topic Help with Cacti in Family, Home and Garden

Help with Cacti

nana-lala1 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 02:01:19 GMT

Bought these Cacti a couple of days ago from Dobbies & nobody there could tell what type they are or advice on their care.. Both labels say 'Little Cactus with everlasting flowers'. They're only about 4 inches tall & came in a small plastic container with no drainage - both are very dry.

I also purchased drip feeders that are meant to feed over 14 days but one is empty after only 2 days..

I luv Cacti but have never had one, so when I bought my Doggie planters at a Car Boot I thought they would be ideal for Cacti.

Any advice on their care & identification of them would be appreciated

Thanks nana-lala.

Re: Help with Cacti

fishpieface — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 10:09:07 GMT

Oh wow, they're lovely cacti and look especially fabulous in those little containers.

I've had cacti and succulents for years and years with varying degrees of success. Succulents

seem to be very easy to care for as long as you don't let them get frostbitten. Cacti are a bit

more specialised but, the general rule I've gone by is when you water, only give a little and let

the soil draw up the water from a saucer underneath or water with a spray mister (one of those

things you squirt water from by a little pump thingy worked by hand). They benefit from some

cactus feed during the summer months, given about once every three to four weeks. They are

very slow to grow but, should they grow too big for their little pots, re-pot them in cactus soil

(mixture of sand and soil), being careful to plant in the new pot to the level they were in the old

pot. You can sprinkle some decorative gravel on top if you like.

They like the sun, but don't let them completely dry out for weeks on end. They're ok to be dry,

but not forever! They don't like getting too cold. When it's lovely and warm in summer, I

put mine outside on the patio, or if you have a conservatory or something like that, keep them in

there.

Hope this helps a bit.

Re: Help with Cacti

*chez* — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 10:14:56 GMT

Probably a variety of Echinopsis ( there are 100's!)

The flowers are dried Helichrysum ( straw or everlasting flower) which have been stuck onwith a hot glue gun. Cacti will survive for years without water. but they will survive not flourish... They really need to be in pots with drainage. I stand mine in water for about an hour. making sure the actual cacti doesn't come into contact with the water.. remove the water and allow the plant to drain.. I repeat this every month in spring/summer and every 2 months in colder weather...

Re: Help with Cacti

*chez* — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 10:16:51 GMT

Ohh sorry Fishy.. you wern't there when I started typing!

Re: Help with Cacti

**towery** — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 13:08:26 GMT

i used to have a few cacti in my youth,

they could be ignored by forgetful teenagers with homework to do

i used to have a soft paint brush to dust them with , and a cute little pot sets them offf well

then suddenly they will have a growth spurt or produced knobly babies 🙂

Re: Help with Cacti

**towery** — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 13:11:14 GMT

forgot to say

pot them in the right soil

i never gave more than an eggcupful of water

a little spritz

if you have a little sunny spot in a yard or greenhouse it can give them a change

avoid windowsills in the winter

Re: Help with Cacti

nana-lala1 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 16:28:59 GMT

My thanks to everybody who have taken the time to reply - you have all been so helpful with your kind advice, I now have a starting point.

Feel a bit cheated that the flowers are dried and stuck on but I still luv them nonetheless - theres me thinking that they cheered up when that big round yellow thing in the sky came out (on closer inspection I can see the glue).

Luv nana-lala

Re: Help with Cacti

aernethril — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 16:48:57 GMT

Many cacti will flower, given the right conditions.

Have a look at some of these pics to give you inspiration and hope

Cacti

One I would advise against is the one commonly known as Bunny Ears Cactus - it's the one with the tiniest spikes that you cannot really see, but get one in your finger and boy do you know about it for days.

Opuntia microdasys - just looked it up.

Re: Help with Cacti

nana-lala1 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 17:12:27 GMT

Thanks aernethril - WOW they l@@K beautiful, GOTTA HAVE some of them.

This could turn out to be a good hobby for me.

Luv nana-lala

Re: Help with Cacti

chickengrandma-2008 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 18:06:48 GMT

If you want lots of flowers you need to get Christmas cactus. Not exactly a cactus, a succulent, but loads of flowers.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+cactus&biw=1280&bih=603&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=RMjoVPzDOYX-7AbCh4GgBA&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

Re: Help with Cacti

chickengrandma-2008 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 18:11:26 GMT

My hubby never does anything in moderation. He started out with two white mice and ended up with hundreds. He started out with 6 chickens and ended up with five hundred.

He started out with a couple of cacti and ended up with loads!!

Re: Help with Cacti

bitsnknots — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 18:19:16 GMT

We have a Christmas cactus and it flowers every year sometimes twice a year. We always have loads of lovely pink flowers on ours.

Re: Help with Cacti

nana-lala1 — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 19:39:38 GMT

Sounds like my OH who bought a Guinea Pig to keep our Rabbit company - imagine our surprise a week later to find 8 furry new born baby G/Pigs running about the hutch sleeping area fully formed!!!!!?

Thanks for your pics, they look great.

Luv nana-lala

Re: Help with Cacti

wskneil — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 21:32:06 GMT

I love cacti and succulents, they seem to thrive on neglect. I leave them till they are totally dry, even to the extent of starting to shrink, then give them loads of water. It's what my Mum always did and she would have cacti flowering , even ones that were meant to be difficult to get flowering.

Re: Help with Cacti

fishpieface — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 22:20:15 GMT

It's ok Chez, you probably know more than I do!
Oh yes Oo, if you have to re-pot cacti, pick them up gently with food tongs - saves you having to pick millions of prickles out of your fingers!

Re: Help with Cacti

mouse4702 — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 20:25:24 GMT

Ah, the very thread! I have a cactus, or rather a clutch of them off one root. It started as a little phallic finger (thanks to Mother for that present!) but I repotted it after it fell down the back of the fridge for 9 months and nearly died. It went mad, producing lots of new phallic fingers in brighter green, but the original one went brown.

My question is: can I prune the supposedly dead fingers away?

Re: Help with Cacti

aernethril — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 21:24:00 GMT

If they are truly gorn to the prickly place in the sky, they should more or less be removable by well protected hand - a gentle tug or nudge one way and the other should tell you.

Re: Help with Cacti

fishpieface — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 10:00:21 GMT

Yes, I reckon you can Mouse. Sounds like a long holiday down the back of the fridge did it good.

Maybe that's what I need - a long holiday that is, but not necessarily down the back of the fridge!

Re: Help with Cacti

mouse4702 — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 13:29:40 GMT

Better not, Fishie - you might start sprouting phallic protuberances. That sort of thing can ruin your whole day!

Re: Help with Cacti

aernethril — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:41:54 GMT

And here are some 'safety' (ish) cacti that can happily be left dry.