My Catcti Tribe

[DreadedShaman]

I've been gathering them for a few years now. Actually in reality I have only purchased three of them, but the green house I found them at (not many around me carry these guys) had them under-potted and in all honesty over watered

The one I got last summer actually was starting to root up the length of the cactus while upright (leaning against a post).

Anyways, they came home, got cut up and replanted. And now I have a growing Tribe hehe.

Very interested in cacti here. Any comments/suggestions are very welcomed, or just a glance is cool too.

 

[Grey Fox]

Looking good DreadedShaman! Do you put them outdoors in the summer? I have never grown cacti indoors or in containers. I hear that it can be challenging during the winter months if the conditions are not cold enough to force dormancy.

 

[DreadedShaman]

Yeah, they go outdoors in the summer, and they enjoy the morning sun, but not so much the afternoon sun, but they have their own space where they are happy.

And in the winter, I try to get them as much natural light inside as I can, and my home has hot water radiators for heating, which they all seem to be happy to hang out by all winter. I continue normal watering cycles and they don't seem to go into dormancy.

 

[Grey Fox]

Thats good. Like I said I've never grown indoors or in containers. Sounds like you have a good plan in place for doing it. I like taking the easy way by putting them in the ground and letting them do their thing. But I know not everyone is able to do that. Keep up the good work DreadedShaman. :thumb_up:

 

[DreadedShaman]

Yeah, I'm one of those people who can't do that, I don't think they'd winter too well in zone 5a with an annual snowfall between 80 and 150 or so inches every year.

And I'm glad my plan seems to benefit them, I have done some on/off research as to how to care for them, but I've spent a lot of time trying to figure it out for myself too.

But after their last watering they all seem plump, firm, and healthy. So if they are happy so am I

 

[pete666]

Nice.
Have you got an idea how potent they are?
I seem to live in similar winter conditions and I think it is much better to make them dormant through the winter, especially if you can't offer them light conditions adequate to the temperature they are in. There is an etiolation visible in the pictures and it is inevitable without enough light when not dormant. I prefer consistently thick specimens.
My are dormant for 6 month in a year. I keep them in 15C (59F)

 

[DreadedShaman]

Which picture are you referring to? I've actually never heard that term before.

And you know, as I said I've been trying to figure a lot of this out as I go, I think they avoid dormancy, but if it's temp dependant than I can't garuntee that they aren't dormant?

I have noticed decreased growth in the winter, I've always assumed it was due to less light/lower temp, but they do still seem to grow.

Now, if by etiolation, you are referring to either the two tall cacti (the one on the left is scrawny towards the bottom) or the cut cactus that has sprouted new growth that is also not... plump? Those have been like that since I got them, the tall one is actually the first I got and it took me a while to figure out what it liked. The other is a friends that I cut up to try to ... Fix? ... How thinned out it was..

As for potency I have not tried them as of yet.

Is it better to put them into dormancy? I have cooler places around my home, but I don't feel that they are the best places to keep them.

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. Much love.

 

[pete666]

The tall one has wider parts and thinner parts. This is etiolation. It happens when the temp is above 15C (59F) and there is not enough light. The lower the temp is, the less light is necessary to keep it wide. If there is not enough light and the temp is telling the cactus to grow, it searches for light - by etiolation.
If your cactus is not thinner through the winter compared to summer, your light is ok and you don't have to lower the temp. Otherwise keep it somewhere 5C-15C
You can search for the word 'etiolation' here on Nexus, you will find more info about it.

 

[DreadedShaman]

I gotcha.

I'll have to pay more attention to this.

How much light should they be getting roughly if not put into dormancy?

How much if they go dormant? And should this be done gradually, as in lower the temp gradually? And once dormant should they be kept that way for any certain amount of time?

I'm hoping to procure another this spring, but am now feeling I should figure all this out before my collection grows too large.

 

[Grey Fox]

I think the challenge is that sunlight may not be adequate depending on how far North you are orif it is cloudy a lot. Especially when plants are not close to a window it can be a problem. Thats why dormancy is ideal because the plant stops growing and then resumes growth in the spring without the streched "etiolated" growth from the winter.

 

[Grey Fox]

An unheated, attached garage would be an ideal place to overwinter them for dormancy. They get just a little water very rarely and sleep through the winter.

 

[pete666]

They should have as much light as possible, my are whole day on direct sunglight. But the sun is different in different parts of the world, so somewhere the full sun exposition might be too much. But everyday observation should tell us whether they are ok or whether there is too much light (and heat). Every species/specimen has slightly different sunlight requirements and can accept different max level of direct sunlight.
They should be partially shaded once put out of dormancy, the dormancy=>full sunlight transition should be something like 2-5 weeks, increasing the full sunnglight period from 10% to 100% gradually. Checking everyday, especially if the days are hot and sunny. I just move them to the place where they are getting more and more direct sunglight every few days.

They don't need any light when fully dormant as they don't grow. They can go straight into dormancy, but gradually out of the dormancy, as stated above. The dormancy can be as long as you wish.

Do not water them one month before going to dormancy, if it's not too hot or they don't ask for it. If possible, put them somewhere where they are not exposed to rain.
The soil has to be kept dry through the dormancy, so don't water at all, if they don't ask for it.

Water them a lot when exposed to direct sunglight, they love water. But keep back when the weather is rainy or the temps are not high.

Search here or on a google, there is a lot of information...

 

[DreadedShaman]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone,

I've definitely got some thought and research to do still.

Now, this might seem like a dumb question, but freezing (32f and down) is too cold... Right?

That will be my hardest issue, my garage is unheated/uninsulated, my sunroom is unheated...and may work... But can also drop below freezing on the dead of winter when it's somewhere around 0f out all day and all night haha.

My basement may be cool enough, but obviously zero light and it may still be warmer than 60f due to our boiler.

Hmm

But again thank you all.

 

[pete666]

I have neither garage nor sunroom. The cactuses are in unheated room where the window is opened or closed according to outdoor temperature, to provide 15C. Not perfect, but the only option for me.

 

[DreadedShaman]

After some discussion with my fiance I think I've found a proper place for them to stay dormant.


Much love.

 

[DreadedShaman]

Updating on the cactus tribe residing in my home:
I have 9, yes 9 baby (awe) cacti all sprouting ^_^ hopefully more germinate soon. I'll attach pictures in the morning when I can get some daylight.

Also, after not finding a proper wintering location (either too warm and fearing not enough light, or far too cold... Espectially with it dropping to -10f (ish) over the last week) I moved the whole tribe into a spare bedroom (near a radiator) and rigged up some grow lights which they seem to be loving.

 

[Grey Fox]

Looks good DreadedShaman! :thumb_up:

 

[DreadedShaman]

Also, I brewed the tallest cacti down to a paste. 333 grams became about 9, I took 6 grams of the resin, a buddy took 3 and then went to sleep reporting strange dreams.
I had noticable cognitive effects with minimal visual distortion, it was pleasant.

 

[DreadedShaman]

So an update on my baby box, currently 3/20 pachanoi seeds germinated
7/20 "blue Peru" peruviana seeds are happy sprouts now (eh..)
9/10 "Jeans" (bridgesii)x Dawson's SS (terscheckii)
7/10 Sharxx Blue (peruviana) x open
8/10 "Hillside" (scopulicola) x "Fields" (panachoi)

so this has been a fairly cool and successful first attempt for it just being a tote on my radiator.

 

[Grey Fox]

Sounds like you have some interesting Australian genetics there. Best luck!