San Pedro cactus

[teddytn]

Trying to branch out and expand my plant collection. Was looking for a columnar cactus to go in my plant room when it’s finished. For now it’s got to hang out in my bedroom with some of my other house plants. 

[amh]

Watch out for rot problems; you will want to re-pot and inspect for damage.

[teddytn]

  On 5/10/2021 at 3:19 AM, amh said:

Watch out for rot problems; you will want to re-pot and inspect for damage.

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Planned on repotting for sure, are they prone to rotting?

[amh]

  On 5/10/2021 at 3:49 AM, teddytn said:

Planned on repotting for sure, are they prone to rotting?

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Yes, when over watered or in poor draining soil. The clock is ticking, so look for soft or brown areas around the base. I have had to cut the tops off of every San Pedro that I have bought, but luckily they root easily.

[teddytn]

  On 5/10/2021 at 4:33 AM, amh said:

Yes, when over watered or in poor draining soil. The clock is ticking, so look for soft or brown areas around the base. I have had to cut the tops off of every San Pedro that I have bought, but luckily they root easily.

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Haven’t repotted yet, but no rot. That thing is bone dry. Its all fiberous soil medium. Seems like peat/ coir maybe. Was planning on repotting in a sand/ gravel mix, but not so sure what to do now. I don’t want to cut the root system apart to change soil mediums, it’s definitely root bound and has a good hold on the fiber mix. This will stay potted for life and want to start it off on a good note, want to be admiring this thing 10 years from now. Any suggestions on repotting?

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/10/2021 at 12:21 PM, teddytn said:

Haven’t repotted yet, but no rot. That thing is bone dry. Its all fiberous soil medium. Seems like peat/ coir maybe. Was planning on repotting in a sand/ gravel mix, but not so sure what to do now. I don’t want to cut the root system apart to change soil mediums, it’s definitely root bound and has a good hold on the fiber mix. This will stay potted for life and want to start it off on a good note, want to be admiring this thing 10 years from now. Any suggestions on repotting?

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Unlike some other plants, repotting cacti is super easy.. Remove from the old pot. Rinse off old soil from the roots, then re plant into new soil. No need to trim any of the roots as well. ( wouldn't hurt it if you did anyway ) Bare rooting them won't hurt or set back the plant at all  and is recommended by pretty much every long time grower i've spoken with.

As far as any fertilizer.. Not necessary w/ cacti but, use a ratio similar to this: 3-2-6 Potassium ( last number ) is the most important, as well as calcium which can be in the form of Egg or Oyster shell. I use all organic products for mine.

[teddytn]

  On 5/10/2021 at 3:23 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Unlike some other plants, repotting cacti is super easy.. Remove from the old pot. Rinse off old soil from the roots, then re plant into new soil. No need to trim any of the roots as well. ( wouldn't hurt it if you did anyway ) Bare rooting them won't hurt or set back the plant at all  and is recommended by pretty much every long time grower i've spoken with.

As far as any fertilizer.. Not necessary w/ cacti but, use a ratio similar to this: 3-2-6 Potassium ( last number ) is the most important, as well as calcium which can be in the form of Egg or Oyster shell. I use all organic products for mine.

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Ok that was my biggest concern. I feel better about it now. Thanks for all your help with this and everything else I harass you about!!! Lol

[amh]

  On 5/10/2021 at 12:21 PM, teddytn said:

Haven’t repotted yet, but no rot. That thing is bone dry. Its all fiberous soil medium. Seems like peat/ coir maybe. Was planning on repotting in a sand/ gravel mix, but not so sure what to do now. I don’t want to cut the root system apart to change soil mediums, it’s definitely root bound and has a good hold on the fiber mix. This will stay potted for life and want to start it off on a good note, want to be admiring this thing 10 years from now. Any suggestions on repotting?

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I hope I didn't scare you, but the nurseries always over water their cactus.

This is what you need to do.

  On 5/10/2021 at 3:23 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Unlike some other plants, repotting cacti is super easy.. Remove from the old pot. Rinse off old soil from the roots, then re plant into new soil. No need to trim any of the roots as well. ( wouldn't hurt it if you did anyway ) Bare rooting them won't hurt or set back the plant at all  and is recommended by pretty much every long time grower i've spoken with.

As far as any fertilizer.. Not necessary w/ cacti but, use a ratio similar to this: 3-2-6 Potassium ( last number ) is the most important, as well as calcium which can be in the form of Egg or Oyster shell. I use all organic products for mine.

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[teddytn]

  On 5/10/2021 at 7:01 PM, amh said:

I hope I didn't scare you, but the nurseries always over water their cactus.

This is what you need to do.

 

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No way, not the first cactus I’ve repotted, but to me it may be the most valuable. Thanks for the advice!!!

[teddytn]

Those are the ingredients I used but not in that ratio, as soon as I started mixing it I realized it would have been too heavy of a mix and hold too much water with the sand so used a very small amount, the rest is limestone gravel and that cactus palm mix which has always been a go to for potted succulents and cactus over the years. That’s the mix I ended up withFinished it off with the same gravel on top, something different most of my plants are in plain terra cotta.

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/10/2021 at 10:55 PM, teddytn said:

Those are the ingredients I used but not in that ratio, as soon as I started mixing it I realized it would have been too heavy of a mix and hold too much water with the sand so used a very small amount, the rest is limestone gravel and that cactus palm mix which has always been a go to for potted succulents and cactus over the years. That’s the mix I ended up withFinished it off with the same gravel on top, something different most of my plants are in plain terra cotta.

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Looks good.. While not as much of an issue w/ the San Pedro ( they're pretty adaptable and will accept a " richer " soil ) If you add other cacti, specifically anything that grows here in the Southwest or Mexico, go much heavier on the gravel/ grit, and use far less of the potting soil-type stuff.  Would avoid the fine sand as well as it can stay too wet / accelerate the breakdown of the organics in the potting soil portion of your mix. Both things can cause the soil mix to sour quickly and compact.  Instead,  use something like Chicken Grit ( Believe there are a couple different sizes, avoid anything that is really fine ).

Something like this would be perfect size-wise. Idea is to have the soil as " open " as possible so that excess water won't sit in it too long, air can penetrate / circulate through it easily.


Is what i go and collect from a wash/ river bed for my plants here for the smaller grained " sand " portion of my soil mix.  Recommend Ground up Coconut Coir ( CocoPeat ) for your organic component. The good thing about Coconut peat ( or the chunky, chopped up stuff  ) is it won't break down near as easily / quickly as peat moss, other standard organic things used in most bagged soil mixes these days and possesses naturally occurring chemicals/compounds which inhibit the growth of certain fungi and bacteria that can cause root rots, etc. Great for starting Palms in from seed as well. 
 

[teddytn]

  On 5/11/2021 at 12:20 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Looks good.. While not as much of an issue w/ the San Pedro ( they're pretty adaptable and will accept a " richer " soil ) If you add other cacti, specifically anything that grows here in the Southwest or Mexico, go much heavier on the gravel/ grit, and use far less of the potting soil-type stuff.  Would avoid the fine sand as well as it can stay too wet / accelerate the breakdown of the organics in the potting soil portion of your mix. Both things can cause the soil mix to sour quickly and compact.  Instead,  use something like Chicken Grit ( Believe there are a couple different sizes, avoid anything that is really fine ).

Something like this would be perfect size-wise. Idea is to have the soil as " open " as possible so that excess water won't sit in it too long, air can penetrate / circulate through it easily.


Is what i go and collect from a wash/ river bed for my plants here for the smaller grained " sand " portion of my soil mix.  Recommend Ground up Coconut Coir ( CocoPeat ) for your organic component. The good thing about Coconut peat ( or the chunky, chopped up stuff  ) is it won't break down near as easily / quickly as peat moss, other standard organic things used in most bagged soil mixes these days and possesses naturally occurring chemicals/compounds which inhibit the growth of certain fungi and bacteria that can cause root rots, etc. Great for starting Palms in from seed as well. 
 

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As soon as I started mixing in the sand I knew it wasn’t going to be good and added a small amount. I do like that potting mix and have had good success everytime ive used it. It holds water the first time it gets watered pretty long. As soon as it drys out in the pot, successive waterings drain well and don’t hold moisture very long, 2 days and it’s pretty dry all the way down. It felt pretty moisture heavy when I was filling the pot. This may get watered once a month and we’ll see how she goes. I was creek walking the other day, I know right where I can get a good load of gravel similar to what you have. I’ll let you know the next time I’m potting a cactus up and get you to help!

[teddytn]

There’s San Pedro in these photos so nobody report me lol. Here’s pics of just the cactus greenhouse at the nursery I bought it from. I think they had 10 greenhouses total, different plants in each one

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/11/2021 at 1:11 AM, teddytn said:

There’s San Pedro in these photos so nobody report me lol. Here’s pics of just the cactus greenhouse at the nursery I bought it from. I think they had 10 greenhouses total, different plants in each one

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  Who'd report you, a fool? lol!    Great pictures!  Pretty impressive diversity among what they're offering.  Note that some of the " cacti " in the pictures ( picture #4 specifically ) are Columnar-type Euphorbia / " stick "- type Euphorbs.. Great plants.. but also quite dangerous ( Most plants in that family contain toxic sap that can give you a nasty rash, or permanently blind ) Not sure i'd grow those as in/outdoor specimens.

Cluster of Cacti ( 4 ) on the right side of pic. #6 look like Saguaro, or Cardon ( Baja version of Saguaro ) ..from this distance anyway.  Cleistocactus ( prob. C. strausii = most popular sp. ). in the center.

[teddytn]

  On 5/11/2021 at 6:02 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

  Who'd report you, a fool? lol!    Great pictures!  Pretty impressive diversity among what they're offering.  Note that some of the " cacti " in the pictures ( picture #4 specifically ) are Columnar-type Euphorbia / " stick "- type Euphorbs.. Great plants.. but also quite dangerous ( Most plants in that family contain toxic sap that can give you a nasty rash, or permanently blind ) Not sure i'd grow those as in/outdoor specimens.

Cluster of Cacti ( 4 ) on the right side of pic. #6 look like Saguaro, or Cardon ( Baja version of Saguaro ) ..from this distance anyway.  Cleistocactus ( prob. C. strausii = most popular sp. ). in the center.

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That’s exactly what caught my eye last pic cluster of 4 on the right. Bigger diameter towards the top than the bottom. I’ll be honest, it was Mother’s Day and some how I convinced the wife we needed to stop there before opryland....literally saw the San Pedro which I was looking for and ran out of there. Needless to say I didn’t get to peruse and make notes of plant names. The next snag needs to be a saguaro. That would need to be planted in mainly grit though yeah?

[teddytn]

  On 5/11/2021 at 6:02 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

  Who'd report you, a fool? lol!    Great pictures!  Pretty impressive diversity among what they're offering.  Note that some of the " cacti " in the pictures ( picture #4 specifically ) are Columnar-type Euphorbia / " stick "- type Euphorbs.. Great plants.. but also quite dangerous ( Most plants in that family contain toxic sap that can give you a nasty rash, or permanently blind ) Not sure i'd grow those as in/outdoor specimens.

Cluster of Cacti ( 4 ) on the right side of pic. #6 look like Saguaro, or Cardon ( Baja version of Saguaro ) ..from this distance anyway.  Cleistocactus ( prob. C. strausii = most popular sp. ). in the center.

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Still trying to figure this site out lol, seems like some people are a little uptight on here....

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/11/2021 at 6:48 PM, teddytn said:

Still trying to figure this site out lol, seems like some people are a little uptight on here....

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I let 'em wallow in it, while i enjoy more meaningful things.. Life is too short to be miserable like that

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/11/2021 at 6:44 PM, teddytn said:

That’s exactly what caught my eye last pic cluster of 4 on the right. Bigger diameter towards the top than the bottom. I’ll be honest, it was Mother’s Day and some how I convinced the wife we needed to stop there before opryland....literally saw the San Pedro which I was looking for and ran out of there. Needless to say I didn’t get to peruse and make notes of plant names. The next snag needs to be a saguaro. That would need to be planted in mainly grit though yeah?

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That calls for a return visit, lol ..and yes, very little ( if any ) potting soil/ organics for it.  If you plan on only soaking the San Pedro -say once a month- ( should be able to go longer between watering ) Soak the Saguaro say once or twice through the entire summer.. and  likely not at all once indoors / thru the cool season.  A good rule of thumb regarding most cacti: Think of them like batteries. Charge them up, then let them run down for awhile.. Aside from rot, another issue w/ providing too much water is splitting.. Simply, they get too fat and crack. Best looking cacti you'll see displayed, esp. in succulent-related show events are grown hard, not overly pampered.

[teddytn]

  On 5/11/2021 at 7:49 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

That calls for a return visit, lol ..and yes, very little ( if any ) potting soil/ organics for it.  If you plan on only soaking the San Pedro -say once a month- ( should be able to go longer between watering ) Soak the Saguaro say once or twice through the entire summer.. and  likely not at all once indoors / thru the cool season.  A good rule of thumb regarding most cacti: Think of them like batteries. Charge them up, then let them run down for awhile.. Aside from rot, another issue w/ providing too much water is splitting.. Simply, they get too fat and crack. Best looking cacti you'll see displayed, esp. in succulent-related show events are grown hard, not overly pampered.

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My bad habits with cactus have to come from growing so much opuntia, which is native here, grows in clay and takes an unbelievable amount of water and loves it potted or planted in ground. Ok damn I’m glad we talked about watering. I water all my house plants including succulents and a few cactus every 2 weeks. Occasionally I’ll let all the crasulas, golden barrel, and mammillaria cactus go a month but that’s the longest. So once a month at most you would say, really every other month for potted cactus? Non opuntia 

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 5/11/2021 at 8:08 PM, teddytn said:

My bad habits with cactus have to come from growing so much opuntia, which is native here, grows in clay and takes an unbelievable amount of water and loves it potted or planted in ground. Ok damn I’m glad we talked about watering. I water all my house plants including succulents and a few cactus every 2 weeks. Occasionally I’ll let all the crasulas, golden barrel, and mammillaria cactus go a month but that’s the longest. So once a month at most you would say, really every other month for potted cactus? Non opuntia 

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No bad habits, just learning curves..

My cacti are lucky if they get sprinkled once every two weeks. Those planted out front? I let nature take of them, unless they look horrible. Then i squirt them once or twice thru the summer.  Have several things i actually have to stop watering when night time temps exceed 76 or so because they essentially go dormant when it is that hot, and can rot w/ the extra water. 

Big, columnar cacti store a ton of water and can " sip " it  for months. Have some Stenocereus sp. i over watered when i first planted it and it developed cracks along a couple of the stems. Tossed an extra Opuntia i had in the ground a month or so ago and haven't soaked yet. Looks perfect.  They're tough little buggers.  Even the Opuntia out there that look really bad during the worst part of our summers bounce back to perfection as soon as it cools off and they get a quick drink.

Small stuff, like your Mammillaria,  a soak once every couple weeks/ a month during the summer is alright.. Winter? drier for longer is best.

Funny you mentioned Crassula ( Jades, i'd assume? ) My mom had several in front of a place she'd been renting that got no extra water, other than what fell during the winter, and were 5ft tall " trees " Found a couple that were growing in 5" of water in a bucket, completely healthy. Sold a few, planted a couple others that ended up getting destroyed when the nursery i'd worked for at that time burnt down.

[teddytn]

  On 5/11/2021 at 9:03 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

No bad habits, just learning curves..

My cacti are lucky if they get sprinkled once every two weeks. Those planted out front? I let nature take of them, unless they look horrible. Then i squirt them once or twice thru the summer.  Have several things i actually have to stop watering when night time temps exceed 76 or so because they essentially go dormant when it is that hot, and can rot w/ the extra water. 

Big, columnar cacti store a ton of water and can " sip " it  for months. Have some Stenocereus sp. i over watered when i first planted it and it developed cracks along a couple of the stems. Tossed an extra Opuntia i had in the ground a month or so ago and haven't soaked yet. Looks perfect.  They're tough little buggers.  Even the Opuntia out there that look really bad during the worst part of our summers bounce back to perfection as soon as it cools off and they get a quick drink.

Small stuff, like your Mammillaria,  a soak once every couple weeks/ a month during the summer is alright.. Winter? drier for longer is best.

Funny you mentioned Crassula ( Jades, i'd assume? ) My mom had several in front of a place she'd been renting that got no extra water, other than what fell during the winter, and were 5ft tall " trees " Found a couple that were growing in 5" of water in a bucket, completely healthy. Sold a few, planted a couple others that ended up getting destroyed when the nursery i'd worked for at that time burnt down.

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I rarely ever water all the in ground opuntia and for how much rain we get definitely never need to. I’m sure you know, but besides storing water opuntia especially have an extensive root system, mature specimens are getting water regardless of whether it rains. I’ve been digging in the garden and run into opuntia roots a far ways from the plant. 
I realized after I typed that I have more cacti than I thought just not sure of the names lol, man that’s kind of my problem I guess I’m a for real plant nerd my whole house inside and out is covered in plants, at work too I bring plants in when ever there’s too many at my house. Cactus is definitely my weakest subject plant material wise, that’s what I mean about people being uptight. Dypsis or nothing for some people on here or tropical or nothing. I’m into everything. I’ll talk to someone about composting for hours hahaha.

Yes of course Jades!!! Have to be my favorite potted plant. That’s the first species that got me into the potted plant game when I was little. I’ve heard from people out west that they’re grown as hedges in peoples yards! To me that’s crazy, the biggest one I have is 10 years in a pot, cutting from a 30 year old 7 foot potted plant from a doctors house in New York where I’m from. If I have feelings for any of my plants that’s it, but I maybe have 20 smaller Jade’s all over my house started from cuttings of the big one. That’s tough man, the lineage of a plant like that ugh. That’s why I’ve always got small ones started just in case

[amh]

  On 5/11/2021 at 1:11 AM, teddytn said:

There’s San Pedro in these photos so nobody report me lol.

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Only if you dont report me.

[teddytn]

  On 5/12/2021 at 7:24 PM, amh said:

Only if you dont report me.

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I’m no snitch lol! Nah you’re cool man 

[RyManUtah]

Have fun with it! They grow quickly, and do fun things when injured. 
 

Frost damage removal (different specimen) resulted in many. The former is skinnier and closer to the house; it didn’t have the frost on it overnight 
 

[teddytn]

  On 5/13/2021 at 2:20 PM, RyManUtah said:

Have fun with it! They grow quickly, and so fun things when injured. 
 

Frost damage removal (different specimen) resulted in many. The former is skinnier and closer to the house; it didn’t have the frost on it overnight 
 

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Wow looking good! Was curious what was going to happen 10 years from now when it’s touching my ceiling, have to give it the chop! 

[RyManUtah]

  On 5/13/2021 at 2:54 PM, teddytn said:

Wow looking good! Was curious what was going to happen 10 years from now when it’s touching my ceiling, have to give it the chop! 

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Thanks. These are my first of these as well, about a year old from much smaller. 
 

Cut the tip off and start over maybe? Could feasibly keep the same plant for quite some time. 

[teddytn]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:00 PM, RyManUtah said:

Thanks. These are my first of these as well, about a year old from much smaller. 
 

Cut the tip off and start over maybe? Could feasibly keep the same plant for quite some time. 

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Wow 1 year?!?! How much growth in a year in the ground would you say. Mines staying in a pot just curious

[RyManUtah]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:03 PM, teddytn said:

Wow 1 year?!?! How much growth in a year in the ground would you say. Mines staying in a pot just curious

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Quite a lot. This is the earliest picture I could find on my phone. It’s from August. Planted sometime last spring it had already grown significantly by then.

I actually stopped watering it, because it’s grown roots into the water zones of the palms trees and does fine on its own now.

Aug 2020:

monday:

it grows pretty well in the pot, too. It was literally growing without any roots for a while. Kept in shade until it could take up water again. 

[teddytn]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:13 PM, RyManUtah said:

Quite a lot. This is the earliest picture I could find on my phone. It’s from August. Planted sometime last spring it had already grown significantly by then.

I actually stopped watering it, because it’s grown roots into the water zones of the palms trees and does fine on its own now.

Aug 2020:

monday:

it grows pretty well in the pot, too. It was literally growing without any roots for a while. Kept in shade until it could take up water again. 

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For a cactus I would say that’s about as fast as it gets. Sent you a pm. Pm wouldn’t send....

Edited May 13, 2021 by teddytn
Error

[teddytn]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:49 PM, teddytn said:

For a cactus I would say that’s about as fast as it gets. Sent you a pm. Pm wouldn’t send....

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Change of subject, I just ordered a few agaves. One being an agave utahensis, any suggestions? Not super cold here all winter but definitely wet. Thinking I may construct an awning over the bed they’re going in to keep them dry. Or is it a fools errand all together? Lol

[RyManUtah]

  On 5/13/2021 at 4:08 PM, teddytn said:

Change of subject, I just ordered a few agaves. One being an agave utahensis, any suggestions? Not super cold here all winter but definitely wet. Thinking I may construct an awning over the bed they’re going in to keep them dry. Or is it a fools errand all together? Lol

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Fools errand? Never. The do like it dry. Awning could definitely provide some nice structure. The nice thing about agave is you could pop them out of the ground for the wet season for several years. 

 

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:49 PM, teddytn said:

For a cactus I would say that’s about as fast as it gets. Sent you a pm. Pm wouldn’t send....

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Interesting. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll see if I can fix it. 

[amh]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:13 PM, RyManUtah said:

it grows pretty well in the pot, too. It was literally growing without any roots for a while. Kept in shade until it could take up water again. 

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Yes, its amazing how the cuttings grow before they ever root.

[Merlyn]

  On 5/13/2021 at 3:13 PM, RyManUtah said:

It grows pretty well in the pot, too. It was literally growing without any roots for a while. Kept in shade until it could take up water again.

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That is remarkably fast growth!  I have a couple of really small ones called "Fred's Clone" and "Juuls Giant" and they did fine over our somewhat wet winter here in FL.  This is the first rainy summer they've seen, so I will have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get too much water and rot.  Regular old Cereus Peruvianus/Repandus seem to grow okay here, as well as several different Opuntia.  I really thought they'd all rot with daily summer thunderstorms, but most of my barrel cacti, opuntia, column cacti and aloes did very well.  I'll have to check on the two San Pedro hybrids, I haven't looked at them in the last month or so.

[amh]

I've noticed that Cereus peruvianus like water and heat, mine always put out a bunch of growth after a major rain. Most of the Opuntia like water as well, as long as they have sun.

[teddytn]

Literally has grown 2-1/2” in the past month

[Merlyn]

I planted my "Juul's Giant" up front over the top of my new septic drainfield.  It was pretty sandy on top after they re-covered the area, and I amended the top few inches of my "desert bed" with a few big 2cuft HD bags of perlite, and several bags of Sakrete Paver Base.  Around here the paver base is crushed limestone gravel, and is about the same as chicken grit.  At $4 per bag it's....er...dirt cheap compared to chicken grit.  I've heard their mix may vary across the US, but it's worth checking out as a loose soil amendment.

[teddytn]

  On 7/4/2021 at 2:22 PM, Merlyn said:

I planted my "Juul's Giant" up front over the top of my new septic drainfield.  It was pretty sandy on top after they re-covered the area, and I amended the top few inches of my "desert bed" with a few big 2cuft HD bags of perlite, and several bags of Sakrete Paver Base.  Around here the paver base is crushed limestone gravel, and is about the same as chicken grit.  At $4 per bag it's....er...dirt cheap compared to chicken grit.  I've heard their mix may vary across the US, but it's worth checking out as a loose soil amendment.

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That’s pretty much the same as what I used to fill the desert bed I was working on. The size is called shot rock, they drill holes and pack the dynamite with that size limestone gravel. Works perfect with a mix of sand or other organic material to drain fast. I would love to see pics of your bed???

[teddytn]