Hello everyone I'm new at cacti growing so I was hoping you can help me identify these two types of cacti I bought last month.. Also I'm hoping if you guys can give me tips on growing these two, by the way i live in Philippines where we only have sunny and rainy and a tropical country. The one on the left has yellowish spines and the other on the right grows reddish spines.
The genus is most likely Echinopsis (Lobivia), one of many cactus genera with several species that look very similar when young, and where lots of hybrids have been created. Flowers will make it easier to guess.
Wow thank you mandarin I searched the net Echinopsis and the results really look like my cacti but early this morning I found some white spot on the bigger one I think it might be sunburn, maybe I put it out on the sun to much but how can I fix it? And the small one is making me worry because earlier I found some web in between its spines.. Is my cactus infected with spider mites?
Sunburn damage will not heal, but you can prevent more damage by letting your plants get used to the light gradually. A bad sign. The best way to determine if mites are present on the plant is to use a magnifying glass.
Earlier I found this on my cactus and it's freaking me out though I haven't seen a mite. What is this and what should I do?
The white spot? That is not due to mites, it is a ordinary scar. Hard to say how the plant was damaged, could be a tool or a neighbour cactus, for example.
How often should I water them? I use a sprayer for watering and I water them 2 times a day just to wet the soil, Is that okay?
So you just wet the surface? The usual practice (which I follow) is to fill the pot with water and let the excess water drain off. Generally, the soil should dry out before the next watering. How long that takes depends on the water holding capacity of the soil, pot size and the climate. I water mine about every second week in summer, but that may be very different for you. Some growers measure the approximate time interval by weighing the pot before watering and then every day afterwards until the weight has returned to the original value.
Yes I just wet the surface of the soil and i think the water doesn't reach the roots because the water evaporate quickly. This is because I put my cacti out in direct sunlight for the whole morning (7-11am) and cover in noon (12-2pm) and put them back on the afternoon (3-5pm) I wet the soil surface when I put them out to direct sunlight. I don't think my cacti are overwatered because they are not soft. Is my practice good?
Neither do I, and that is not good since the water is supposed to reach the roots. :) Your soil looks quite water-retentive, and the climate is humid (as far as I know), but I think you should give them more water, leave them for a week and see if the soil have dried out.
If I water them more which is as you said will last for a week, is it still okay if I'd still put them in direct sunlight? Won't their bodies would be so dry if I don't spray them water regularly?
As long as they don't get burnt by the ultraviolet light they should be fine in sunlight. Cacti do not need to be sprayed. The stomata on cacti are closed during the day, the water losses then are insignificant. The roots can easily take up enough water to compensate for the small volume of water consumed by the photosynthesis. If water is available, of course :) .
Another question sir.. Can you please approximate how much water should I use for weekly watering my pot is 3" in height and diameter.. Is a glass of water good?
A glass of water is likely too much. But that's relative to the size of the glass. So let's compare it to a 12 ounce can of soda or juice. Half of that: 6 ounces, is still too much water. Does your planter pot have a drainage hole in the bottom? It should. Put the planter in a plate or in a bowl. Fill a third of that soda can or 4 ounces maybe with water. Add it slowly to the pot. A very dry planting medium sometimes repels all the water and it will all run out the bottom. Give it maybe fifteen minutes to see what soaks up from the bottom if that's the case. Whatever happens, after 15 minutes and absolutely no more, dump out the remaining water if there is any. Allow the pot to rest on a porous surface or at least not in one retaining water. Your back and forth with the cacti will get wearying unless you are really bored. If you have lawn chairs to shelter or something to filter the light a bit, much as the louvers on a window blind would, that's the best way to introduce your cacti to the full sun. Even in the Philippines, they'll probably take full sun eventually. But you and I both have tropical sun and even cacti appreciate a little shade once in a while. By the way, your cacti do not look ravaged by drought or rotted with water. You wouldn't have those healthy budding cactus pups if that were the case.
Thank you thanrose I don't really have proper shade but I use a translucent umbrella when it is 12-2pm to protect them from too hot sunlight.. Is this okay?
I never measure how much water I use, I just water my plants until it runs out through the drainage hole in the bottom. For several reasons I do not use soil based on peat or other organic matter; one is that in my cool climate the cacti need a growing medium with better drainage than in hotter climates. (I grow my plants in cat litter made from a type of fired clay.) Therefore it is difficult for me to say how much it takes to fill your pot. If it had been mine I would say about 2 dl, but as thanrose suggested: measure it.
I've had good luck growing Echinopsis cacti in a mixture of half crushed pumice and half compost. They are left in a sunny south facing window all day and are watered when I think of it (until it runs out of the bottom of the pot), more frequently in sunny summer weather and less in the winter. They bloom sporadically at any time of the year. I've had some luck at inducing blooming by withholding water for a longer period of time (a month or so) and then watering more frequently. I never bother to remove the water that runs out of the bottom of the pot. Here is a photo of one particularly good set of blooms from two cacti that are clones from the original one that got too large for its pot. It's interesting that these cacti synchronize their bloooming period to exactly the same day, and the blossoms fade after that one day.
Wow that's a beauty, i envy you hahaha.. what is pumice? How can I identify soil? My mother just told me that the soil I use for re-potting are some kind of earthworm poop hahaha i don't know.. and what is the best soil for cacti?
Pumice is a very light volcanic rock full of air spaces; it floats in water. Its main function is to provide good drainage. The compost in the mix provides nourishment for the plants. You can buy cactus soil mixes at any garden center here, but I don't know what is available in the Phillipines. Pumice should be abundant around active volcanoes like Mount Pinatubo. On the Web you can find lots of recipes for cactus soils by Googling "cactus soil mix".
