I agree that this is a good indicator but you have to be carful with this :) From my experience perennial grasses growing right next to the body of large spiny cacti (like Ferocactus) are the worst. If you let them establish it is very hard to get rid of them without repotting the cactus. Another pl...

cool plant!
The same thing happened to my Lophophora seedlings
looks like a miniature version of your plant
viewtopic.php?t=48259

Imagine that you wake up one morning and discover that your collection was stolen overnight… or that an aggressive nematode killed all your cacti or that a small meteor hit your greenhouse 😊. Imagine you are forced to move to a different country and cant take your cacti with you… These all sound lik...

Thank you all for the feedback
I just watered thoroughly after a 5 month dry period and I suddenly got worried that it might be too drastic of a change.
Glad to know that its OK
Hagai

I heard some people say that after winter you should water gradually.
meaning that you should start with a very mild watering and only after some time give the plants a proper soak.
Do you guys find that to be important/true?
Thanks

Dave
I am a plant ecologist and you definitely know a lot more than me

Dave, thanks for the links. Its amazing how many things in plants are governed by auxin. But it still doesn't answer the question of whether this is environmental or genetic or developmental. The fact that different parts of the same plant behave differently could be the result of somatic mutations ...

My son got this cacti in a birthday party. It was tiny and almost dead but it recuperated. My question is about the spiraling. it seems as if only two branches are spiraling. Do you know what creates the spiral? Can it be induced? I assume its silvertii but I might be wrong :) Resized_20240328_17361...

George
Do you know the species names for the Mammilaria and the Ferocactus?
Great pictures!!
Thanks
Hagai

Thank you for all the info, articles and the pictures.
Over the years nurse plants have received much more attention compared to nurse objects.
Rocks have received more attention regarding cacti compared to other plant groups.
If I manage to publish my paper i will share it here as well
Thanks!

Dave
these are great pictures!
I wish that one day I can go on a trip like this...
Thanks!

Hey all I sowed some Lophophora seeds a few months ago (not sure about the species, the guy that gave them to me did not know). They germinated pretty well. Today I noticed some unusual growth in some of them. It seems as though they are offsetting (maybe I am wrong). is that normal for seedlings to...

Hey all I am writing a scientific paper about the role of nurse objects on seedling establishment. Nurse objects are inanimate objects that shield plants from the elements or negative biotic interactions. Cacti are among the group of plants that have been shown to benefit from proximity to nurse pla...

They sure look healthy

and how to kill them?
Thanks