Newbie needs help with offsets

CelticRose · Post by **CelticRose** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 3:12 am

I've got some offsets that fell off of a new M. vetula ssp. gracilis. I have no idea what to do with them now except let them callus over, which I think they've already done. Some of them were still "attached" to the mother plant, but I think that was because they were so crowded that they didn't have room to fall. A couple have roots already. I did buy some rooting powder.

Now what?

Thanks for your help.

tvaughan · Post by **tvaughan** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 3:21 am

For some reason cactus often like to be crowded when they're young. I'd put them all into one pot right away. Dry soil, don't water for a week, then water very lightly until warm weather; perhaps once per week with a very light soaking.

You'll get every kind of advice there is to get as to what kind of soil, but I use half cactus mix from the nursery and half sand, and it works.

Until warm weather, it's easier to kill with kindness, so don't be TOO tempted to water to make them grow faster. A tablespoon or two full of water will keep them alive until it's safe to water more heavily.

CelticRose · Post by **CelticRose** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 5:09 am

Thanks, tvaughan.

I'll stick them in a pot tomorrow. I've been getting good results from off-the-shelf cactus mix, so I'll use that.

Do they need to be dusted with rooting powder?

Moonbeam · Post by **Moonbeam** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 5:22 am

Mine do that too. I just stick my finger in the dirt to make a tiny little hole, and drop it in, and they're fine. For lookin' so delicate, mine doesn't really care what happens to it...yet.

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:28 pm

And one already has a root head-start

Your climate is very similar to mine, so i'd bet that those small ones will be as big as the big ones by this time next year. I rooted down a group of tiny offsets last year, no bigger than a pencil eraser head. They are atleast the size of my thumb tip now.

CelticRose · Post by **CelticRose** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:16 pm

I finally had time to stick them in a pot this morning. I used off-the-shelf cactus soil in a 3" pot that I first filled about 1/3 of the way with pearl stone (I felt the pot was too deep for these guys). I didn't use rooting hormone. I also didn't topdress the soil because the rocks probably would have buried the smaller ones!

I know that you have to leave all repotted cacti out of direct sunlight for one week -- should I put these in my window after that time period?

How about temperature? Altman's says the minimum temperature for M. gracilis is 32F. Can these guys take temps that low or do they need to be warmer?

tvaughan, I have Asperger's and sometimes I take things too literally. Did you mean one to two tablespoons of water literally? If not, please tell me -- otherwise I'll be getting out my measuring spoon when it's time to water them.

And please define warm weather: I live in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona -- what's warm to us is hot to other people.

How will I know when it's time to repot them?

Here they are. How do they look?

Thanks for your help, everyone.

Moonbeam · Post by **Moonbeam** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:37 am

They look adorable. Don't panic...they'll be fine.

CelticRose · Post by **CelticRose** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:50 am

Moonbeam wrote:They look adorable. Don't panic...they'll be fine.

Thanks, Moonbeam.

Not panicking -- just needing information. This is my first attempt at this.