two mystery cacti

cojadate · Post by **cojadate** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:55 pm

Hello, I've been given two cacti but nobody knows what species they are. I would be very grateful for any educated guesses so I know how to look after them.

Cacti A

* This one is about five inches high.

* The shopkeeper apparently claimed that its soil should never be watered. Apparently it should be sprayed with water once a month, and that's it. Sounds unlikely, but then cacti are unlikely plants. Is it true?

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Cacti B

This one is about three inches high.

caudiciformken · Post by **caudiciformken** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:59 pm

Hi, picture one, is a Euphorbia, not a cactus. I would water when soil is dry.
Picture two, is an opuntia possibly, that has flowered/fruited.

Not sure of the species, but I have something similar to your pic 1.

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:08 pm

The first one is not a cactus, but a succulent. It's for sure a Euphorbia, but not really sure on the speices. Possibly ferox. It looks to have been growing in low light.

The second is an Opuntia, but again, not sure on the specie. Maybe a spineless form of O. dillenii or O. ficus-indica with big areoles.

cojadate · Post by **cojadate** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 9:23 am

Wow, thanks for the rapid responses. I would never have guessed that the first one is not a cacti.

Any idea how long they can go without watering?

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:53 pm

Get a feel for the weight of the pot fully watered and the heft of it when it's pretty much completely dried out. When it seems light and the soil is fairly dry, water away (during seasons of active growth, assuming you can provide fairly strong light).

peterb

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:27 pm

Hi,

The Euphorbia is E enopla most likely. As Euphorbias go, they are pretty hardy I think.

I water mine heavily from April to October or November, they are outside in SOuthern California. But then the mix has a lot of pumice. If it has the dense mix in many nursery sold plants, less often.

Mike

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:45 pm

CoronaCactus wrote:Maybe a spineless form of O. dillenii

Actually, i take that back, the fruit is all wrong for dillenii. Sorry.

Lewis_cacti · Post by **Lewis_cacti** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:16 am

The shopkeeper apparently claimed that its soil should never be watered. Apparently it should be sprayed with water once a month, and that's it

i found this to be quite humorous

some people have no clue!

i agree i think that the Euphorbia is E.enopla, and a post-light-deprived specimen too.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:00 pm

Lewis_cacti wrote:
some people have no clue!

Well, not quite as bad as those who ask if Lithops are alive after learning they are plants. altho in fairness, they are not plant folks like the nursery guy.

cojadate · Post by **cojadate** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:04 pm

Thanks for the further species clarifications.

However I was actually asking about the watering stuff because, for reasons I won't bore you with, I need to abandon the two plants for very long time (maybe up to a year) without a reliable "carer" and I want to know how long they can survive without watering.

iann · Post by **iann** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:08 pm

A year without water is a bit too long although I suspect the plants would survive it. They would certainly be unhappy though.

Post by **daiv** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:44 pm

I think your bigger problem is going to be finding someone who doesn't over-water them.