Hi all i'm new on here and found this great site while looking for help with my Cactus, so i will be getting some good advice on here hopefully in the future. Ok i have a Myrtillocactus geometrizans (Blue Myrtle) i bought it 9 months ago and its still in the same (plastic pot) from when i bought it, i water it once a month in the Summer months and i was told by the women at the garden centre where they specialize in cacti that they don't water theres in the winter? anyway i gave mine a bit after 2 months without any. I keep it near the window where in the summer it gets about 5-6 hours sunlight on it, its now the middle of winter here and i still keep it by the window and it was also underneath the cental air system!! (but not anymore since noticing the problem). Anyway i noticed a couple of weeks ago that it has some brown marks/spots on the bottom third of the cactus, the spots also tend to be mostly on one side more than the other (maybe the window side idk??) Its not squishy so i don't think its rot it still feels the same as the green does, so does anyone know what it could be?? Could it be the humidity that has caused it seeing as i had it placed under the central air heater? that maybe it started to wilt? Anyway i have now moved it into a more fresher area and i now move it outside in the day to get some air to it. I personally don't think its sunburn either but i'm no expert. can anyone shed any light on the subject?
Does not look like sunburn, I think it is the normal corking process. Do you have a picture of the whole plant? Could be useful to see how much green tissue there is above the affected part.
Ok here's the whole plant, it might not be the best quality sorry, i tried to point out where the brown marks are on it, also near the top there is like a brown corky patch that has developed near the join, also where the brown spots are around the thorns i noticed some are starting to go like a cork colour right at the base of the thorn. Anyway as long as its not going to die, ive only had it 9 months its about a meter tall and its already grew about 4-5 inches and was wondering if it needed re-potting or not?
I am pretty sure it is formation of wood, which is necessary to support the plant as it grows taller. That is why it forms at the joint too, it needs to be strong as the leverage puts a lot of strain on the joint. Is it in a plastic or clay pot? The roots on this kind of cactus grow fast. It is easy to see if it needs repotting if it is in a plastic pot, when it loses its flexibility the time has come. Clay pots are trickier, sometimes it is necessary to break the pot to get the rootball out if it has grown too much.
Its in a plastic pot now, that is about 8-9 inch deep and 8 inch wide across the top, and like i said its 1 meter tall, so is this suitable do you think or should i re pot it into a clay pot that is larger? I will take a look to see if the pots still flexible and check for roots coming out of the bottom. Thanks for the advice up to now ;o)
A borderline case, trust your eyes. I have not grown that particular species, but I would not be surprised if you find that it has almost filled the pot.
Yes it needs a bigger pot by the looks of it, a couple of roots are coming out of the bottom, i didn't realise it would grow so quick, ive only had small cacti before and they grew slowly. Anyway size? after a bit of research i guess the next size up, a couple of inches bigger, and is a terracotta one best. Also i'll buy some cactus mix for it now and i need some potting tips, like when is the best time to do it in your opinion, its the middle of winter here now,will it be ok to do it now or wait until spring? and is it a case of re-potting it like you would a normal plant, i know it needs good drainage. and ive also heard not to water it in afterwards is that true, then fertilizer should i leave that until spring time? i guess i should ive got some cacti slow release fertilizer that gets put in once a year, so i'll leave that until spring. Sorry for all the question of, it seems like you know a bit about them so i'll take your advise.
Pot size: about 5-8 cm wider, I think. (This is why I don't grow the big columnar cacti anymore - I once had > 2 m tall cactus, and it was very unwieldy.) For small cacti I use a pot that is 1-2 cm wider, but this one grows too fast. I belong to the group of cactus growers who detest peat, I use loam instead. Peat has a tendency to become hard and compact with time and suffocate the roots, it is also difficult to remove from the roots and attracts mushroom flies, so I stay away from that. Whatever you use about 20-40% should be fine, in my experience these cacti are relatively tolerant regarding the soil mix. The rest consists of coarse material like gravel, lava rock, fired clay etc. to increase drainage. I also add some tomato or potato (solid) fertilizer, 0,5-1 tablespoon per litre. Cacti can be repotted at almost any time, but you should avoid to do it in late summer - early winter, my cacti often get problems with the roots if I repot them then, it seems to be more difficult for them to reestablish themselves in the new pot at that time of the year. I try to do that in late winter - mid spring, before I start watering them. No water after repotting! Some cacti can tolerate that, but for most it infers an increased risk for root rot (not a myth - I have experience of this). Wait for at least 10 days. I use fertilizer in summer only, at 1/4 of recommended dose (depends on the species, strength of the fertilizer and how much I added to the soil mix - experience is the best way to determine this) every time I water them, but I think the growing season is a bit shorter here than in Australia.
Ok i will get a new pot at the weekend and do it then, hopefully it will be ok, its a lot milder here in the winter than the Uk, where i am originally from so it should be fine. I was going to get some soil from a small local garden centre that also specialises in cacti & Succulents, its cactus heaven when i go up there - http://www.collectorscorner.com.au/Cacti/Cacti%20&%20Succulents%20main.htm They will have some decent stuff i imagine, i never even thought about using peat so i won't bother i can imagne it compacting down though, yeah i don't know why but i like the big cactus's i knew it grew up to 2 meters and branches but didn't realise they were so fast growing!! It needs a friend now i guess ;o) the one i have now was $40 about £20 UK pounds i thought that was pretty cheap for how big it was?
Many commercial growers use peat. Mass-produced cacti are typically grown in almost 100% peat, but many serious growers (but not all) often use 20-50% (for species that tolerate it), as it is cheap, light-weight and retain moisture. I think it was slightly overpriced, these cacti are typically grown from cuttings, root quickly and as you know, grow fast too. But they also cost more than a small cactus to store and transport, of course. Most people are unaware of the differences in growth rate and don't realise that a big Ferocactus that is grown from seed and perhaps 15 years old actually is worth more than the vegetatively propagated, fast-growing Aporocactus clump of the same size next to it. I have sometimes seen plants like those at approximately the same price in garden centers. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that the slow-growing ones are underpriced, common household plants are often sold for the same price as a cactus of similar size.
I used to have a small Ferocactus type cactus back in the UK but i couldn't bring it with me because of quarantine, i think i might have a look at them again next time see how much the larger one's cost, as i do like them kind, the pricklier the better thats me ;o) Well comparing prices from the UK i thought it was cheap but hey what do i know, but yeah i see what you mean they grow fast so they look big and old and normally that would mean expensive but really they are not, roughly how old would the one i have then, any idea's just a rough guess?
It depends a lot on if whether it was grown from a cutting or not. The base is rather narrow, which indicates that it was seed-grown (and then it might well have been worth the money). Growing rate depends so much on the growing conditions and the grower's skill, and I am not familiar with growing columnars from seed. I don't think it is less than 5 years. If it has been grown from a cutting ... it depends on the initial size of the cutting. I once took a 50+ cm long cutting of a Cereus peruvianus and 6 months later it had a sufficiently big root clump to be sold as a normal plant. That might give you an idea of the difference.
Ok its not too important anyway how old it is, i might ask the at the centre if they grow them from seed or cuttings just out of curiosity. So i take it with all this knowledge you have been growing them for some time and have quite a few? I started a few years ago in the UK just a few small one's about 6inch tall in the window, but i always wanted a larger one so when i got here and saw all the one's on display i just had to buy one, not knowing how quickly it would grow, but that's fine, now i need to start adding to the collection i suppose. i don't know what it is about cacti but they just fascinate me, and they take little maintenance, ive never kept any outside as yet though i'm just paranoid they will get too wet if it rained on them.
I have grown them for 30 years, but I wasn't very good at it in the beginning. Unfortunately I don't have room for as many as I would like to, currently I have about 400 plants, mostly small-sized cacti. You should definitely be able to grow some cacti outside, after all there are a few that can be grown outside in Sweden and several others in the UK.
400 wow your place must look like a nursery!! and how many do you want?? you should go and live in the desert, plenty of room there, what mistakes did you make at first then so maybe i won't ;o) And do you know of any particular types off hand that would be ok outside?? and would they need to be in pots or straight in the ground,
Oh, I think I could take care of twice as many. All mistakes? That would be lengthy ... Forgetting to check for bugs is one frequent mistake. Most other have to do with the balance between water, warmth, light and soil composition, but it is better to look for sources of information in Australia about that. Outdoor cacti can be planted both in ground or in pots as long as they have enough drainage. Pots are of course easier if you would have to protect them from predators, hailstorms or other things that might damage them. North-American Opuntia species like fragilis, phaecantha, polyacantha, macrorhiza etc. is the classical choice, but I believe Australia recently recovered from an invasion of Opuntia stricta, so I wonder what the authorities think about growing Opuntia outside. Especially fragilis is an expert on vegetative propagation, so controlling the formation of fruits would not help. There are many other Opuntia that should be possible to grow where you live, those I listed are very cold-hardy. I suspect that most cacti can be grown outside in your climate if sheltered from rain in winter, especially Notocactus, Rebutia and Lobivia are worth trying (N.B. I have never been even close to Melbourne). If not, some species you could try are Echinocereus viridiflorus, triglochidiatus and cocinneus, Escobaria missouriensis and vivipara and Maihuenia poeppigii. They can all be grown outside in Northern Europe if treated correctly, you should have no problem with them. Is there no local information source about this? There must be a few growers nearby who know what can be grown outside and how. Avoid plants from cold-sensitive genera such as Melocactus and Discocactus.
Yeah i will do a bit of research to find out what is best to grow outside around here and then give it a go, i just thought i'd ask seeing as you know a lot about them. There's a decent spot just out side the patio doors because in these one storey houses they have here all the roofs overhang from the walls by about 2ft so in the corner would be a perfect spots as its sheltered from the rain and all the midday sun. so i will have to find out whats best and try a few plants outside to see how they get on, i will keep them in pots though as this is a rented house, then hopefully when we finally buy our own i will try a few in the ground, i'll just have to make sure i mix the soil right so drainage is good, maybe a raised wooden bed would work. I don't think i will ever have as many as 400 though but i'd love a huge one as a focal point in my future garden, actually thinking about it just down the road there's a couple of cacti in people's front gardens, and there is one in a car park at a dentist that is now part of a hedge as it looks like it has spreads uncontrollably because there are smaller ones around it, i was thinking a while ago i might dig one of them up and pot it up, i have'nt a clue what it is its about 2m X 2m and has flat leaves, i will have to take a photo of it and upload it on here to see if anyone knows what it is, i'll get one at the weekend.
Remember to let the cacti get used to the sun gradually, they are easily scorched by ultraviolet light even here. And when they have got their "tan", do not turn them because if previously shaded areas suddenly are exposed to the sun they can scorch very fast. Spreads uncontrollably and has flat "leaves" (pads, cladodes). Sounds like an Opuntia, we'll see.
yeah i knew about gradually getting them used to sun but it will be in the shade mostly apart from the early morning when the sun is not too hot, i didn't think about when you turn them though! Its an Agave i'm talking about not a cactus lol now i feel silly, one of these i found on the web - i have an agave in the garden with yellow and green leaves and that started curling up last year in full sun, i think it was a bit too hot for it, the leaves started rising up towards the middle but i managed to get it back to its former glory and its ok now in the shade, but i like them too, pretty simular to cacti i guess.
