Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

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WayneByerly
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Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

The cactus in this topic is a Mammillaria hahniana. My kitchen scale will weigh a maximum of somewhere in the vicinity of 5 kilos or 10 lb. When I set this container on the scale, I get an overload indicator. I say this so that you'll know that the cactus in its pot of dry soil weighs more than 10 lb. Here's the cactus:
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So, how do you pick up a cactus that weighs several pounds, probably somewhere in the vicinity of five or six, and then hold it in one hand while you pour new soil around its roots with the other hand? Unless you have two artificial hands, it just can't be done. And even if you have a pair of gloves that are thick enough to protect your very sensitive and personally very important fingers, it's just too heavy to hold with one hand. So what are you do?

Wrap a thick, folded kitchen towel around it. This will protect the spines and your hands from the spines in the event you need to handle it.

You then tie a piece of twine or rope (I used paracord) around the towel just tight enough so that it won't slip off. You then loop the rope over the top of cactus and tie it to the selfsame rope, directly opposite of the knot that you have first tied in it. {This it is important for balance. If you do not have the weight of the cactus equally distributed between the two knots then it will lean to one side when you pick it up.} You now have a handle that you can use to hold the cactus above the pot while you shovel in new soil. Here's a picture of what this tip looks like:
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I hope this tip provides someone with some useful information for a possible way to handle your cactus. Or gives you some idea of how you might handle a similar situation. Be creative.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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ElieEstephane
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by ElieEstephane »

Very informative post wayne. Thanks for sharing!
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
DaveW
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by DaveW »

You can tip the big barrels on their sides using some form of padding and take the pot off that way. I do not grow in fancy pots, almost all in plastic so if I have a job getting it off I will break or destroy the pot rather than damage the plant. When I used clay pots I just used to break them with a hammer if they would not come off. The plant to me was always more valuable than the pot, since I grow cactus not pots. One reason not to plant in fancy pots since sometime they will have to be repotted. Better stand a normal flowerpot inside your fancy pot if you value it that much.

Also see:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RuEDsHFbDk

A variation of Wayne's method for even heavier plants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAcv7qoQpGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgl1NH1Chuw

A girl after my own heart, if the pot does not come off easily stick the hammer through the pot, the plant is the important thing, not the pot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPZl4eZtbOs

P.S. It looks as though that pot weighs more than the plant Wayne? Reason I use plastic pots or my greenhouse staging's would collapse if my pots were that heavy. :lol:
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WayneByerly
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

DaveW wrote: Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:48 pm I grow cactus not pots.
Ha, ha, ha... Thats hilarious... But i quite agree. I would much rather sacrifice the pot than to risk damage to the cactus. I've become quite attached to my cacti, and would sacrifice a considerable amount to avoid damaging them. However, if I can save the pot that it was in without doing considerable damage to the cactus, then I will... so that I can reuse the pot. I spent way too much money on some of these pots to want to throw them away. Not very economical to do so.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had but one occasion when I had to break the pot to get the cactus out. And that was with a pot that tapered inward so that the root ball was larger than the entrance of the top of the pot. I only had the slightest regret that I had to break the pot.

DaveW ... The videos are quite a welcome addition. I never thought about using the corners of a styrofoam box as was illustrated by the first video you posted.

The second one, I had to laugh at as it was just so close to the same thing that I posted. If I had known that it existed, I might just have posted the link to that second video video and neglected to post any of my own commentary.

The third video typified the things that I object to most with people posting "how to" videos. Too long-winded, and no advance preparation. I don't like having my time taken up watching somebody do the prep work that should have been done in advance... at my expense.

I have seen videos by the girl in the last video link you posted. While I like much of what she does, her voice irritates me too bad to watch many of them though. A personal failing on my part I'm sure... I just find her voice grates on my nerves really bad.

Overall... I'd like to express my appreciation for your posting the links to those videos. Quite appropriate links for the text that I posted. And I've learned to look at YouTube for "how to" videos on an idea before making my own posting. Thanks.

DaveW wrote: Fri Aug 03, 2018 7:48 pm It looks as though that pot weighs more than the plant Wayne?
At no point in this whole process, did I weigh either the pot, or the cactus. I think some mention of that would have been an improvement to my topic. But I think you're probably right in your evaluation of the pots weight. The older I get the more inclined I am to use plastic pots simply from a weight consideration. The weight of those darned fancy ceramic pots hurts my back, and my arthritic fingers. The plastic parts are also considerably cheaper. I've never paid $35 to $50 for a plastic pot like I have for some of my "fancy" ceramic pots.

When I posted the topic, there was no thought or consideration for decanting the cactus at all. The entire idea of making the posting on this subject never even entered my mind until after I had finished what I was doing. The repotting was something that I had to do by myself, without any assistance, on quite a few occasions this summer in repotting some of my larger cacti. So the idea, which developed over time, was to try and help someone with just an idea regarding how they might accomplish this task without assistance, without damaging the cactus or its spines, and without getting hurt by the cactus.

BTW... The picture was kind of staged... I took both pictures after the whole process was complete.]
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
DaveW
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by DaveW »

I must confess Wayne I find a falsetto "Hi Guys, Hope you had a wonderful day" every time a bit effusive, but then I am anti social anyway. Evidently her boyfriend must have an appealing collection, so there's obviously hope for all us cactophiles. She's even got her ex unloading his stuff!

What women will do to get hold of our horticultural assets :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3C8G7qODvE
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WayneByerly
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

DaveW wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 2:58 pm She's even got her ex unloading his stuff!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ...
This is too, too much... I've actually seen this video. Have you ever wondered why the poor guy never says anything?

I shouldn't be like that. The poor girl really has quite a few valuable videos out there. I have watched some of her videos from which I have actually learned things. It's just that squeaky voice with that effusively sweet smarmy attitude that just drives me up a wall. Okay, okay... I quit... I shouldn't be like that at all ... I mean at all. I apologize. Profusely.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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saboten
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by saboten »

WayneByerly wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 4:23 pm
DaveW wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 2:58 pm She's even got her ex unloading his stuff!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ...
This is too, too much... I've actually seen this video. Have you ever wondered why the poor guy never says anything?

I shouldn't be like that. The poor girl really has quite a few valuable videos out there. I have watched some of her videos from which I have actually learned things. It's just that squeaky voice with that effusively sweet smarmy attitude that just drives me up a wall. Okay, okay... I quit... I shouldn't be like that at all ... I mean at all. I apologize. Profusely.
I've really come to like her, but I must confess that the first time I watched one of her videos, I imagined an elderly schoolmarm based purely on the voice :oops: I remember when I finally saw her, I exclaimed "Oh! She's actually attractive!!" I'm so mean :oops: A lesson in never judging.

Anyway, just a note: The towel method works well UNLESS you've got something with curved (grabby) spines... in which case they grab on the the terry loops like no one's business! In that case in might work better to use something synthetic, like a hard yes flexible plastic material (sometimes stuff you get for padding in packages works)
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WayneByerly
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

saboten wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 4:55 pm The towel method works well UNLESS you've got something with curved (grabby) spines...
Exacta-mundo Saboten ... I thought about my Ferocactus latispinus as I was writing my topic. It DOES have some ferociously curved spines, and did stick to the towel when I repotted it.

The guy in the first video from the reply that DaveW posted, suggested thick styrofoam. I think situations like what you are writing about are where his suggestion would best come into play.

And that is where my statement that said "... information for a possible way to handle your cactus. Or gives you some idea of how you might handle a similar situation. Be creative." comes into play.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

Your cactus doesn't necessarily need to be heavy ... only unwieldy ...

Here's another possibility for the use of a towel. My Pilosocereus pachycladus was just too tall, and the spines were too small to use as a hand hold. And I wanted to wash the roots clean before I put it in this new soil mixture. So I just found a place where the cactus balanced, and wrapped a towl around it there. Now I can carry it, and its weight is spread out along the width of the towel wrapped around it.

When I needed a handle that I could use to manipulate the cactus's position, I tied a piece of paracord around the towel where the red line i've drawn on the picture is, and that snugged the towel up close enough that I could use that to reposition the cactus when washing its roots.

This should only be used to give you ideas. It's not the definitive solution on how to manipulate your beloved cacti. Like I said in my first posting in this topic ... Be Creative ... there are many ways to handle your cactus without damaging it, and without getting your fingers liberally dosed with cactus spines!!!

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Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
DaveW
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by DaveW »

You need to use something smooth with hook spines, such as newspaper, polythene or thin polystyrene around the plant and then wrap a towel or similar around that.

It's same with covering plants on cold nights, fleece works well as insulation, but not directly on hook spines, so a layer of newspaper over them first then fleece on top stops it getting hooked by the spines.
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nachtkrabb
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by nachtkrabb »

Look at https://www.uhlig-kakteen.de/en/kakteen ... -wied.html (English version available -- picture by Uhlig):
cacti-gloves.jpg
cacti-gloves.jpg (38.51 KiB) Viewed 17763 times
They are really cool! I use them all the times with heavy or big cacti. The plastic is 3mm thick, nothing has ever got through. And with the brush side with its rigid bristles you can hold the plant without hurting it.
N.

Addendum: Kakteen-Haage, at least Europes oldest cactus nursery, offers them cheaper.
Last edited by nachtkrabb on Mon Aug 14, 2023 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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...and still more cacti.
DaveW
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by DaveW »

There used to be a British Cactus Shop that stocked quite a few versions of those cactus handling tools in the past, but they seem to have discontinued the bristle gloves and tongs now:-

https://cactusshop.co.uk/index.php?id_c ... r=category

Maybe many of us have found wads of newspaper you throw away afterwards just as good?

I believe Amazon occasionally lists those bristle gloves and tongs.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goldiflora-Cac ... B004J4R5T2

You may even find some barbeque tongs are ideal for handling the plants.

https://thecookskitchen.com/25133+Large ... ongs,+38cm

As to so called pot lifters for getting plastic pots out of the staging's by gripping their rims (make sure the pot rims have not gone brittle due to UV degradation though). Quite a few of us in the UK managed to get hold of the old steriliser forceps used to pick up surgical instruments from the boiling water of a sterilisers, since most UK hospitals have now gone prepacked usually single use instruments that are sterilised by irradiation I think. Some grind the beak part off, but I have not found it necessary and I have a pair of each, one with the curved beak end and one where both jaws are straight. These are far better quality than any now being made as cactus pot lifters, no doubt they are being sold off cheap since water sterilisation of surgical instruments is now declining. Watch postage charges though if outside the country selling them. I believe those in the link below are in USA though, but try your local EBAY.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cheatle-Ster ... 2598026222

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw ... s&_sacat=0
CactusProgressiva
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by CactusProgressiva »

Dave, "bent nose pliers" on Amazon and eBay are similar. I've seen them up to 11inches.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/bent-nose-pliers
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WayneByerly
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by WayneByerly »

DaveW wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:40 am There used to be a British Cactus Shop that stocked...
Dave

Yet once again, you have provided invaluable detail to a very basic topic. In following one of your links, I found many items that I never even knew existed. This has been a real education for me.

Thanks ever so for posting these links. Your many years of experience in this field have provided you with insights that you very unselfishly choose to share. Your taking the time and making the effort to post them are very gratefully accepted. The things you post provide incalculable value, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciatete your input.
Make the moral choice & always do what's right. Be a good example. Be part of the solution & make a contribution to society, or be part of the problem & end your life with nothing but regrets. Live a life you can be proud of! Zone 7a
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Re: Tip. How do you handle a heavy cactus when repotting

Post by DaveW »

"Dave, "bent nose pliers" on Amazon and eBay are similar. I've seen them up to 11inches."

Yes, the main requirement is to be bent away from the plant when you grip it so you don't get spines in your knuckles when you pick the plant up.

As I said watch the pot rims don't break on you though. Whilst packed tightly on the staging's the plastic pot bodies are mainly protected from sunlight but the rims are exposed to it's UV degrading light, something plastics don't like. You usually need to poke them down into the soil a bit to get to a sound bit of pot rather than just lift by the extreme top edge or you can finish up with a neat little bit of pot rim in the forceps and the plant and pot falling on your other plants.
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