Cereus's growth :D

Discussion in 'Cacti and Succulents' started by natureman, Jun 2, 2008.

  1. natureman

    natureman Active Member

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    I'm surprised just how fast these cacti have grown. Here's 3 pics. First is from Janurary 21. Second is April 17. Third is from today (June 2).

    For the first few weeks, they were on a window sill, for the next month they were under CFLs, and since then they're in the sunroom. They love it in there, it usually gets to 90F in the day, and 65F at night.

    You can see , espescially in the 3rd pic cactus on the left that the spaces between the aereolas are much more spaced out than the old ones. Any idea if they'd flower anytime, or are they still immature.
     

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  2. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    Nice looking cactuses.

    ;)

    Do you know what kind they are?
     
  3. natureman

    natureman Active Member

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    I asked long ago (when I got them) on here, no one was sure of the species, but the genus was Cereus, so that's all I know. If you have any idea, I'd gladly investigate, as I'm just beggining with cactuses.
     
  4. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    Me too (beginning with cactuses). Yours all look healthy, good for you. Somebody donated a bunch to me when they had an unexpectedly high germination rate --- here's pics.

    I like the succulents because they are ideal pets --- you can leave them alone for months and they'll be alive & well on your return. Very "low maintainance" ...
    ;)
     

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  5. natureman

    natureman Active Member

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    Heh yeah, I agree, and they love the heat of the sunroom too.
     
  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Looks like you two are having quite a Cereus discussion.
     
  7. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    I wish I had some pereskiopsis to graft my Lopho's on. I don't know if you know this already or not, but you can get up to three years worth of growth in a single month if you graft a slow-growing cactus onto a Pereskiopsis --- yep, Cereusly!
    (har, har)

    ;)

    I'm cereus, you get enormously accelerated growth rates...
     
  8. natureman

    natureman Active Member

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    I've never grafted cacti before, I'd probably only do it if it was nessacary (roots rotting, or a cacti that cannot photosynthesize). Good puns ;)
     
  9. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    Yeah, but with grafting you can get such cereusly accelerated growth rates, though. I'm trying to get some Pereskiopsis to use as root-stock but so far not having much luck locally. Hopefully some kind soul will take pity and mail me some, but not holding my breath.
    I don't know what it is about cactus but they sure grow on you, don't they? You watch, in a couple years I'll have them all over my house like those insane cat-people that end up with a zillion cats running around.
    ;)
    One problem I have with them is that I over-water them. I try to help them by watering and feeding but I guess what they really need is to be left alone.
    Another thing I found surprising is how many other people also are interested in them --- there are entire clubs dedicated to cactus growing ...
     
  10. natureman

    natureman Active Member

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    Ah, well, about the over watering. Make sure you have a good mix for cactus, the cactus's I grow are just in sand, and I water with micracle grow occasinally. I usually water it with plain water maybe twice a week.
     
  11. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    The extra light you gave them will have speeded up growth. Don't think they'll flower for quite a few years, though; Cereus species and their close relatives get 5-20m tall at maturity, and I think they'll need to be rather closer to that sort of size before they flower.

    All these puns are making a Parodia'f the forum's principles.
     
  12. Thomas Anonymous

    Thomas Anonymous Active Member

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    You mean, oh, pun(tia)?
    Har har ...
    ;)
    Just don't take the puns too cereusly ...

    (Ducks and runs for cover)
     
  13. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Ah, now, the mods told us with all due Trichocereusness that jokes within species are fine - just so long as we're not sticking spines in each other. If you catch my point? (Because normally I'm spineless, like San Pedros)

    On a slightly more Cereus note, those cacti of yours, natureman, will most likely need to be at least 1m tall before they start thinking about flowers; here cacti that are very similar bloom starting at 100-150 cm in height.
     
  14. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    ROFL!

    THANKS, all of you!! i really needed a good chuckle!!
     
  15. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Glad to be of cer(v)eus! We're a pretty opuntionated group sometimes, and I think a good laugh keeps us from turning into lithops.
     

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