( no winters)
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MitchellM
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by MitchellM »

Dodi Russell wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2019 2:01 pm I can't believe they sold you that. How much did you buy it for, did you get a discount. That's a gymnocalycium by the way.
I think it's better to buy cacti from a private collector, the price may be a bit high.
It was a little better when I bought it. I was going to give up on it at some point. Now I want to see if I can get it healthier.

It's pretty annoying buying cacti from stores because they stock a random assortment and don't expect people to care what species they are buying. I usually pop in for a quick look and leave without buying anything but sometimes there's something worthwhile. I got my Pilosocereus and Myrtilocactus from stores and got a lot of cuttings from them. If I see a little Ferocactus I buy it. Or the one pictured. I always get this one if I see it because I like the color and how fast it grows.
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prickle
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Re: garden centre plants in peat

Post by prickle »

everything i hear about peat is bad. even for my vegetables i keep clear of it. it seems to me, although i am new to cacti, a peat mix can be easily replaced with coir and a little love.
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