Should I be concerned?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
Post Reply
chancey84
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 5:55 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Should I be concerned?

Post by chancey84 »

My golden barrel cactus doesn't seem to be producing spines with the new growth. I looked up photos online and couldn't find a picture of a golden barrel that looked the same. Should I be concerned? Any response would be greatly appreciated.

Thx,
Attachments
image.jpg
image.jpg (74.45 KiB) Viewed 1304 times
User avatar
cortez753
Posts: 199
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:24 pm
Location: Longmont, Colorado. Zone 5b

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by cortez753 »

The white wrinkles are an early indication that it's on the verge of getting sun burn. No spines may be a nutrition deficiency.
iann
Posts: 17184
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: England

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by iann »

Now you know what spines are for :) Odd why it isn't growing any. Has it been sitting in the dark?
--ian
User avatar
sundanz
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:05 pm
Location: Tyler, Texas, prev. Germany

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by sundanz »

Maybe it's not a Barrel cactus?
Life's a Cactus in the Great State of Texas!!!
chancey84
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 5:55 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by chancey84 »

It has been under the patio on my back porch through the winter and now out in the sun for a couple of weeks. It is a golden barrel, I purchased for a cacti nursery here in Houston. I have had the plant for a yr now and water weekly with 20/20/20 fertilizer and lowered ph. Did not water through the winter and cut down on the light it received. Usually water once a week or biweekly and use a soil mixture that is perlite/coco choir/and some bone mill, heavy on the perlite. Based on the info I have stated I would appreciate any additional info on things I should change or do different moving forward. My cacti collection is growing and I hope to keep them healthy. Thx!
User avatar
7george
Posts: 2628
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:49 pm
Location: Calgary, Canada
Contact:

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by 7george »

Whatever happened the growth in the last season was not good enough like before. I am not sure what is the reason but I would change all of the soil mix after buying a new plant from a nursery and not use coco fiber at all. Replanting would be a good possibility to check health of the roots too. Fertilizer 20/20/20 would be too rich by nitrogen for most cacti, phosphate (P) and potassium (K) should prevail. And I wonder did that cactus received enough sun during the past season?
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
chancey84
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 5:55 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by chancey84 »

Ok. I'll try that. As for sun, there are better places in my backyard for direct sunlight. Is there some good literature out there for a guy who knows nothing but is interested in raising cacti and learning the dos and don'ts of growing healthy cacti?
User avatar
hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: Should I be concerned?

Post by hegar »

Be careful with the sun. Here, where I live the sun's rays are very strong and I have killed perfectly healthy cacti within a day or two by subjecting them to bright sunlight right after having purchased them from a nursery where they had been raised with shade-cloth on the glass roof.
The top of the plant is the most delicate and having no spines will be even more problematic, because spines do protect the plant's
epidermis from solar radiation to a certain degree.

Harald

P.S.: I too have no idea, how a cactus can produce a normal amount of spines and then quit doing so for a season or more.
Post Reply