Keeping Cacti Gnarly and Stunted

[esp_imaging]

I was curious if any of you Cactus growers like to keep your Cacti looking more wild and rugged, and if you have any tips on how to do so.

I think climate and manner of growing will influence this a lot.

A grower in a warm, sunnier climate, with a short winter, high sunshine hours and very good growing conditions in spring and autumn, may let their plants bake and get "gnarly" in the middle of summer.

In the UK, I have lots of plants which go for several months of drought over winter, and are looking compact, shrivelled up and sad at the start of spring.
They then spend the next few months recovering, and trying to grow and flower before the drought starts again in the autumn.
They may not get the summer sun baking that plants in other climates may receive, but they will certainly get stressed over winter.

[Mrs.Green]

DWW.jpg

A bit OT perhaps..but this photo is great! I f it was me I would have framed it and hanged it in my livingroom!

Hm..something went wrong here..but I am talking about the pic of DaveW with that big cactus.

[Steve-0]

Steve-O I am loving these setups, really like the character and layers and texture of the rock. Would you ever collect some rock to sell?

Short answer is No. The collection rules on public lands in Utah are basically this for personal use: Up to 250 pounds per year- free.

However, that also includes the rule under personal use that no part of whatever is collected be it rock, mineral, certain fossils, seeds, nuts, firewoods, tee pee or tipi lodge poles ( yep, them, too ), plants - including cactus, agave, yucca, weeds, flowers, etc and many other items -
( and now the parameter of personal use collecting ) - no part or whole may be sold, traded or bartered.

That parameter falls under the Commercial Use Permit...which I think runs $2400 and I don't really care to purchase a commercial permit and go into business. ( I have a job already ) ...whereas the personal use permit for certain items is a Negotiated Contract of Sale with the Federal Bureau of Land Management...unless it's the one step below that called personal recreational use ( almost sounds like Marijuana use ) which is like collecting fallen dead wood for a campfire or picking up a "cool" looking unprotected rock on BLM lands.

So with all that said...I am allowed to "gift" said collected rock to others. But that does invite a gray area into play which I would not cross into. Like "hey dude, can you go get me some more of those XXXX's from that place you went camping last week?" Knowing that said "friend" is then turning around and selling those for a profit - ie it just became a commercial venture. That person could apply for and purchase his own Commercial Permit with the BLM.


So now that's said. Let's take it to PM if you would like a cool rock as a gift.

PS - BTW, Are there not "cool" rocks near you? These are very ordinary here. Limestone, volcanic material, quartz, granite, sandstone...whatever.
I get it that uptown or downtown New York City may not have cool rocks...but New York does have Herkimer Diamonds and Utah doesn't. But I don't see your location.

[7george]

DWW.jpg

A bit OT perhaps..but this photo is great! I f it was me I would have framed it and hanged it in my livingroom!
Hm..something went wrong here..but I am talking about the pic of DaveW with that big cactus.

Images attached once in the forum is better to be cited this way: ("Copy Image Location")

Code: Select all

[img]http://cactiguide.com/forum/download/file.php?id=82805[/img]

And then these will appear fully again and again...

[DaveW]

Apparently one of the obligatory photo's on the trip. I don't like to appear before the camera and only have 7 photographs of me in nearly 80 years now but I had my camera snatched off me for this shot and told everybody on the trip had to be pictured beside it. I think on the 1500 pictures I took I am only on 3 of them. Why waste images when there were cacti to photograph?

[NiklasTyreso]

100% mineral substrate keeps most cactuses healthy, but if you add fertilizer to the water or substrate they still grow plump.

[7george]

If the cactus doesn't grow noticeably or no blooms this doesn't seem "healthy" for most growers.

[Steve-0]

If the cactus doesn't grow noticeably or no blooms this doesn't seem "healthy" for most growers.

I think his whole point is to cultivate cacti in the unforgiving natural way which can be harsh... resulting in the desired "gnarly and stunted look" like a bonsai tree....versus... the TLC way resulting in a plump "fat and happy", greenhouse grown, Altman Plants look.

Around my desert climate one could just take a cactus outside and stomp on it a few times...voila! Instant gnarly and stunted Open Range Cattle grazing look! ....like these poor victims.

Disclaimer: this post is for informational purposes only. Not to be misconstrued as a prescribed method for cultivating cacti... no matter what look is desired.

[7george]

What to graze on in the desert actually? Better fence that cattle over there and give them some hey, ah?




Hoofs like these can flatten any cactus...

[EliWhitney3140]

So I will say I am not looking to torture my cacti like I might have made it sound in my post. What I am more concerned with is keeping my cacti low and compact rather than growing tall and extremely plump. I want them healthy but not looking like they are being fertilized every day of the year if that makes sense.

[7george]

So I will say I am not looking to torture my cacti like I might have made it sound in my post. What I am more concerned with is keeping my cacti low and compact rather than growing tall and extremely plump. I want them healthy but not looking like they are being fertilized every day of the year if that makes sense.

Sounds right. I'm always curious about the habitat look of cacti species I grow and trying to achieve similar look for my plants in one or another way.

[Steve-0]

...and my input was in part tongue in cheek...at least the extreme leaning torture training of cactus.

@7george. BLM land gets leased to ranchers who just let the cattle do their thing and eat any and everything within the leased property.

Those crushed cactus pics are of a rare and 'protected' from humans but apparently not cows, species...sclerocactus wrightiae. I have yet to see one though !'ve hiked over hill and dale where they exist. Maybe this spring I might see one before the cows do.

[EliWhitney3140]

No explanation needed Steve, I just don't want people to think I am throwing my cactus against to wall just for a harsher look. Plus I do think there is a distance in information I would receive from stunted to gnarley.

[Steve Johnson]

Hi Eli,

If you wouldn't mind a bit of shameless self-promotion...

I do almost all of my work on the forum over at Member Blogs. The big annual presentations I put on there are my end-of-summer reviews, and here's a link to the 2019 review which I started on 10/20/19:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 47#p365647

Aside from whatever entertainment value they have, I design these reviews to share all the details of my growing experience with less-experienced people who might be able to learn from it and apply at least some of the lessons. There's a lot of material in the 2019 review, and a whole lot more if you follow the links to my previous reviews. I won't claim any special expertise, but if you learn a few things that'll be useful in your efforts moving forward, hopefully you'll get something good out of it.

[EliWhitney3140]

thank you very much for the link Steve, and I don't mind at all.