I'm sure that a lot SWIY's are going to be taking up growing tricho soon if they haven't already, so here's a thread to get help on it. SWIM certainly needs some.

SWIM's growing two 6" logs and a 6" cap. SWIM started rooting them a couple weeks ago and expected them to take root within a month. He watered them a tiny bit when He first planted them and once more with even less (just wetting the surface a little, really). They've been extremely dry lately, but today he noticed that the logs were rotting at the base! Like this:
http://www.trichocereus.com/rot.htm
So he uprooted them (though they haven't actually taken root yet) and sliced off the rotted part, which was about half of each, and salvaged what he could for drying.

SWIM's fairly certain that the soil has enough drainage, as he has a lot of perilite in it and it seems to dry out quite quickly. Could it be the acidity of the soil? SWIM neglected to mix lime in with it when he prepared it.

Anyway, what SWIM's doing now is drying out the cuts on the salvaged logs with charcoal. He also put a bit of lime and perilite into the holes where each cactus is planted, spread it out and packed it in. He also put a little bit of lime on the surface of the soil. Are SWIM's measures correct? Is there anything else he should do?

how was the cutting when you got it?? I got a 12 inch cutting about 6 weeks ago and was really concerned about watering it. I have a heater in my room so it is warm, I have 1 light above it and water it every few days, just a little, from below. It sits next to window as well so gets natural light, and I have been opening the window getting it ready for the summer outdoors. I am quite surprised to see its already grown almost 2 inches in the 6 weeks, and it was dormant when I bought it. I am using shultz catus mix from home depot and have organic liquid ferts that I add to the water for all my plants. I was scared I would overwater the thing but it seems to be thriving, so I am getting some more ..I have another 20 I started from seed but they are MUCH slower for some reason. 1 year old now and still only a half inch..

See Teotzlcoatl's Cacti Thread for more information on Cacti

Do NOT water your Trichocereus cacti cuttings at all UNTIL they have developed roots!

well, mine must obviousily have roots by now if its grown that much. I havent checked though. i should stress that I only water a VERY small amount. I have a green house in my room for my salvia cuttings and other high humidity plants, and I keep the rest of my room really warm witha heater for my other plants, so maybe thats why mine seems to like the water..

Sorry 'Coatl, that thread was too broad and cluttered, so I decided to make a new one with a particular focus. I definitely shouldn't have watered them at all, hopefully SWIM's learned his lesson, but he still wonders if that was the only reason. Otherwise, is SWIM responding correctly to the situation?

Sure, I understand, no reason not to make your own thread.



Just keep them REALLY dry until they have roots and they should be fine.

You should mist them though at least once a week. This will help the roots form faster in SWIMS experience. Just mist the actual cacti and the soil around the base. Make sure SWIY only uses enough so that it evaporates within an hour.

Also keep it out of the sun until it roots if SWIY did not already know that. Once it roots then it can handle sun. Otherwise it will grow all thin and will not be able to support larger girth.

A proper soil mixture is also essential for rooting and growth. A mix of regular soil (60%) and 40% perlite. There are a lot of variation with this however the above works fine and is especially good for rooting. One can add sand and rocks to help draining. The soil for rooting should be dry and soft so that the new roots can easily branch out and push through it. you should be able to easily stick your finger through it without compacting it. It should be layered not compacted.

Good luck

They're in a shady spot. Unfortunately, one did not make it, kept rotting through. The other log calloused just fine and is in the process of rooting again. The cap seems to be just fine. SWIM is using about 40% perilite and soil with some sand mixed in.


Now SWIM's got a lonely pot of soil...anyone got a good vendor for a short cutting of Peruvian from within the US? PM if you do.

Do you not read my posts? Does nobody notice this thread?

Sacred succulents only has seeds of Peruvians. Most of those other links seem to be about the same. SWIM was hoping for a more direct answer, but he could just do his own footwork...no problem. He may yet save two inches of that log he thought he had lost anyway.

Ah, I say this over and over and over....

YOU MUST GET THE CATALOG FOR THE FULL SACRED SUCCULENTS LISTING!!!

Sacred Succulents is the best company on planet Earth for Trichocereus cacti!!!

Just send in $2 and your address and they will send you their full catalog!!!

Alright, 'Coatl. But just to be clear, "you must get their catalog!!!" can mean many things. Because they're an awesome vendor? In order to get what SWIM's after? For the full Sacred Succulents listing? Being a little more straight-forward would save a little time and frustration. Thanks for the tip, though.

No you must get the catalog because-

1) They are the most amazing vendor of Trichocereus on planet Earth! B.K. (the owner of Sacred Succulents) goes to South American each Spring/Summer to collect Trichocereus seeds and other rare botanicals. In fact HE IS IN PERU RIGHT NOW hiking the mountains, traversing rivers and meeting local peoples while collecting ethnobotanicals!!!

2) Their catalog is worth reading simply as a book! It is FULL of wonderful information!

3) You get access to the FULL LISTINGS of ALL of Sacred Succulents products.

I read that SWIM must because they're among your favorite vendors (hence the caps and exclamation marks), not because the cuttings can only be found in their catalog, as this is simply not mentioned.



The thread is broad, though useful. Like putting a 'coatl filter on a google search. Still not specific enough for SWIM's concerns if the intention was to specifically address his concerns.



Information that would have been nice from the start, rather than assuming that I simply don't read your posts thoroughly enough.



Posted after the fact on the your links thread. Where else you mention this is a mystery to me, as I must not read every single post of yours in every single thread.



Yes I got this the first time it was actually mentioned to me.


'Coatl, it seems to me that you perhaps post too rapidly and don't always consider what your posts may actually convey. It's a little rude to give someone incomplete information and then behave as if they simply neglect to read it thoroughly enough, when in actuality you simply haven't said everything you perhaps meant to say. Personally, it's frustrating to be given information and then have to prod for the necessary details, as I'm sure it's frustrating to be prodded. Two posts--one to me and one on your links thread--would have been sufficient had they contained all the necessary details.

I won't belabor the point any longer.

Hey the the company should tell you this, it's not my job!

Be glad I gave you all that information!

BTW, I don't mind you asking questions and I don't mind clearing up details.

Sorry... geeze.

:evil:

Dreamer's San Pedro cutting has now reduced itself from seven points to only 5. Why has it done this? And does it matter?

Is that it from now on, or will it make its skinny 5 pointed section back into 7 again if it gets happier? I presume they can do this because big old wild ones have so many ridges or whatever they're called.

Do you mean ribs?

Trichocereus lose and gain ribs all the time.

I'm not sure what causes this.

A couple tips

Never stick a freshly cut Trich directly into soil, even if the soil is completely dry. Let it sit out for about a week, or until the cut is completely calloused over; then plant in a soil that is fast draining and can BREATHE. I've left Trichs to sit for months without planting them and they won't die, they'll even grow a little without any roots!

Don't plant unrooted cuttings in a large container, I use 1 gal pots. They don't need much water at this stage and when they do the pots need to drain and dry quickly. Wait for roots to show out the bootom holes before transplanting to ensure a mature root system

Only use wide, shallow pots and avoid any tall, deep ones. Trich roots don't go deep at all and using deep pots only invite rot.

Once established Trichs can tolerate quite a bit of water and fertilizer and should receive 100% full sun. Any shade at all will result in loss of "ribs"/girth.

Still haven't gotten mine to flower after years and years, probably gets too cold during the winter. Anyone seen one bloom or better yet, tasted the fruit?