SDK1's Plants

This is a place for members to post on-going topics about their plants and experiences.
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

jerrytheplater wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 9:33 pm Unfired clay? Does it turn to mush if you soak it? Or break apart?
I haven't actually done the soak test on either of the granular clay products I've used. The first is Safe T Sorb and I get it locally at Tractor Supply. I've used it as a main component in my gritty mix since I started growing more seriously. I've noticed that it does tend to break down noticeably after two years. According to the bag it is calcined clay so I misspoke earlier when I said it was unfired. Pictures of the bag/product below. The pieces I'm holding are between 1/8" and 1/4". I sifted out a fairly substantial amount of dust and particles larger than 1/16" but smaller than 1/8". Sometimes I'll wash this product if I don't want to deal with the dust or can't get outside to sift it. Due to the silica, I only sift it outside while wearing at least an N95 respirator and safety glasses (not that the glasses do much when what I should be using is a pair of safety goggles).
Front
Front
20230401_132900.jpg (75.13 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
Back
Back
20230401_132923.jpg (79.63 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
Sample
Sample
20230401_132945.jpg (77.3 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
Another clay product I've used is the Special Kitty non-clumping, unscented, cat litter from Walmart. I haven't been able to find jack regarding what the product actually is or if it's heated prior to packaging in any way. The only info is the marketing junk on the bag saying "natural clay." It's softer than the Safe T Sorb so that's the one I was thinking of when I said "unfired" earlier. This was the stuff I used to root a Lophophora pup I got off of another growers grafted plant. I haven't done the soak test on it or used it for long enough to comment on how fast it breaks down. To be honest though, that's not much of anconcern to me because I rarely let things go more than 2 years without a repot. Plus I don't usually use this stuff as a soil mix all on it's own, that's a recent experiment for plants that stay indoors with stable temps and controlled watering year round. My line of thought is that the softer texture may actually act similarly to some of the softer volcanic products that specialty growers and bonsai nuts rave about lile kanuma, akadama, and other similar products (I forget the names currently). Those products work well no doubt, but they also tend to break down rather rapidly (<2 years if I remember correctly). Pictures below. No sifting has occurred to what I'm holding. If anyone has guesses or knows what the product is (sodium bentonite maybe?) or if it's heat treated at all, please let me know. Can't find a darn SDS or product information writeup on it anywhere.
Front
Front
20230401_132815.jpg (70.03 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
Back
Back
20230401_135314.jpg (84.94 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
Sample
Sample
20230401_133244.jpg (91.14 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
On another note, I have a Euphorbia obesa that's doing some interesting things. Typically these plants are dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers are not found on the same plant. So you usually have to have two plants if you want seeds. This plant originally produced male flowers only for me. Over winter, I discovered the start of a spider mite infestation and quarantined the plant with a few that were around it. Because it wasn't with the main group of plants I forgot about it and was more lackadaisical with the watering than I usually am. When I remembered to water it (which was not often) I found that it had started producing female flowers. While this is uncommon, it's not unheard of with E. obesa. Some growers have written about plants that one day decide to produce the opposite flower of whatever they'd produced prior to that point. What I'm more fascinated by is that this plant appears to be producing both flowers on one stalk now. You can see the stamens below the forming seedpods (not selfed seed pods, I used pollen I'd saved from another male obesa I have, haven't tried to self-pollinate this plant yet, been busy and trying to avoid interacting with the spider mite plants until I can toss them outside for the season). You can also see them below the pistils on the newest stalk. Just unusual stuff but I've found plants can't be bothered to play by all the arbitrary rules we like to assign them anyway. If anyone else has experienced this or something similar, I'd love to hear about it
E. obesa with complete flowers
E. obesa with complete flowers
20230401_132735.jpg (55.64 KiB) Viewed 2891 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
User avatar
Tom in Tucson
Posts: 426
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2022 4:12 pm
Location: NW Tucson AZ area

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by Tom in Tucson »

SDK1 wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:05 pm
jerrytheplater wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2023 9:33 pm Unfired clay? Does it turn to mush if you soak it? Or break apart?
I haven't actually done the soak test on either of the granular clay products I've used. The first is Safe T Sorb and I get it locally at Tractor Supply. I've used it as a main component in my gritty mix since I started growing more seriously. I've noticed that it does tend to break down noticeably after two years. According to the bag it is calcined clay so I misspoke earlier when I said it was unfired. Pictures of the bag/product below. The pieces I'm holding are between 1/8" and 1/4". I sifted out a fairly substantial amount of dust and particles larger than 1/16" but smaller than 1/8". Sometimes I'll wash this product if I don't want to deal with the dust or can't get outside to sift it. Due to the silica, I only sift it outside while wearing at least an N95 respirator and safety glasses (not that the glasses do much when what I should be using is a pair of safety goggles).

20230401_132900.jpg
20230401_132923.jpg
20230401_132945.jpg

Another clay product I've used is the Special Kitty non-clumping, unscented, cat litter from Walmart. I haven't been able to find jack regarding what the product actually is or if it's heated prior to packaging in any way. The only info is the marketing junk on the bag saying "natural clay." It's softer than the Safe T Sorb so that's the one I was thinking of when I said "unfired" earlier. This was the stuff I used to root a Lophophora pup I got off of another growers grafted plant. I haven't done the soak test on it or used it for long enough to comment on how fast it breaks down. To be honest though, that's not much of anconcern to me because I rarely let things go more than 2 years without a repot. Plus I don't usually use this stuff as a soil mix all on it's own, that's a recent experiment for plants that stay indoors with stable temps and controlled watering year round. My line of thought is that the softer texture may actually act similarly to some of the softer volcanic products that specialty growers and bonsai nuts rave about lile kanuma, akadama, and other similar products (I forget the names currently). Those products work well no doubt, but they also tend to break down rather rapidly (<2 years if I remember correctly). Pictures below. No sifting has occurred to what I'm holding. If anyone has guesses or knows what the product is (sodium bentonite maybe?) or if it's heat treated at all, please let me know. Can't find a darn SDS or product information writeup on it anywhere.

20230401_132815.jpg
20230401_135314.jpg
20230401_133244.jpg

On another note, I have a Euphorbia obesa that's doing some interesting things. Typically these plants are dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers are not found on the same plant. So you usually have to have two plants if you want seeds. This plant originally produced male flowers only for me. Over winter, I discovered the start of a spider mite infestation and quarantined the plant with a few that were around it. Because it wasn't with the main group of plants I forgot about it and was more lackadaisical with the watering than I usually am. When I remembered to water it (which was not often) I found that it had started producing female flowers. While this is uncommon, it's not unheard of with E. obesa. Some growers have written about plants that one day decide to produce the opposite flower of whatever they'd produced prior to that point. What I'm more fascinated by is that this plant appears to be producing both flowers on one stalk now. You can see the stamens below the forming seedpods (not selfed seed pods, I used pollen I'd saved from another male obesa I have, haven't tried to self-pollinate this plant yet, been busy and trying to avoid interacting with the spider mite plants until I can toss them outside for the season). You can also see them below the pistils on the newest stalk. Just unusual stuff but I've found plants can't be bothered to play by all the arbitrary rules we like to assign them anyway. If anyone else has experienced this or something similar, I'd love to hear about it

20230401_132735.jpg
Thanks for posting what I consider very valuable info. on soil ingredients. I just ordered my 3rd bag of floor dry from Amazon. It's a product made of diatom rock granules. It's not too dusty, and it has the added benefit of repelling mealies.

BTW, I'm pretty sure your transsexual Euphorbia is a hybrid. There are several species that are known to be compatible.
keith
Posts: 1860
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:50 am
Location: S. CA USA

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by keith »

You like that clay better than pumice ? I think its like Turface. Maybe you mix it together with pumice ? I used it for seed growing once too much fungus now I use desert sand.
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Tom in Tucson wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:12 pm Thanks for posting what I consider very valuable info. on soil ingredients. I just ordered my 3rd bag of floor dry from Amazon. It's a product made of diatom rock granules. It's not too dusty, and it has the added benefit of repelling mealies.

BTW, I'm pretty sure your transsexual Euphorbia is a hybrid. There are several species that are known to be compatible.
No problem, I love talking soil mixes, could do it all day. Floor Dry was actually the product I set out to find when I originally set out to grow more seriously and I couldn't find it in any local store so I gave up on it. There's a product called Opti-Sorb carried at O'Reilly's that's the same material I believe but they wanted $18 for it and I thought that was ridiculous.

I've wondered if the obesa is a hybrid, it doesn't look like my other obesas. Thanks for the feedback.
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

keith wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 10:19 pm You like that clay better than pumice ? I think its like Turface. Maybe you mix it together with pumice ? I used it for seed growing once too much fungus now I use desert sand.
I have Turface too and it's much harder than either of the products I listed above. I actually really love it and am currently growing orchids in it. They're growing way better than in the bark based mix I had them in before. Just a couple of grocery store orchids and a couple Dendrobiums. I'm currently using Turface as my top dressing for the seeds and it's working out alright, not much evidence of fungus as long as I'm not too heavy handed with the watering.

I am planning on using the clay products for starting some seeds once I get the potassium nitrate I ordered so I'll be able to see if they're really prone to fungal growth in my setup too. I have a feeling they might be if kept in my usual propagator but I was going to just start these seeds outside and see how they do.
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Everything is back outside for better or for worse. I've ferried things in and out in seasons past but I'll not be doing that any longer for anything less than a freak emergency where temps are projected to dip down to 20° F or thereabouts. Around 30° F may happen but these plants and others have handled that before just fine. Most are looking rough so hopefully I'll have some nice photos to show in a few weeks when they've gotten back in the swing of things.

First photo is about 10:15 AM, all the rest are from about 2:30 PM.
Attachments
Overview
Overview
20230403_153319.jpg (131.91 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Rebutia species (marsoneri?)
Rebutia species (marsoneri?)
20230403_153358.jpg (140.02 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus
20230403_153429.jpg (114.68 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Sulcorebutia species (No ID)
Sulcorebutia species (No ID)
20230403_153508.jpg (136.62 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Sulcorebutia rauschii
Sulcorebutia rauschii
20230403_153557.jpg (137.46 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Astrophytum myriostigma f. nudum
Astrophytum myriostigma f. nudum
20230403_153711.jpg (164.74 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Parodia species (No ID)
Parodia species (No ID)
20230403_153841.jpg (148.84 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
No ID
No ID
20230403_154015.jpg (151.85 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Gymnocalycium friedrichii (?)
Gymnocalycium friedrichii (?)
20230403_154034.jpg (158.92 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Echinopsis subdenudatum 'Dominoes'
Echinopsis subdenudatum 'Dominoes'
20230403_154045.jpg (146.35 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Anacampseros rufescens
Anacampseros rufescens
20230403_154055.jpg (110.66 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Euphorbia hybrid of some kind
Euphorbia hybrid of some kind
20230403_154107.jpg (128.24 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Gymnocalycium horstii
Gymnocalycium horstii
20230403_154139.jpg (162.8 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Adromischus cooperi
Adromischus cooperi
20230403_154202.jpg (130.41 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Huernia Zebrina
Huernia Zebrina
20230403_154250.jpg (155.68 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Echeveria 'Scorpio'
Echeveria 'Scorpio'
20230403_154302.jpg (145.57 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Graptopetalum rusbyi
Graptopetalum rusbyi
20230403_154312.jpg (154.74 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
M. elongata f. cristata
M. elongata f. cristata
20230403_154322.jpg (165.36 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
P. buiningii
P. buiningii
20230403_154332.jpg (154.51 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Echeveria 'Hercules'
Echeveria 'Hercules'
20230403_154342.jpg (150.73 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
Coryphantha compacta or C. cornifera
Coryphantha compacta or C. cornifera
20230403_154400.jpg (188.96 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
M. elongata
M. elongata
20230403_154413.jpg (145.46 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
P.  magnificus or P. warasii
P. magnificus or P. warasii
20230403_154423.jpg (137.88 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
M. microhelia
M. microhelia
20230403_154434.jpg (106.83 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
M. vetula ssp. gracilis
M. vetula ssp. gracilis
20230403_154451.jpg (124.38 KiB) Viewed 2822 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Part 2

These plants are behind screen for now until they've had a chance to get some water and start actively growing again. I leave a lot of these in full sun all summer long.
Attachments
M.  mammillaris 1
M. mammillaris 1
20230403_154504.jpg (174.67 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
M. mammillaris 2
M. mammillaris 2
20230403_154521.jpg (135.21 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
E. obesa female
E. obesa female
20230403_154531.jpg (134.15 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
E. obesa male
E. obesa male
20230403_154542.jpg (162.06 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
Sinocrassula yunnanensis
Sinocrassula yunnanensis
20230403_154559.jpg (137.74 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
A variety of jades
A variety of jades
20230403_154630.jpg (140.69 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
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Tom in Tucson
Posts: 426
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Location: NW Tucson AZ area

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by Tom in Tucson »

You have a fine collection, but the Gymnocalycium and leaf succulents would benefit with a little more shade.
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Tom in Tucson wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 10:20 pm You have a fine collection, but the Gymnocalycium and leaf succulents would benefit with a little more shade.
Thanks Tom. I discovered that last year with the Gymnos and they'll likely be staying behind the screen for the growing season along with a few of the rosette style succulents. I do tend to try expose my plants to the maximum amount of sun they can handle but I got really close to scorching the gymnos and bleaching some of the softer succulents.
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Disappointing news, the plants are already back inside for the next day or so. Indiana was subject to 9 tornadoes last Friday and there's another storm front moving through tomorrow that's setting the stage for another slew of potential tornadoes. Straight line winds are projected to be 30-40 mph in my neck of the woods with gusts up 65 mph. Seems like this is what we should expect going in the future according to long term climate modeling from Purdue in association with the NWS/ NOAA. Can't say I'm too thrilled about my home being included in Tornado Alley proper instead of just being on the fringes.
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
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Tom in Tucson
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Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by Tom in Tucson »

SDK1 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:37 am Disappointing news, the plants are already back inside for the next day or so. Indiana was subject to 9 tornadoes last Friday and there's another storm front moving through tomorrow that's setting the stage for another slew of potential tornadoes. Straight line winds are projected to be 30-40 mph in my neck of the woods with gusts up 65 mph. Seems like this is what we should expect going in the future according to long term climate modeling from Purdue in association with the NWS/ NOAA. Can't say I'm too thrilled about my home being included in Tornado Alley proper instead of just being on the fringes.
I know that this is somewhat OT, but being a weather nerd for quite awhile has led me to a clearly controversial conclusion to my observations: My outlandish prediction is that "Tornado Alley" is shifting east. I hope you and your collection stay safe.
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Tom in Tucson wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:34 pm
I know that this is somewhat OT, but being a weather nerd for quite awhile has led me to a clearly controversial conclusion to my observations: My outlandish prediction is that "Tornado Alley" is shifting east. I hope you and your collection stay safe.
Thanks Tom, we all made it through just fine and I think the whole state fared a bit better than back on 03/31. But I don't pay much attention to the news so I could be wrong. Only a few trash cans ended up in the street and a few trees were blown down. Luckily no people or houses were in the way of the trees but a couple cars weren't so lucky.

I've got a couple friends who are weather nerds too and they've made the same predictions. Pretty unfortunate circumstances, I lived through a couple tornadoes as a kid and I'm not in any rush to repeat the experience.
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

High of 70° F today so everything is getting watered. They got about 1-2" of rain 4 days ago and then the last 3 nights of 35-36° F lows without much apparent damage. But we'll see if any of then melt from rot over the next few days. I'm not really interested in babying my cacti too much so seeing what kinds of low temps they can take is something I always tend to push a little bit. So far they've surprised me with most of them taking temps down to 33° F without really missing a beat, even when watered or rained on.
Attachments
20230410_075156.jpg
20230410_075156.jpg (182.49 KiB) Viewed 2625 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Life's been rather busy lately but here's a few updates, all positive. Most everything has come out of dormancy no worse for wear, althought my G. horstii and E. subdenudata are still stubbornly wrinkly. I have a feeling that they lost all or most of their roots over winter and will need a little TLC and perhaps a repot to come back to life.

The weather turned cold and the past two nights have been a hard freeze so everything is back in the garage for now. Will probably take everything back out today as the lows going forward are right about 40° F.
Attachments
A. rufescens, thinking about flowering
A. rufescens, thinking about flowering
20230424_082341.jpg (101.91 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
Split the pot
Split the pot
20230424_082356.jpg (59.5 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
Gymno? Lobivia? Either way it recovered nicely
Gymno? Lobivia? Either way it recovered nicely
20230424_082604.jpg (124.89 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
E. obesa now plump again, no more concave sides
E. obesa now plump again, no more concave sides
20230424_082711.jpg (99.41 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
G. rusbyi, need to take some cuttings for this year
G. rusbyi, need to take some cuttings for this year
20230424_082809.jpg (123.65 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
G. friedrichii(?). Saw some flowerbuds starting to develop
G. friedrichii(?). Saw some flowerbuds starting to develop
20230424_082856.jpg (112.28 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
P. buiningii - one of my absolute favorites showing off those amazing tricolored spines
P. buiningii - one of my absolute favorites showing off those amazing tricolored spines
20230424_083015.jpg (120.81 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
H. zebrina. Very common but glad I didn't lose it. The red color noticeably fade on the two days it hovered around 80° and returned when the temps dropped again even though it's still well-hydrated. Cold and bright light really does produce the most intense colors.
H. zebrina. Very common but glad I didn't lose it. The red color noticeably fade on the two days it hovered around 80° and returned when the temps dropped again even though it's still well-hydrated. Cold and bright light really does produce the most intense colors.
20230424_083107.jpg (107.72 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
SDK1
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:13 pm

Re: SDK1's Plants

Post by SDK1 »

Equally as exciting as most of plants hitting their stride again is the new plants that I got recently. I don't usually buy plants (would rather trade or grow from seed) but I love small, clustering cacti, specifically Rebutias/Sulcorebutias. Plus I talked to Bill from PlantaSeca last year and he said retirement is on the horizon and that 2023 might be the last year for the shop. Granted I've known more than a few old guys who swear, "this is the last year," and keep working for another 5 years or more, so who knows? Regardless, I couldn't bear the thought of the shop closing before I got a few favorites.
Attachments
S. rauschii f. violacidermis - Form 1
S. rauschii f. violacidermis - Form 1
20230424_085345.jpg (71.55 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
S. rauschii f. violacidermis - Form 2
S. rauschii f. violacidermis - Form 2
20230424_085318.jpg (74.8 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
S. rauschii f. violacidermis f. gold spines
S. rauschii f. violacidermis f. gold spines
20230424_085419.jpg (61.14 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
S. rauschii JPS 201
S. rauschii JPS 201
20230423_211009.jpg (62.12 KiB) Viewed 2537 times
5b/6a - Indiana. Half the year growing outdoors, half the year indoors.

Listening to: Periphery, Termina, Queen Kona, Veil of Maya, Knocked Loose
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