Hayden wrote:
Hey there everybody, im new to the forum, im only 13 years old and
descided to buy myself a cactus. I have had 1 before but when I was like
7, that was under my mums control and now is too dead for me to recover
un-expierienced. But anyway, back to the fresh new one!
I have a few questions, if you can help answer 1 of them it would be
perfect!
1. How often should I be watering mine, ive been doing a tiny bit onto
its dish around twice a week and it sucks it all up!
In winter it depends how warm the room is. Mine kept frost free get
almost no water in the winter until about now when they start growing
again. I water from above and in summer they get watered almost like
other house plants but are never left standing in water for long.
2. When should I be re-potting mine? Mines only a small cactus (Not
tiny, But about a little over half of a full sized ruler.
What shape is it? Flat pads, globular or tall columnar with ribs?
Repotting in February-March with the plant is dormant and soil dry is
safest, but cacti will survive OK when under potted for a year or more.
They are used to growing in the soil trapped in cracks in a rock.
3. How can I make soil for my cactus? Ive been reading that the ones in
garden centres arnt as good as making your own. Id kind of like a
simplish way of doing it!
One part of JI No 2 and one part of Sharp Grit upto 5mm mixed together,
and then some nice gravel to put on the top. You can increase the
proportion of gravel for tricky plants - if the water runs straight
through then rot is less likely to be a problem.
Thanks a lot! Will hope to be getting a few more cacti when I know im a
perfect owner of one!
You might like to try growing some from seed if you have the patience.
They are a bit slow taking 3-4 years to come into flower. Rebutias and
Notocacti are about the easiest ones to flower when still small.
And you might want to find your local branch of the British Cactus and
Succulent Society - they are always keen for new members and
plants/cuttings/seeds are much much cheaper than in garden centres.
http://www.bcss.org.uk/branches.html
And some cultivation hints from my own home branch
http://www.teesside.bcss.org.uk/BCSS...T/cultivat.htm
Good luck.
Regards,
Martin Brown