Glowing Cacti

[bearnol]

Anybody else here like growing Cacti?
J

[rdotson]

Originally Posted by bearnol

Anybody else here like growing Cacti?
J

I just planted some Cacti in a bare spot in the front yard where nothing seems to want to grow and have designated it my "Xeriscape" garden.

I'm open to suggestions for interesting cactus varieties. So far I have a Pipe Organ, a "Golden" something or other that's like a spherical pincushion, a couple of flat one's with "arms" (don't know what they're called), and I have a Saguaro and Prickly Pear on order. I'd like to get a Joshua Tree but can't seem to find one anywhere. Any ideas?

[xilman]

Originally Posted by bearnol

Anybody else here like growing Cacti?
J

Yes, but they don't do very well up here in the sub-arctic. I've some which live indoors all year around but most of them aren't thriving. One or two live out during the summer and one, at least, is doing very nicely despite getting drenched far more often than it would in its normal habitat. It's growing ever fatter and flowers each summer, which is why I believe it's doing nicely.

A number of species are frost-hardy, I believe, but they can't take the wet. A guy in Sweden, even further north than I, has managed to grow several species in his garden. He's made a special raised bed with extremely well-drained "soil" (grit, really) . There's an Opuntial in the Cambridge botanic garden that's been there for many years.

Personally, I stick to agaves. Several are frost hardy to at least -10 and I've three species that live out all year.

Paul

[greenskull]

Originally Posted by bearnol

Anybody else here like growing Cacti?
J

Yes, it is me.

A six-shot salvo this season. This is a real feat :)


Some other nice photos:


This is the most common Echinopsis eyriesii.
But I have learned to provide it with such conditions that it blooms very abundantly and beautifully in spring and summer.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by xilman

Yes, but they don't do very well up here in the sub-arctic.

Since that was posted I bought a place in La Palma. One of the beds is largely devoted to cacti, though there were a couple of Aloe species there when I moved in.

The Opuntia (note speeling misteak in original post) in the Cambridge Botanic garden died during a hard winter a few years back.

A few cacti aren't doing too badly in our unheated conservatory up here.

[greenskull]

In nature, my Echinopsis are not pollinated by insects, but by hummingbirds.



An interesting feature of Echinopsis is also the fact that they do not form ovaries when self-pollinated or when pollinated by their own clones or their close relatives. They need a different DNA.
Therefore, in the collections of echinopsis lovers, they are highly hybridized, since they have to be pollinated with pollen from other cacti species.

[Xyzzy]

We have been trying to kill this mini cactus for several years.

Sometimes we forget about it for months at a time.

It lives on the window shelf above our kitchen sink. Some of the "fingers" are not attached to the main plant, which is kinda weird.

Overall, including the pot, it is about the size of a tennis ball.

[masser]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Sometimes we forget about it for months at a time.

It lives on the window shelf above our kitchen sink.

I believe those are the perfect growing conditions for cacti.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

We have been trying to kill this mini cactus for several years.

Sometimes we forget about it for months at a time.
<snip>

You're not trying hard enough. They're fine with being left alone for months on end.

If you really want to kill it, try overwatering it. :-D

There's a popular non-cactus succulent called a jade plant. Jade plants are very undemanding. They have smallish paddle-shaped fleshy green leaves. I have seen some impressively large specimens.

It takes a long time for a jade plant to die of thirst. Cacti can take much longer.

I have heard that there are two things that can kill a jade plant in short order, with the symptoms that the leaves turn purple and flabby, then fall off. One is some kind of plant virus. The other is overwatering.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by masser

I believe those are the perfect growing conditions for cacti.

Yes and no.

They have evolved to tolerate such conditions. They tend to prefer a small amount of water rather more often than that. What they can't abide is waterlogged roots.

Incidentally, some cacti are frost-hardy to a remarkable degree as long as they are kept dry.

The plant which surprises me most with its drought tolerance is Chlorophytum comosum, aka the spider plant. It doesn't look like a xerophyte but if you fail to water it for 3 months its leaves will turn a glaucus blue and the plant aestivates. Water it again and it revives fully, casting off its old leaves after growing new ones and putting out stalks which bear flowers and new plantlets.

[greenskull]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

We have been trying to kill this mini cactus for several years...

From about November to February, succulents need a dormant period.
At this time, they are not watered at all. And the ambient temperature should be 10..12..14℃.
In such conditions, they accumulate the flowering hormone and after such a winter there is a chance to see their flowering in the spring.
During such a winter, cacti shrink and look so-so. But you need to have the courage not to feel sorry for them.
If you do not have the strength to endure, you can splash once a month 1-2 tablespoons of water, but not more.

In the spring, with the first rays of the bright sun, you can start watering and it is better to shade the first two weeks so that the plant does not get burned.

Your cactus looks good. And I like your pot - it's fireclay breathing clay.