Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

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JCcares
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Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by JCcares »

I’ve read in other posts threads to be cautious with the watering and high temperatures.

My new 8 cacti that everyone has helped me clean the roots trim the roots plant in a pot are Scheduled to be watered this coming Thursday. I live on the East Coast North Carolina they’re calling for record breaking temperatures. Where I live it will be 96 F 97F for 4 days.

My 8 new cacti have had not water for the last 36 days.

What is the best play for my 8 new cacti when it comes to there best health?

Thank you.
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My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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greenknight
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by greenknight »

Months of dryness wouldn't hurt them, no rush about watering. I just checked your weather forecast, nighttime temperatures are predicted to be in the low to mid 70s, which is high enough that the plants may go into heat dormancy. I suggest you keep them in the shade and wait until after the heat wave to water them.
Spence :mrgreen:
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JCcares
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by JCcares »

greenknight wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:54 pm Months of dryness wouldn't hurt them, no rush about watering. I just checked your weather forecast, nighttime temperatures are predicted to be in the low to mid 70s, which is high enough that the plants may go into heat dormancy. I suggest you keep them in the shade and wait until after the heat wave to water them.
Thank you GreenKnight. I cannot explain it but I just cannot wait to water them. It’s a crazy emotional thing I’m feeling AND then I want to give them a good soaking not just a little water.

It been so hard to do the best right thing and to wait to wait another week to give them water. I don’t know how to explain these feelings but I can tell you I will I will I will not give them any water until Friday I will obey your Council.
My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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greenknight
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by greenknight »

I totally understand how you feel, I've been there. Perfectly natural to want to nurture them, it's an impulse that's killed many a cactus. Killed quite a few myself.

Here's something Dave posted years ago that might help to ease your mind - Trichocereus cuttings that bloomed two years without being rooted: https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewto ... ng#p328878
Spence :mrgreen:
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

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greenknight wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:23 am I totally understand how you feel, I've been there. Perfectly natural to want to nurture them, it's an impulse that's killed many a cactus. Killed quite a few myself.

Here's something Dave posted years ago that might help to ease your mind - Trichocereus cuttings that bloomed two years without being rooted: https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewto ... ng#p328878
My plan is to water them this coming Friday GreenKnight all 8. Tell me how much water would you give them? 2oz 4oz water until the water drains out the bottom of the pot?

Thank you 🙏🏽
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by Steve Johnson »

Here are your cacti in their bare-root state:
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I can visualize what their roots look like in your pots, and IMO none of them are ready for deep watering yet. Let's see if Spence agrees with me. If he does, then I'll recommend light watering to "tease" new roots into growth. I realize that "light watering" doesn't tell us the actual amount of water that should go into each of your pots, so hopefully he'll be able to give you more specific advice.
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JCcares
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by JCcares »

Steve Johnson wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:41 pm Here are your cacti in their bare-root state:

2548D493-D46C-4939-BF17-F5A4177F5907.jpeg
I can visualize what their roots look like in your pots, and IMO none of them are ready for deep watering yet. Let's see if Spence agrees with me. If he does, then I'll recommend light watering to "tease" new roots into growth. I realize that "light watering" doesn't tell us the actual amount of water that should go into each of your pots, so hopefully he'll be able to give you more specific advice.
Thank you very much Steve🙏🏽

As hard as it will be I will obey with the “light” watering. If you can say 1 Oz, 2 Oz or 4oz…….. it would help the perfectionist side of me😂. I realize some pots are bigger than others but if the big pots get this much I can figure out the percentage and give the little parts the same percentage of light watering the big pot got.

Thank you.

97 degrees today. I kept them in the shade all day.
98 tomorrow.
My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by Steve Johnson »

I might be able to give you a little bit of help with that, so I'll try and post it to you later this evening.
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greenknight
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by greenknight »

I agree, those are pretty puny roots so light watering at first would be safer. Echinopsis are fairly tolerant of wet soil, so you'd probably get away with deep watering, but I know you don't want to take chances with these.

The exact amount of water to give is hard to say. If you've got extra mix and pots, you could test with pots of just the mix, see how much it takes to soak them, then give the cacti maybe 1/3 of that.

Another approach would be to water thoroughly, then set the pots on towels to wick out the extra water so the mix is not saturated. I think I would go with just light watering first, use this for the second or third watering.
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by Steve Johnson »

greenknight wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 2:00 amThe exact amount of water to give is hard to say. If you've got extra mix and pots, you could test with pots of just the mix, see how much it takes to soak them, then give the cacti maybe 1/3 of that.
That's an excellent idea, although I have another one for you, Joe...

We can't get away from a certain amount of trial and error, and I'll recommend taking the incremental approach so that the error is minimal. Water each cactus in 2-ounce increments, distributing water more or less evenly around the plant. Give it a few minutes, then see if drops of water came out the drain holes. If you didn't see any, water again in 2-ounce increments, and give it about 5 minutes to see if drops of water came out the drain holes. You'll see this first with the cacti in the smaller square plastic pots. Make a note of how much water went into the pots, then back off the amount for your next light watering session. For example, if you see drops coming out after 4 oz. of water, back off to 3 oz. next time and write that down. For the bigger pots, you'll need to make additional passes with 2 oz. per pass. More volume means that it'll take a little longer for the water to seep down into the mix, so give it a little more time after each pass to see when drops come out the bottom. When you do, make a note of the total amount for all passes, and 2/3 or 3/4 of that amount should be fine for your next light watering session. Write down the proper amount of water for each pot.

Quite honestly, I think that 2 oz. of water for the smaller pots and 4 oz. for the bigger pots shouldn't be a problem, but anything beyond that may be taking too much of a chance right now. It takes a very long time for cacti to die of dehydration, but if you drench them when the roots can't handle it yet, you'll be quickly killing them with kindness. I'll recommend light watering every 2 weeks for 6 weeks, then gradually increase the amount of water every 2 weeks for another month. Sounds like that'll be the end of August, and your cacti certainly won't be dehydrated! Your growing season probably ends around the same time as mine (late September/early October), so my guess is that their roots should be fully grown-in and ready for a deep watering in the 1st half of September.

By the way -- light watering with the fertilizer regimen I recommended for you will do a world of good in terms of new root growth.
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JCcares
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by JCcares »

Steve Johnson wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 3:11 am
greenknight wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 2:00 amThe exact amount of water to give is hard to say. If you've got extra mix and pots, you could test with pots of just the mix, see how much it takes to soak them, then give the cacti maybe 1/3 of that.
That's an excellent idea, although I have another one for you, Joe...

We can't get away from a certain amount of trial and error, and I'll recommend taking the incremental approach so that the error is minimal. Water each cactus in 2-ounce increments, distributing water more or less evenly around the plant. Give it a few minutes, then see if drops of water came out the drain holes. If you didn't see any, water again in 2-ounce increments, and give it about 5 minutes to see if drops of water came out the drain holes. You'll see this first with the cacti in the smaller square plastic pots. Make a note of how much water went into the pots, then back off the amount for your next light watering session. For example, if you see drops coming out after 4 oz. of water, back off to 3 oz. next time and write that down. For the bigger pots, you'll need to make additional passes with 2 oz. per pass. More volume means that it'll take a little longer for the water to seep down into the mix, so give it a little more time after each pass to see when drops come out the bottom. When you do, make a note of the total amount for all passes, and 2/3 or 3/4 of that amount should be fine for your next light watering session. Write down the proper amount of water for each pot.

Quite honestly, I think that 2 oz. of water for the smaller pots and 4 oz. for the bigger pots shouldn't be a problem, but anything beyond that may be taking too much of a chance right now. It takes a very long time for cacti to die of dehydration, but if you drench them when the roots can't handle it yet, you'll be quickly killing them with kindness. I'll recommend light watering every 2 weeks for 6 weeks, then gradually increase the amount of water every 2 weeks for another month. Sounds like that'll be the end of August, and your cacti certainly won't be dehydrated! Your growing season probably ends around the same time as mine (late September/early October), so my guess is that their roots should be fully grown-in and ready for a deep watering in the 1st half of September.

By the way -- light watering with the fertilizer regimen I recommended for you will do a world of good in terms of new root growth.
Thank you Steve and GreenKight!!! Excellence communication for a newbie like me. Now I understand! I got it! Now I feel confident I am giving my big new babies the best of care. 🙏🏽
My name is Joe I Live in Hickory NC USA four equal perfect seasons.
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

Post by jerrytheplater »

I do not remember exactly what mix you used Joe, but remember that bone dry peat moss takes a long time to get wet, if you have any in there. If you water bone dry peat moss, there is a chance that that water will not be absorbed, but just fall right through the pot. If you really want to be a perfectionist, weigh your pots before watering. Weigh your water. Weigh the water coming out of the pot. Wet weight minus dry weight is what was absorbed. That should equal starting water weight - weight of water coming out of the pot.
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

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jerrytheplater wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:39 pm I do not remember exactly what mix you used Joe, but remember that bone dry peat moss takes a long time to get wet, if you have any in there. If you water bone dry peat moss, there is a chance that that water will not be absorbed, but just fall right through the pot. If you really want to be a perfectionist, weigh your pots before watering. Weigh your water. Weigh the water coming out of the pot. Wet weight minus dry weight is what was absorbed. That should equal starting water weight - weight of water coming out of the pot.
Thank you Jerry 🙏🏽
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

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jerrytheplater wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:39 pm I do not remember exactly what mix you used Joe, but remember that bone dry peat moss takes a long time to get wet, if you have any in there. If you water bone dry peat moss, there is a chance that that water will not be absorbed, but just fall right through the pot. If you really want to be a perfectionist, weigh your pots before watering. Weigh your water. Weigh the water coming out of the pot. Wet weight minus dry weight is what was absorbed. That should equal starting water weight - weight of water coming out of the pot.

Look Jerry. I am listening.

Thank you Jerry
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Re: Heat wave / watering cacti Question.

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jerrytheplater wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:39 pm I do not remember exactly what mix you used Joe, but remember that bone dry peat moss takes a long time to get wet, if you have any in there. If you water bone dry peat moss, there is a chance that that water will not be absorbed, but just fall right through the pot. If you really want to be a perfectionist, weigh your pots before watering. Weigh your water. Weigh the water coming out of the pot. Wet weight minus dry weight is what was absorbed. That should equal starting water weight - weight of water coming out of the pot.
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