Greetings,

I am moving house very soon and think it is a perfect oppertunity for me to grow my own cacti. I am interested in growing peruvian torch and san pedro. I am going to get a few of each over time so that I can use some for mesc extraction whilst leaving the others to grow, in theory giving me a supply every 6 months or so.

I appreciate it will be some time before they grow big enough to do that, but I have the patience for this and the waiting period I feel will can only result in a more rewarding experience.

I've found through the suppliers thread a tried and tested supplier. They are selling San pedro cuttings at 25-30cm and Torch at 10-12cm. What size pots will I need for these respectively?

From the reading around I have done I will have to plant the cuttings 2" into some very slightly damp soil - whats the best type of soil to get? Are there different grades? If someone could post a link to the type I should be using I can use this as a guide when trying to find my own supplier more locally.

A site mentioned using some type of hormone powder on the callous to stimulate growth - what is the Nexus' take on this? Again, if approved, some direciton as to what formula to use will be appreciated.

I should also add that I'm in the UK and we are covered in snow at the moment. Whilst this will probably subside by the time the cactus arrives and the time I'm relocated, I fear it will still be rather cold. I will be growing them indoors so they will have good temperature, can;t vouch for the sunlight though. I'll do the best I can in terms of finding the best spot to recieve the sun, when summer comes along I'll find a nice spot for them outside. Leading up to this, I'm led to believe that they are not to be watered - so when should I start watering them? I'm a bit torn because I'd expect them to need watering once the roots have grown in, but if they are hibernating I shouldn't be watering them.........solutions to this dilemma??

Thanks for reading,

Methtical

Thanks!

Methtical

Are you planning to plant them outside or just keep the pot outside in the summer? I've done the latter & IMHO the growth isn't what it should be due to roots being confined in the pot. That said in most of the UK leaving them permanently planted outside is a recipe for disaster.

Ok Methtical here is what your going to want to do.....

you get your cuttings, if the cutting was taken from the middle of the mother cacti, you need to figure out which end is up(in the air) and witch end is down(goes in the soil).

if you are ordering from a supplier, your cutting will come ready to plant, it does NOT matter if it has roots or not, it will root on its own...

plain ol' "CACTUS MIX SOIL" works great to get your cutting going, then after a few months you can move it into some fancier soil.

take a say 5in diameter and 6in deep pot, and put a small rock over the hole in the bottom of the pot(this is to keep the soil from running out the bottom of the pot when you water) i like clay terracotta pots, the cactus rootlets seem to like to grab onto the clay pots sides more than plastic, but plastic works just fine...

take your "fresh out of the bag DRY cactus mix soil" and fill your pot with 3in of DRY soil, this will leave you with 3in of space left in your pot, take your cutting and put it bottom side down in the middle of the pot, fill in the remaining space with DRY soil up to the top of the pot, your cutting should be buried deep enough so that it doesn't topple over, 3-4in should be plenty deep, adjust depth if necessary...

Bam!!! your done....easy as 3.14159....

this is the first stage in your new cacti life, it will grow roots over the next few weeks/months, this is a very slow process it will do it on its own. resist the urge to dig up your now comfortable friend to see if roots are forming.

put your now potted cacti somewhere (not freezing, cold is fine) like on a window sill, where it gets at least a couple hours of direct light a day for now, when the weather gets warmer move it out doors for optimal growth, or to a window where it will constantly be bathed in NATURAL light.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! DO NOT WATER THE SOIL DURING THIS STAGE UNLESS IT IS VERY HOT DRY SUMMER WEATHER!!! your cutting has all the water it needs stored in its self to stay alive for months on its own.

Methtical, this is especially important for you since it is winter(quite cold and wet weather) where you live, if you water during this first stage, your cutting WILL ROT because it doesn't have roots to soak up the moisture yet...

after a few months (or when warmer dry spring/summer weather comes) of being in the dry soil roots will have started to form, now your cutting is stable and can be watered without fear of rotting, cacti(especially cuttings) do not require hardly any water during the winter. during the summer when it is hot and soil drys quickly i water once a week(this is for established cacti) and they suck it up readily....


good luck all who are called to grow these beings, it is a very worthwhile (life long) relationship. and remember it is going to take FOR EVER(years)for your cacti to get to a point where you can harvest them, and when they do finally get to this stage its hard to actually cut them down....

Remember... GENETICS ARE KEY!

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