Care of a Micranthocereus question
Care of a Micranthocereus question
I purchased a 6" Micranthocereus dolichospermaticus a month ago as I couldn't resist the coloring. I repotted it in a 6" pot using Lowes cacti soil, I added 30%Perlite to the soil. I put about 2" of fine pebbels in the bottom then filled pot with above soil (pot has good drainage.)I live in Iowa and the cacti I have go to the patio in the late spring where they get about 4hrs. of direct sun and the rest of the day they get filtered sun through white fiberglass.In the late fall they all come in the house and are under full spectrum grow lights 8hrs. a day.My question is how much sun and water will this cacti need?I have searched the web and my books for info. and can find nothing.I thank anyone for their help. Lawrence.
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templegatejohn
- Posts: 1198
- Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:57 pm
- Location: Leeds, England
Sun and Water
Hi Melome,
Most cacti and certainly the ones from the Cereus family will take all the sun you can give them, so that is not a problem.
As regards watering no one can or will give you a definitive answer because conditions vary.
But the trick is give the pot a good watering as you would any potted plant. Then allow it to dry out almost completely, do not worry about it wilting as a normal plant would do. Then water it thoroughly again. you can give it a dilute liquid feed about once a month, and do not be in too much of a hurry to pot it on. Most cacti like their roots restricted. Reduce your waterering at the end of September and stop altogether between the end of October and I would say the middle of March, unless it is in an area that is central heated or quite warm when a little and I mean a little once a month will stop it shrivelling too much.
Apart from that your compost and how you are looking after the plant sound just fine to me apart from the growing lamps. Most cacti like a winter's rest in a cool situation, 45-50f. is ample for most species and in fact many species will not flower the following year if they don't get this rest. Something to think about.
Cheers
John
Most cacti and certainly the ones from the Cereus family will take all the sun you can give them, so that is not a problem.
As regards watering no one can or will give you a definitive answer because conditions vary.
But the trick is give the pot a good watering as you would any potted plant. Then allow it to dry out almost completely, do not worry about it wilting as a normal plant would do. Then water it thoroughly again. you can give it a dilute liquid feed about once a month, and do not be in too much of a hurry to pot it on. Most cacti like their roots restricted. Reduce your waterering at the end of September and stop altogether between the end of October and I would say the middle of March, unless it is in an area that is central heated or quite warm when a little and I mean a little once a month will stop it shrivelling too much.
Apart from that your compost and how you are looking after the plant sound just fine to me apart from the growing lamps. Most cacti like a winter's rest in a cool situation, 45-50f. is ample for most species and in fact many species will not flower the following year if they don't get this rest. Something to think about.
Cheers
John
Thank you John for the info.As to the use of the fluorescent grow lights I was really guessing when I started this addiction, I thought some lighting was needed all the time. If I dont use them, all the cacti would be in my den for 6 mths. with just the normal room lighting, no outside lighting,would this be enough? Thank you again, Lawrence
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templegatejohn
- Posts: 1198
- Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:57 pm
- Location: Leeds, England
Plant care
Hi Lawrence,
If there are no windows in the room there would not be enought light. Normal tungsten lighting is the wrong spectrum and is of no benefit to plants.
It is dangerous to generalise but most cacti need reasonable light in winter but a cool and airy (if possible) situation. As I said previously 90% of cacti are quite happy at 45f. if they are dry and some will stand almost freezing. The key is to make sure they are dry.
Melocactus, Discocactus and one or two others are the exception to the rule and these plants needs at least 60f through the winter.
The easiest solution, depending on your circumstances is to move them to a position where they can get some natural light.
Having said all that there are many people in Europe, particularly Germany where Cactophiles take there plants out of the pots in autumn, shake all the old compost from the roots and wrap the plants in newspaper and keep them in the cellar until Spring and they do not come to any harm. I have never tried this and am not recommending it. It is just an example of what works for different growers.
If your situation with the lamps has worked for you, it must be OK, but it seems to me to be an expense that is not really necessary and may be stopping the plants from flowering for you. They, like the rest of us do need that rest.
Good growing,
John
If there are no windows in the room there would not be enought light. Normal tungsten lighting is the wrong spectrum and is of no benefit to plants.
It is dangerous to generalise but most cacti need reasonable light in winter but a cool and airy (if possible) situation. As I said previously 90% of cacti are quite happy at 45f. if they are dry and some will stand almost freezing. The key is to make sure they are dry.
Melocactus, Discocactus and one or two others are the exception to the rule and these plants needs at least 60f through the winter.
The easiest solution, depending on your circumstances is to move them to a position where they can get some natural light.
Having said all that there are many people in Europe, particularly Germany where Cactophiles take there plants out of the pots in autumn, shake all the old compost from the roots and wrap the plants in newspaper and keep them in the cellar until Spring and they do not come to any harm. I have never tried this and am not recommending it. It is just an example of what works for different growers.
If your situation with the lamps has worked for you, it must be OK, but it seems to me to be an expense that is not really necessary and may be stopping the plants from flowering for you. They, like the rest of us do need that rest.
Good growing,
John
Thank you for all the help,appreciated. I guess I will have to keep things the way they are or cut a window in my den but dont want to do that. I am getting blooming on all cacti, some in the spring when I put them out and start watering and some when I bring them in for winter so I guess they are having a cycle of some sort.I thank you again,Lawrence
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PinkNailPolish
- Posts: 318
- Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 2:46 am
- Location: Sonoma, California
- Contact:
Oh yeah, I meant to comment on this earlier. I don't necessarily agree with that stamement. Cacti in the ground flourish far more than those in pots. My grandparents had a cactus in a 6inch pot since before I was born. (I think this is part of the reason I got so interested in cacti.) Anyway it sat in their big bay window for years and was about 2 inches in diameter and a foot high. When I was 16 I couldn't stand it anymore and repotted it in a 20inch pot with a sandy loam soil. I asked my grandmother to only water it about half as much as her african violets. Boy was it happy! It started growing about a foot a year! In about four and a half years it flowered for the first time. Since then my grandparents have both died and I inherited the plant. A friend kept it safe for another 4 years or so until I finally got up to Minnesota to pick it up. Of course, at the rate it was growing it had hit the ceiling by now, so my friend wacked it right in half. I took the top back here to CA and he's still growing the bottom up in MN.
It is the tall cereus in the background of this picture:
You can spot it not even two years later in this picture:
Since I put it in the ground it has grown many many times more in 2 years than it did in twenty years in a pot.
So I have to say based on my experience with this one and all the others I have in the ground, I see being rootbound holding back cacti.
We'll have to wait for John to get back for an explaination, I reckon.
Daiv
It is the tall cereus in the background of this picture:
You can spot it not even two years later in this picture:
Since I put it in the ground it has grown many many times more in 2 years than it did in twenty years in a pot.
So I have to say based on my experience with this one and all the others I have in the ground, I see being rootbound holding back cacti.
We'll have to wait for John to get back for an explaination, I reckon.
Daiv
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cactusbutt
- Posts: 905
- Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:03 am
- Location: Oregon USA (Zone 8)
- Contact:
Great story Daiv
It looks very happy in your care
I miss John and his dry wit
My wife say's i should be a Brit
have a good one
Bob
PS. i gave my grandmother mammillaria elongata
when i was 14 she put it in a coffee cup on the window sill,she passed last year and it was still alive
21 years in a coffee cup
and my aunt threw it in the garbadge
It looks very happy in your care
I miss John and his dry wit
My wife say's i should be a Brit
have a good one
Bob
PS. i gave my grandmother mammillaria elongata
when i was 14 she put it in a coffee cup on the window sill,she passed last year and it was still alive
21 years in a coffee cup
and my aunt threw it in the garbadge
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templegatejohn
- Posts: 1198
- Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 2:57 pm
- Location: Leeds, England
Rootbound or Not
Hi guys,
Daiv has expressed his opinion regarding plants liking or not liking being pot (root) bound and in a way we are both correct. It's that good old word "generalisation" again.
You guys and gals in the US and other warm climes have the drop on me with the weather and are able to grow many species outside in the open air. I do not have this luxury. I don't take my "Long Johns" off until mid-July (although I do change them occasionally).
Of course Daiv is correct in that plants will grow much better in open ground given the right conditions and most of the Opuntias and columnar cacti appreciate a nice large pot and will thrive in them.
But remember when growing them in pots we are putting them into an alien environment and they are reliant upon our ability to serve their needs. Most of us know that cacti do not like their feet wet. To help us to achieve this successfully we need to be aware of one or two things.
1. We need an open compost to allow excess moisture to drain away.
2. A rule I was given many years ago: Never go by the size of the plant body when selecting a pot. Always go by the size of the root system of the plant. The pot should be only slightly bigger than the roots. If the plant has a large body obviously a diameter of pot that suits this will have to be used. But you DON'T have to fill the whole pot with compost, use gravel or whatever else you can get your hands on and just leave enough room for some new root growth.
3. If the roots are not filling the pot. Do not re-pot. Feed the plant instead.
So Daiv is correct and hopefully I am too. On a personal note I have always found a plant that is almost pot bound flowers much better for me. Think of all those plants of grandma's that have lived in a compost with the constituency of concrete for years and have flowered so well it makes you sick.
Phew, that was a long one,
Cheers
John
Daiv has expressed his opinion regarding plants liking or not liking being pot (root) bound and in a way we are both correct. It's that good old word "generalisation" again.
You guys and gals in the US and other warm climes have the drop on me with the weather and are able to grow many species outside in the open air. I do not have this luxury. I don't take my "Long Johns" off until mid-July (although I do change them occasionally).
Of course Daiv is correct in that plants will grow much better in open ground given the right conditions and most of the Opuntias and columnar cacti appreciate a nice large pot and will thrive in them.
But remember when growing them in pots we are putting them into an alien environment and they are reliant upon our ability to serve their needs. Most of us know that cacti do not like their feet wet. To help us to achieve this successfully we need to be aware of one or two things.
1. We need an open compost to allow excess moisture to drain away.
2. A rule I was given many years ago: Never go by the size of the plant body when selecting a pot. Always go by the size of the root system of the plant. The pot should be only slightly bigger than the roots. If the plant has a large body obviously a diameter of pot that suits this will have to be used. But you DON'T have to fill the whole pot with compost, use gravel or whatever else you can get your hands on and just leave enough room for some new root growth.
3. If the roots are not filling the pot. Do not re-pot. Feed the plant instead.
So Daiv is correct and hopefully I am too. On a personal note I have always found a plant that is almost pot bound flowers much better for me. Think of all those plants of grandma's that have lived in a compost with the constituency of concrete for years and have flowered so well it makes you sick.
Phew, that was a long one,
Cheers
John