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I'd like you to meet my new friend...

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great_blue

great_blue

Rising Star
Hello Nexians, I'd like you all to me my new friend San Pedro! It is my first cactus and i'm sure this will be a nice long relationship!

Being a cactus noob I do have a question or two.. From what I understand they have a dormant period in the winter where they do not require water. I just received mine and have a solid 3-4 months of winter still to go. I also understand that too little light can cause etiolation. Considering where I live, I cannot keep this cactus outside, as it would dip below freezing for most of the winter, so I will be keeping it my room.

From what i read, one statement read to give little or no water in the winter if it is very cold. I get it, but it will be co-existing with me in my 70 degree room.

So i guess my question is, will this cactus still grow and act as if it were spring/summer because of the temperature in my room, in spite of the short days outside? Also, I am not sure of the watering schedule, if any because of this. I do have a 1000w MH/HPS setup available to me but i am not going to be able to use it for a while as I am in the process of moving.

Does anyone have any advice?
 

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I leave mine outside in the summer, sometimes watering if its been dry(these guys can take a lot of water in the summer outside in a clay pot). Bring it in during winter, I'm around the 45 degree north latitude midwest USA. Water sparingly in winter. They could probably go all winter with no water. I'd transplant that one into a large clay pot. Use clay as this allows the soil to dry completely. These guys grow at 10,000 plus feet, so they can actually survive light frosts. They have cactus soil at the wally mart store.

Had a huge one at my moms that somehow died. Believe my parents went on vacation and my brother over watered it. I bought one foot long one ten years ago, now have four small-medium sized ones, and had that large one die, plus another 2-3 cuttings that didn't make it. I believe I took these cuttings too late in the season and they rotted.
 
hey syd, thanks for stopping in.. I did plan on transplanting after winter. my logic is during this time it will be developing its root structure more, being a cutting and all. im not sure as to when is was cut but it was sold as a rooted cutting.. i figured id be safe and wait a few months just in case.

sorry to hear about your loss! good thing you have more! can anyone say if etiolation will be a problem during the winter with just incandescent lighting or will this not matter due to the slow growth of this time in the season?
 
dude thats such a beautiful specimen :)

Where did you get it, how much did you pay? 2.5-3 feet right?

Please tell us how she is doing a year later :)))))))

I hope you transplanted it ^*^
 
I keep mine in a cool spot with little light in the winter and give NO water once I bring them in. They basically go into a dormancy period. I think if you water them, then you have to worry about giving them enough light, otherwise they just sleep till they go outside in the spring.
 
Here how she is doing a year later.. :surprised


Looks like I gave her too much water.. This is certainly a learning experience for me.. Poor thing. I just cut it tho and will re-root.


Buuuuuut, I would like you all to meet my NEW friends!

They are trichocereus peruvianus, grown from seed and are about 3 months old! I purchased them from Icaro Seeds and have had a really spectacular germination rate. Out of 100, I sowed about half of them and can count at least 30 seedlings! Not too bad! At least 60%.

Any tips or comments for an aspiring cacti cultivator? These are my babies now :)

Right now, I keep them all under a few t5 lights about 24" away. I keep the seedling tray wrapped in cellophane and placed an unfolded napkin over it to soften the light. They seem to like it a lot more. They are in Miracle Grow - Cactus, Palm and Citrus mix with no added fert, other than whats in there already.
 

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You can culture the seedlings without dormancy through the winter, if you use sufficient lighting. The dormany is primarily important for the health and the flowering ability of a adult plant. Seedlings will thank you skiping it with faster growth. Water them regulary but let the substrate dry out in between to prevent rot.
If you intend to send them into a winter dormancy, stop the water about one month prior, make sure the substrate is dried and bring them to a cold spot about 5°-10°C, max. 15°C. Do not water them! If you do, they will grow long and thin because of insufficient light. Also it unnecessarily brings the risk of rot.
The seedlings can be kept together in one pot for a long time, until they are about 15 - 20cm. Having company boosts their growth. 😉
If you have more questions dont hesitate asking
 
Nicita,

Thank you for dropping by! Really great advice. I did plan on skipping the dormancy period as you mentioned. I am really pumped to see how far they've come already at 3 months in. Some seeds are still germinating so the cycle continues...

However, I do have another question. I read somewhere to separate the seedlings that end up growing into each other early on so this is what I've been doing. I will leave the ones with some space between them. Does this sound about right in your experience?
 
try transplanting them into some hydroponic coco :) its washed so it doesn't have tons of salt in it.... but the cactus absolutely love the coco, don't use to big a pot, the roots grow crazy in coco and will need transplanting way faster than a cactus mix :)


look like your mix has wood chips in it?
 
Thanks for the tip mouse. I don't think I have ever heard of hydroponic coir. I'll have to look it up. Seems a lot of things like coir :d

And yes, there are small wood chips or something to the like in there. It's just the standard Miracle Grow Cactus, Palm and Citrus Mix. I guess I could have sifted but I read that this would suffice. I actually have picked out a lot of the larger chips by hand.
 
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