I used a very gritty compost, they had been potted in pure bunter sand,as quarried in Mansfield for building. To repot, wrap a towel round the cactus so that you can handle it.
For some reason the picture I want will not appear on screen. I give up!
Thank you for the advice, Fidgetbones. When my cactus was smaller I used to fold a number of newspaper sheets like a long 10cm wide ribbon, place it around the plant and lift it. Unfortunately, by now it's about 40 cm tall, very wide and its spines are absolutely lethal; so, I'm leaving well alone!
Thank you Danae and Fidgetbones for your help and advice. Armed with all this knowledge I shall repot it and hope for the best.
I can sense your frustration, Danae, when failing to attach the picture you wanted. Unfortunately, some times things can be beyond our control.
And talking about things being frustrating, I was listening to Radio 4 the other day when a Canadian lady started discussing the Phaidra and Hyppolytos play, constantly referring to Phai(e)dra as Pheedra! I nearly emailed them to let them know it's FED-RAH, not Feed-rah, but then I thought differently...
It's a beaut' isn't it? It flowers every year, almost to the day, although this year it only produced one flower. The flower lasts a week or two. I can't remember it's botanical name but if you join one of the cactus forums someone will certainly ID it. I think it might be Parodia haselbergii, previously Notocactus haselbergii.
And talking about things being frustrating, I was listening to Radio 4 the other day when a Canadian lady started discussing the Phaidra and Hyppolytos play, constantly referring to Phai(e)dra as Pheedra! I nearly emailed them to let them know it's FED-RAH, not Feed-rah, but then I thought differently...
I have to admit that though I had heard of the need for cacti to have a dry season, I quite naturally I thought that would be the summer season! As my cactus is hardy, I always left it outside all year round obviously preventing its winter dryness and thus its refusal to flower. It makes sense, now!
Is there anything very particular needed about its compost? I have it in ordinary multi purpose stuff with grit on the top. It hasn't killed it but it may have further contributed to its failure to bloom?
Thank you. I have had quite a large collection for some years now, although I've reluctantly had to sell and give away many because I took in a cat and was worried about him injuring himself.
Regarding cactus care there are many websites that can help you in that respect. Basically though they thrive under the care regime that's been mentioned in this thread, not watering at all during the dormant period between October and March, reasonably regular watering during the growing period, avoiding overwatering, which rots the roots. So allow them to completely dry out between watering and don't let them stand in water. I water mine every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the weather and feed them with half-strength tomato feed.
Any general purpose plant food will do but it must be a quarter to half-strength as overfeeding causes growth malformations. Regarding compost I also use general purpose compost but mix it with garden gravel/grit,a third to a half gravel/grit.
For some reason the picture I want will not appear on screen. I give up!
Thank you for the advice, Fidgetbones. When my cactus was smaller I used to fold a number of newspaper sheets like a long 10cm wide ribbon, place it around the plant and lift it. Unfortunately, by now it's about 40 cm tall, very wide and its spines are absolutely lethal; so, I'm leaving well alone!
Hi Danae, having had a large collection of cacti for over ten years now I've had some painful experiences and spent some painful times extracting tiny spines with tweezers. Although these accidents happened usually by brushing a hand or arm against a cactus rather than handling them. The variety of vicious spines on cacti are fiendish.
But I do have some advice if you ever do want to repot a large cactus, which can obviously benefit it if it is still growing. I use a pair of heavy duty (thick) leather garden or builder's gloves. You still have to be fairly gentle as some spines can penetrate slightly if you press to hard, though they won't be stuck in your hand. And of course you don't want to damage the plant.
My method is this: First I sacrifice the current pot. This is the easiest method and reduces handling of the plant. I lay the plant and pot on its side, supporting the cactus with something underneath it if it's a tall and fragile one. i.e. narrow stemmed.
I then break the pot using a hammer or mallet. Then after removing all the shards I put the cactus in a newly prepared pot by handling by the roots/root ball and then lowering it gently into the pot. By using the gloves I can gently hold the cactus in position with one hand while filling the pot with the remainder of the compost. With smaller cacti you can use tongs or a stick just to balance it in the new pot while you fill it.
PS. You don't always have to sacrifice the pot. Sometimes the plant will slide out easily, especially if you go round the inside outer edge of the pot with a thin bladed instrument such as a palette knife. I still do this with the plant on it's side or if the pot is small enough to hold in the hand tip it up and gently shake it out while holding the cactus in the gloved hand.
It's a beaut' isn't it? It flowers every year, almost to the day, although this year it only produced one flower. The flower lasts a week or two. I can't remember it's botanical name but if you join one of the cactus forums someone will certainly ID it. I think it might be Parodia haselbergii, previously Notocactus haselbergii.
You're very welcome! This one is quite a common cactus and also flowers for quite a long time. I've had this cactus for some years and like the other one, it flowers every year almost or on the same day as the previous year. This one flowers for about a month. It starts producing flowers near the head of the cactus until they form a 'crown' around the head. And if you count the from the first flowers appearing till the last one dies off it's a month or slightly longer.
But I do have some advice if you ever do want to repot a large cactus....
My method is this: First I sacrifice the current pot. This is the easiest method and reduces handling of the plant. I lay the plant and pot on its side, supporting the cactus with something underneath it if it's a tall and fragile one. i.e. narrow stemmed.
I then break the pot using a hammer or mallet. Then after removing all the shards I put the cactus in a newly prepared pot by handling by the roots/root ball and then lowering it gently into the pot. By using the gloves I can gently hold the cactus in position with one hand while filling the pot with the remainder of the compost. With smaller cacti you can use tongs or a stick just to balance it in the new pot while you fill it.
PS. You don't always have to sacrifice the pot. Sometimes the plant will slide out easily, especially if you go round the inside outer edge of the pot with a thin bladed instrument such as a palette knife. I still do this with the plant on it's side or if the pot is small enough to hold in the hand tip it up and gently shake it out while holding the cactus in the gloved hand.
Thank you for the wonderfully detailed technique, Soulboy, but I'm not sacrificing the pot! Much more expensive than the original cactus and I'm rather stingy!! ( I think I get it from my Scottish great grandmother!)
As I don't feel brave enough to handle it, I fear it will have to live in its present pot until I die or it dies or a...miracle happens! I do feed it, though, to compensate for the lack of fresh compost, with every watering from March to October. I haven't killed it yet, so it's probably all right.
Your cactus with the pink flowers is very pretty too. You, obviously, have all the right skills!
Posts
I used a very gritty compost, they had been potted in pure bunter sand,as quarried in Mansfield for building. To repot, wrap a towel round the cactus so that you can handle it.
For some reason the picture I want will not appear on screen. I give up!
Thank you for the advice, Fidgetbones. When my cactus was smaller I used to fold a number of newspaper sheets like a long 10cm wide ribbon, place it around the plant and lift it. Unfortunately, by now it's about 40 cm tall, very wide and its spines are absolutely lethal; so, I'm leaving well alone!
Last edited: 15 June 2016 19:00:36
Thank you Danae and Fidgetbones for your help and advice. Armed with all this knowledge I shall repot it and hope for the best.
I can sense your frustration, Danae, when failing to attach the picture you wanted. Unfortunately, some times things can be beyond our control.
And talking about things being frustrating, I was listening to Radio 4 the other day when a Canadian lady started discussing the Phaidra and Hyppolytos play, constantly referring to Phai(e)dra as Pheedra! I nearly emailed them to let them know it's FED-RAH, not Feed-rah, but then I thought differently...
Thank you, Soulboy, for the link; very useful indeed. I've already spent some time studying it and feel sure I'll spend some more!
I have to admit, I'd never heard of such long lasting cactus flowers before. Another reason for considering it further!
It's a free country!
Thank you. I have had quite a large collection for some years now, although I've reluctantly had to sell and give away many because I took in a cat and was worried about him injuring himself.
Regarding cactus care there are many websites that can help you in that respect. Basically though they thrive under the care regime that's been mentioned in this thread, not watering at all during the dormant period between October and March, reasonably regular watering during the growing period, avoiding overwatering, which rots the roots. So allow them to completely dry out between watering and don't let them stand in water. I water mine every 2 to 3 weeks depending on the weather and feed them with half-strength tomato feed.
Any general purpose plant food will do but it must be a quarter to half-strength as overfeeding causes growth malformations. Regarding compost I also use general purpose compost but mix it with garden gravel/grit,a third to a half gravel/grit.
Hi Danae, having had a large collection of cacti for over ten years now I've had some painful experiences and spent some painful times extracting tiny spines with tweezers. Although these accidents happened usually by brushing a hand or arm against a cactus rather than handling them. The variety of vicious spines on cacti are fiendish.
But I do have some advice if you ever do want to repot a large cactus, which can obviously benefit it if it is still growing. I use a pair of heavy duty (thick) leather garden or builder's gloves. You still have to be fairly gentle as some spines can penetrate slightly if you press to hard, though they won't be stuck in your hand. And of course you don't want to damage the plant.
My method is this: First I sacrifice the current pot. This is the easiest method and reduces handling of the plant. I lay the plant and pot on its side, supporting the cactus with something underneath it if it's a tall and fragile one. i.e. narrow stemmed.
I then break the pot using a hammer or mallet. Then after removing all the shards I put the cactus in a newly prepared pot by handling by the roots/root ball and then lowering it gently into the pot. By using the gloves I can gently hold the cactus in position with one hand while filling the pot with the remainder of the compost. With smaller cacti you can use tongs or a stick just to balance it in the new pot while you fill it.
PS. You don't always have to sacrifice the pot. Sometimes the plant will slide out easily, especially if you go round the inside outer edge of the pot with a thin bladed instrument such as a palette knife. I still do this with the plant on it's side or if the pot is small enough to hold in the hand tip it up and gently shake it out while holding the cactus in the gloved hand.
Last edited: 16 June 2016 11:41:13
You're very welcome! This one is quite a common cactus and also flowers for quite a long time. I've had this cactus for some years and like the other one, it flowers every year almost or on the same day as the previous year. This one flowers for about a month. It starts producing flowers near the head of the cactus until they form a 'crown' around the head. And if you count the from the first flowers appearing till the last one dies off it's a month or slightly longer.
not a great pic more buds to flower round the other side
Last edited: 16 June 2016 21:37:37