Free the roots!
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2018 7:35 pm
I bought these 3 new cacti. I have my own hunch which genuses all of them are but I don't know the exact species. I will post better pics to the identification section later. I have something more urgent to think than specific IDs. I also want to encourage everyone who is new with cacti to take their time with the peat when changing the soil of new purchased cactus. You can do it! The results can be really rewarding!
It seems that I've never bought a cactus in peat before. Removing the old soil has never been as hard as it was today. I don't know where I even begin.
1) Peat is a horrible thing. What did the first person using peat with cacti was thinking? How did he got his idea through and spread worldwide? He must've been a really good salesman or something.
2) High pain tolerance is a nice perk. But it doesn't help with spines which submerged under nail. Hopefully I don't get an infection
3) Do not ever, ever assume that the cactus is fine in the pot and soil you bought it in. Always check the roots. Always check the soil. The plant can be in a right soil and the roots can be fine and that's ok, then you just put it back how it was. But if there's something wrong with the roots and/or soil, it will be a certain death penalty for the cactus if you've done nothing to it.
4) Keep tweezers with you. You'll need them. And good light so you can locate the spines on your skin quicker.
5) Don't worry, you'll brake some of the roots. Your cactus will forgive you.
Ok! Well let's start with the easiest one I had. Physically easiest. Hardest to endure mentally. I don't know what it is but let's not let it bother us. That's not important. What's important is that this cactus is in trouble. It is about 9cm in diameter and I bought it in about same sized pot: 10cm in diameter about 10cm deep. It was kinda shock to realize the pot was full of peat. As I removed the peat starting from bottom I quickly realized there is no roots around. Finally I found the pathetic root system deep in the peat. I don't know how long the plant has been without water since the roots were kinda dry and half of them broke off. But in the other hand it's a fortune it hasn't been watered cause it surely would've ended dead. As I cleaned the roots I noticed it has started to sprout new roots. It's going to survive! The second plant, a small assumed echinocactus grusonii in a 5cm pot. It was potted in peat but the roots looked nice. I broke the root ball and encountered a new kind of problem. I've never seen as tight tangle before! I didn't take a picture of it because I was trying to release the tangle. In the picture you can see where I ended up with it. Imagine all those roots being tangled under the cactus. With a tight ball of peat. And the cactus was continuously shedding tiny spines to my palms. From where, I don't know. While handling the other two I did't get spines stuck to my palms, just with this.
I soaked the tangled roots in water for few minutes. It did help a little since the roots were not that fragile and were more flexible. I'm happy I did release the roots from the peat because look at the length of them! I was really impressed by the roots it has. Most impressive roots had this assumed gymnocalycium.
I knew removing the soil is going to be hard as soon I checked the bottom of the pot. I was afraid to remove the pot because I didn't want to break the thick roots poking out of the holes. Fortunately they were just slightly tangled together so I didn't need to cut them.
After I took the pot off I knew the job is going to be even harder. Thick roots, hairy roots, everywhere. Sorry of the bad quality of the picture.
It felt like it took forever to remove the peat around the cactus. It was like a carpet. I was just wondering if I ever gonna make it, there's still more peat to remove. At first I thought the plant has only one thick taproot but soon I noticed it has several thick roots tangled together.
Finally the roots were in order and clean enough! Aren't they looking nice? I hope the pot I have for it is deep enough. That kind of Monday I had. The cacti are drying up overnight and tomorrow I will pot them. For potting I need little tips since this ended up little different I was thinking.
A) I have no idea what to do with the first cactus. I have no super shallow and wide pots for it. I have only normal clay pots which are not that deep but too deep for the roots this one has. I was thinking if I put a good layer of hardened clayballs on the bottom of the pot. So there will be not that much soil but not too much either. Is that good enough?
B) For the assumed echinocactus grusonii, how large pot should I give it? Is it ok for it to have the roots little cramped there? I think there surely is not a 6cm wide and 9cm deep pot
C) Is the pot I have deep enough for the assumed gymno?
Thank you in advance!
It seems that I've never bought a cactus in peat before. Removing the old soil has never been as hard as it was today. I don't know where I even begin.
1) Peat is a horrible thing. What did the first person using peat with cacti was thinking? How did he got his idea through and spread worldwide? He must've been a really good salesman or something.
2) High pain tolerance is a nice perk. But it doesn't help with spines which submerged under nail. Hopefully I don't get an infection
3) Do not ever, ever assume that the cactus is fine in the pot and soil you bought it in. Always check the roots. Always check the soil. The plant can be in a right soil and the roots can be fine and that's ok, then you just put it back how it was. But if there's something wrong with the roots and/or soil, it will be a certain death penalty for the cactus if you've done nothing to it.
4) Keep tweezers with you. You'll need them. And good light so you can locate the spines on your skin quicker.
5) Don't worry, you'll brake some of the roots. Your cactus will forgive you.
Ok! Well let's start with the easiest one I had. Physically easiest. Hardest to endure mentally. I don't know what it is but let's not let it bother us. That's not important. What's important is that this cactus is in trouble. It is about 9cm in diameter and I bought it in about same sized pot: 10cm in diameter about 10cm deep. It was kinda shock to realize the pot was full of peat. As I removed the peat starting from bottom I quickly realized there is no roots around. Finally I found the pathetic root system deep in the peat. I don't know how long the plant has been without water since the roots were kinda dry and half of them broke off. But in the other hand it's a fortune it hasn't been watered cause it surely would've ended dead. As I cleaned the roots I noticed it has started to sprout new roots. It's going to survive! The second plant, a small assumed echinocactus grusonii in a 5cm pot. It was potted in peat but the roots looked nice. I broke the root ball and encountered a new kind of problem. I've never seen as tight tangle before! I didn't take a picture of it because I was trying to release the tangle. In the picture you can see where I ended up with it. Imagine all those roots being tangled under the cactus. With a tight ball of peat. And the cactus was continuously shedding tiny spines to my palms. From where, I don't know. While handling the other two I did't get spines stuck to my palms, just with this.
I soaked the tangled roots in water for few minutes. It did help a little since the roots were not that fragile and were more flexible. I'm happy I did release the roots from the peat because look at the length of them! I was really impressed by the roots it has. Most impressive roots had this assumed gymnocalycium.
I knew removing the soil is going to be hard as soon I checked the bottom of the pot. I was afraid to remove the pot because I didn't want to break the thick roots poking out of the holes. Fortunately they were just slightly tangled together so I didn't need to cut them.
After I took the pot off I knew the job is going to be even harder. Thick roots, hairy roots, everywhere. Sorry of the bad quality of the picture.
It felt like it took forever to remove the peat around the cactus. It was like a carpet. I was just wondering if I ever gonna make it, there's still more peat to remove. At first I thought the plant has only one thick taproot but soon I noticed it has several thick roots tangled together.
Finally the roots were in order and clean enough! Aren't they looking nice? I hope the pot I have for it is deep enough. That kind of Monday I had. The cacti are drying up overnight and tomorrow I will pot them. For potting I need little tips since this ended up little different I was thinking.
A) I have no idea what to do with the first cactus. I have no super shallow and wide pots for it. I have only normal clay pots which are not that deep but too deep for the roots this one has. I was thinking if I put a good layer of hardened clayballs on the bottom of the pot. So there will be not that much soil but not too much either. Is that good enough?
B) For the assumed echinocactus grusonii, how large pot should I give it? Is it ok for it to have the roots little cramped there? I think there surely is not a 6cm wide and 9cm deep pot
C) Is the pot I have deep enough for the assumed gymno?
Thank you in advance!