Growing Echinocereus bonkerae

[hegar]

I did have two plants of Echinocereus bonkerae, which I purchased, because I heard, that the blossom this cactus produces is truly beautiful.
Well, the first plant I bought developed some problem, where the top of the plant died back, becoming dry. The plant then started to produce two side shoots. That plant is still alive, but has yet to flower.
The second plant grew well and even formed a second stem. This spring it flowered (see image below) and I could not have been happier.
Everything seemed fine until just about two weeks ago. I had returned from my vacation of a little over two weeks in Germany and was told by my neighbor, that it had not rained since then. With the temperature hovering around 100 degrees F I decided to water all my cacti. That was done on Friday, June 28th and the following Tuesday or Wednesday (July 2nd or 3rd) I noticed, that the taller stem was severely leaning. I immediately dug the plant up and found, that a rot had set in and the plant could not be saved.
My question to you is: Has anyone on this forum made a similar observation with this particular species of Echinocereus? All the other cacti were treated the same and still look fine. I will need to water the plants tomorrow and am almost afraid to do so. However, the drought condition will not be over until sometime next week. when possibly some rain will be coming our way.

Harald

[MJPapay]

hegar,

You have discovered what many of us have learned (and in the same way, no doubt), it can be a great mistake to water desert plants during extreme heat.

Your cactus did not look in any way desiccated (severely dehydrated) and so presumably did not need watering.

A great loss, as its flowers were gorgeous.

Hope the rest of your collection somehow manages to beat the incredible heat.

Mike

[BarryRice]

Mike,

Do you think he could have watered during a cooler time of the day, like early morning?

[peterb]

It's best not to water cacti at all during the heat of summer, in particular with high overnight temps, especially if they are species that come from cooler or higher altitude habitats. bonkerae grows in higher altitudes in eastern central AZ and seems specially adapted to a very rocky and fast drying substrate. We can't and shouldn't try to recreate habitat conditions for our plants but it can sometimes be helpful to find out a little more about where they grow.

peterb

[hegar]

Thank you very much for your input, Mike, Barry, and Peter.
I have watered all my cacti in the morning hours once a week during the hottest part of the year. I thought, that the plants would do better, if they received supplemental water, even if they did not look like they were dying of thirst. Despite the watering the diameter and height of the plants would decrease, which alarmed me. Also, some of my plants are still small and probably do not have a large enough root system and I was afraid, that they would not make it without having acidified water added. We did not have any good precipitation from January through July and except for knowing, that some of my cacti will do better in semi-shade, while others will be fine in full sun, I did not know, which ones are more rot-prone than others.
Within the last week we did receive some rain and the plants have responded favorably. Even the "purple pentalophus" looks somewhat green now. I will not water the cacti for at least another week or more, depending on the weather.
What is your idea about watering small plants that have recently be placed in the ground and were purchased in a 2 3/4 inch pot? With our intense heat and strong sunlight I have been able to kill such a plant (Notocactus, I believe) in two days flat.

Harald

[MJPapay]

hegar,

My best success planting small/young cacti has been at the onset of the growing season, and then again two months or so before first frost.

Planting anything during the height of summer can be asking for trouble - even at times here in North Carolina.

As peterb indicated, it does pay to know your cacti. The Notocacti (in general) come from in or near Uruguay which has a temperate climate not unlike North Carolina - which is to say cold wet winters and warm wettish summers (annual rainfall 20 to 30-inches in Urugay in general). The soil is also acidic - like here in NC. So the Notocacti like to be planted as I have described above. I have quite a few species and more than a few plants of Notocacti outside year-round, and I find them amongst the easiest of cacti to grow. If your soil is alkaline to some degree - then Notocacti are not the optimal cacti for your conditions.

Cheers,

Mike

[hegar]

Hello Mike,
thank you for your input. I do agree with your stated opinion and advice about researching the growing environment of the plants in their native habitat before purchasing them and then being disappointed. Our soil here is indeed very alkaline and we do have long dry spells, plus very high UV radiation. I have noticed, how sometimes a slight change in location can do wonders for the plant involved.
Tomorrow at work I shall go ahead and look up the kind of climate (micro climate) that is best for an Echinocereus bonkerae. Most of the members of this genus can be grown in full sun, but I was told by some of my cactus club members, that some of them do require filtered light.
For example, I had one of my Thelocactus heterochromus plants in full sun. It looked a little bleached and barely survived. Once I transplanted it into a more shady location the color became healthy, but it did not flower either. Then, when the tree started to die back, the plant bloomed. It has flowered twice already this year! I also have lost several Ariocarpus fissuratus plants planted in different spots. However, one of them has lasted for over five years now. I recently planted an Ariocarpus trigonus near it and that plant also seems to survive.

Harald

[cactushobbyman]

I water twice a month. We hit the 100 degrees plus this year 13 days in a row. Our nights do cool down to the 70's. So far no damage.