CactiGuide.com

An interesting video about growing/keeping of different cacti & succulents in a GH in ND.
https://www.pbs.org/video/the-vitko-suc ... on-spablu/

Thank you for this video!

In 2015 and 2016 I met Don in Tucson.
He is such a personable, friendly cactus enthusiast.
I spent a lot of time with Don Vitko, Dan Bach and James Pickering, a wonderful experience.

Best regards

K.W.

Just watched this video this morning. Thanks for posting. One thing that really struck me was that they fertilize their collection with fertilizer at 100 ppm Nitrogen concentration. This is much higher than I've been using when using Dyna-Gro. I've been using the 1/4 tsp/gallon strength, which is close to 25 ppm Nitrogen. I'm still experimenting and not convinced this is the way to go for me. The grower in this video would be using a 1 tsp/gal concentration if using the Dyna-Gro I am using. This is an eye opener.

The discussion of the potting mix, fertilizer, and watering takes place starting at 6:16 to about 8:35 in the video.

HIs potting mix contains a high percentage of Aged/decomposed Bark. They also use a product he called "Lightweight" which I am guessing is similar to this product known as LECA: Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanded_clay_aggregate Another brand is Hydroton. But, what the grower showed in the video was a broken up piece with fractured texture to it, not the smooth round surface of the Hydroton. The rest of the mix contains peat and Perlite. He did not go into the percentages of their mix.

Here is a link to the Peace Garden where the Don Vitko Cactus Collection is held. Never heard of it before today. https://peacegarden.com/