I would build my berms using at least 80% river rock (1/4" - 1") in the soil mix instead of the 1/3 rock, 1/3 very coarse sand/ pea gravel, and 1/3 good topsoil I used back then. We have very cold winters and drainage needs to remain open even when soil is frozen deep.

Best of luck rebuilding your collection. We had a similar hiatus from cactus growing for about twenty years. But when we started we only thought opuntias would survive up here in the northern Midwest and unfortunately never experimented with many other species. Then we tried to clean up the cactus b...

I like your mix. That pea gravel especially. I've been using decomposed granite, but the stuff I buy from Home Depot is more sand than gravel and I end up not using a good deal of it. I'll see what my local stores have to offer. All the bagged pea gravel are different in size and composition. Even ...

Thanks for the article and everyone's input on what soil works for them. As stated, we all have different climates, species, and care schedules so there is no one perfect cactus soil. After years of tinkering this basic mix works for us in the Upper Midwest with the pots pretty much left on their ow...

Tom in Tucson wrote: ↑Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:54 pm I would cut about 1"above the bruised area with a razor or sharp knife. Place in the shade until it's healed and calloused. The rest of the job is very routine (google if needed).

Thanks Tom, I followed your advice.

I have never tried cactus cuttings before but now will attempt it out of necessity. This Echinocereus was in the path of our dog's excavation this morning. M3IMG_4876 Ech lloydi persimmon dog damage 7-25-2023 sm.jpg Am I correct to remove the outer layer of brown skin where loose before letting it c...

Stout weeding knives make short work of invaders in thick rock mulch. Easy to stab through the rocks and cut the roots without disturbing the rock layer or mixing up the soil beneath. Stainless steel so it can be left outside near the berms so it is handy when passing by and spot weeds. M3IMG_4640 s...

Thanks for the insight Fred. I tend to agree with you. Since their ranges overlap in so many places, if they did hybridize easily you would think there would be some mention of the intermediate forms. But I thought I would ask in case someone had experience with this.

In our search for native Escobaria populations here in the zone 4/5 Upper Midwest we came across an interesting situation where well established individuals of what appear to be both E. missouriensis and E. vivipara were growing near each other. Some individuals had the pink/red flowers of vivipara ...

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping it was pollinated, perhaps there was another hidden somewhere nearby. On missouriensis I have, the dried flowers tend to look somewhat pale. These are much darker so I am thinking the flowers were pink.

A friend found this cactus last week while fixing fence on his ranch and tossed it in the back of his gator. Later his son saw it, potted it up, and offered it to me since I had been asking about similar species in the area. From its location by the Missouri River in southeastern South Dakota it has...