First post of a newbie cactus lover....

BRC · Post by **BRC** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:39 pm

Hello everyone!

My name is Bruno and i live in Portugal. I am a brand new cactus lover, and even though it's beeen all very recent, i can safelly say i am completly hooked!!

Last week i bought my first cacti, (5 to be exact), and ever since i have been doing my best to know more about cacti so i can grow them properly, and the more i learn about cacti, the more interested and fascinated i am by them.

Of the 5 cacti i bought i only knew the indentity of two right from the beggining, one is a lopho williamsii (my favorite), and the other is which is normally called a San Pedro cacti...or so i though, because after doing some searching i discovered that the cacti i bought, that i though to be a san pedro, and was labelled as such is actually a Peruvian Torch (Echinopsis peruviana).

Also i eventually discovered the identity of 2 other cacti...one i belive is a Stenocactus multicostatus, and the other is a Hoodia Gordonii. One still remains unidentified.

Now as a newbie that as days go by discoveres something new every day that either leaves me intrigued (finding that my san pedro aint a san pedro) or worried (finding the hoodia produces a flower that smells of carrion

), i have some questions that i hope you guys can help me out with.

1- I live in a flat, which only has two fronts...the main is faced east the other north. My cacty are in a window faced east, which means that as early as 7:30am to about noon they are bombarded with wondefull and direct sunlight. Is east a good bet? Are those roughly 4h of direct sunlight enough for a ealthy growth of my cacti?

2- I am using "comercial soil for cacti" which dosen't have alot of sand in it. I have read in several places that cacti should be watered from once a weak in summer, to once every 2 months in winter, but from what i understand alot of those advices came from pleople that actually "make" their own cactus soil...so what do you guys recon, is roughly the best "watering schedule" to be applied for comercial cactus soil?

3- I have repotted all my cacti, but i did not watered them, as i have read it should not be done, because the roots might start to rot...how long should i wait?

4- What is roughly the expect growth speed of a Peruvian Torch?

Thank you all for your time

Arjen · Post by **Arjen** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:09 am

hi and welcome!

1-leave your cacti where they are, that's the sunniest place in your flat.it may not be enough though... it's quite likely some of your cacti will etoliate.

2-don't use commercial cactus soil, period! it's not suited for cacti. if you can't/don't want to bother to make your own mix at least add 1/3 perlite to it, in which case watering is the same as for any other cactus soil.

3-at least a week.

4-don't know, it depends on the conditions.

Thord Håkansson · Post by **Thord Håkansson** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:29 am

I agree with what is said earlier. If you have a balcony or some other possibility to put them outside your plants would appreciate that. Depending on how the plants were kept when you bought them, it seems that four hours of sun would be OK for now, otherwise they might get scorched.But when it´s warm,they grow a lot better in fresh air.
You have found a wonderful hobby. GOOD LUCK

BRC · Post by **BRC** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:19 pm

Hello there!

Thank you guys for replying.

Strukto, after i bought my plants i searched around several places that sell plants, for sand, and even pumice but with no luck...the closest thing i found was gravel, but the bits were just too big...everyone just kept telling me to just use the cactus mix. There was only one lady at the smallest place i went, that showed me these clay marbels. From the picture on the bag it appears that these marbels are used for drainage in very large pots. She told me i could maybe brake them into smaller bits and mix them with soil...would that be appropriate? What about sand from a river/beach, after a very very good wash?

AS for the place where i am currently keeping my platns, yes they only get around 4h of direct sunlight, but after noon, the room still remains bright till around 6pm...
If a room is kept bright enough even without direct sunligh, do cactus still develop nicelly?

Yes Thord i have a Balcony on the east front of my flat, but temperatures are still pretty cold, around 2ºc. Should i wait till April or are the cactus able to withstand 2ºc?

A few photos of my boys

On the right the cactus i still haven't identified, and of the left one of my hoodia.

My lovely lopho

On the right what i belive to be a Peruvian Torch and another Hoodia on the left. Its amazing that such a small cactus can have such large thorns....whicked

The plant i belive to be Stenocactus multicostatus

Those white pebbles i bought at the same time that i got my cactus with the intention of mixing them up with the soil, but only after i got home i realised i shouldn't as these pebbles are mostly decorative and could contain chemicals that might harm the roots, so i just decided to sprnkle a bit on top of the earth...eventually i will remove them completly wen a get a nice batch of smoth rocks.

Again thank you all for your time

Cacti77 · Post by **Cacti77** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:50 am

WELCOME

Arjen · Post by **Arjen** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:24 am

I use a mix for my cacti that probably will be no problem for you to acquire at a garden centre, it works really well for me.

- 1/3 cocopeat soil
- 1/3 small aquarium pebbles (there are different sizes available, pick what you need/like)
- 1/6 sand (river sand will do fine)
- 1/6 commercial cactus soil

Post by **daiv** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:49 pm

Hey glad to meet you! the plants all look quite healthy. I recommend you add Portugal to your location in your user profile so people can reference that when you have questions.

Daiv

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:56 pm

You have a nice selection of cacti and succulents. You should have fun with them!

BRC · Post by **BRC** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:03 pm

Thank you everyone for the posts, and the warm welcome

Thank you Strukto for the mix tip.

Tomorrow im gonna search a bit more, im gonna try searching in other areas for sand and such, and i even got a tip on were i could obtain some perlite aswell.

Now this raises a question. I have very recently repotted my plants, and if i eventually do obtain sand and perlite and other stuff, how long do i have to wait to repot them again? Can i do it instantly or should i alow the rots to recover from the reppoting trauma for a couple of months before atempting to repot them with the new soil mix?

Thank you for your time

Post by **daiv** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:05 am

If you are repotting them to get them in a more suitable cactus mix, then do it right away. You could repot them several times before most cactus would really be bothered by it.

Mostly_Harmless · Post by **Mostly_Harmless** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:29 pm

Hi Bruno.

I think your peruvian torch is a Trichocereus bridgesii. Lovely spines!

BRC · Post by **BRC** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:44 am

Hello everyone, again thanks for the replies

Thanks Daiv, i shall try and replant them as soon as i can, im just missing a bit of river sand, that i will collect today.

I belive you are correct Mostly_Harmless. As i said this was sold to me as simple labeled "San Pedro". After a while i knew it wasn't as it was nowhere close the San Pedro i kept seeing in pictures, the closest thing i was able to find with my limitd knowledge was the torch, had the right colour and the spines were close, but know after looking at the Bridgesii pictures, its clear what species it is

. Darn those spines are awesome!!

Now if i could only identify this little rascal i was set hehe http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20558

Again thank you all for your time