As i mentioned in my introduction yesterday, i have a small collection of cactus and what not and i'd like to share them with you.

Here are some pictures taken today:

1st-This guy is one of the first i got about, 14 years ago.
2nd-The one on the right i also got together with the first one.
3rd-The "two-headed" cactus(on the right) was also one of the first 4. it was just a tinny litttle one headed thing.
4th-Here are some others we got along the years
5th-the small ones are some babies i got from the one on picture 4, and the one in the back i put it in shade for a while, it was getting some sunburns
6th-Close up of the flowers from picture 1.

i know that the first 3 don't seem that old, but when i got them, they were about the size of the cuttings on picture 5.

hope you like it.

Diogo.

Hi Diogo,

Very nice cactus and succulent collection you have there. I didn't know cacti could get sunburn!!!

I have a small indoor collection which are placed on the windowsill of a large window with a Southern exposure.

I hope you don't mind if I ask you some questions? What is your average daytime temperature where you live? What type of soil do you use for your cacti? How often do you water and fertilize them? Do you repot regularly and, if so, how often? Do you think cactus grow better in their own pots rather than in a "cactus garden pot? Do you ever have pest or disease problems?

Luv seeing your pup in the photos. We had a couple of Beagles while growing up...such great dogs! Thank you for sharing your collection!

Hello Leslie!

I'm glad you enjoyed my collection. I don't think cacti can get sunburn but succulent can. and that's the one i was talking about

Mine were indoor for a couple of years but they've grown so much that i moved them outside. Now I only have 3 inside, the ones i bought recently. But they'll go outside too, one day.

We have a Mediterranean Climate here. So in the summer its usually between 15 °C (59 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F). altho sometimes it can go close to 35-40 ºC.
Winter temperatures typically range between 5 °C (41 °F) during morning and 15 °C (59 °F) in the afternoon but rarely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) at night.
You can read more in here- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porto#Climate

Like it or not i've always used normal gardening soil. No idea if it is the correct type of soil but my cacti never seemed to bother that much.

When they are still inside i just water them slightly, every month, just a little bit. When they are outside i don't water them at all. Only after repotting i wet the soil a bit to allow it to settle down better. Fertilization? hmm nope:whistle:

About repotting, around the end of spring till midsummer(again, i have no idea if it is the right time to do it ) i repot the ones that seem too big for their pot. Sometimes it takes only 1 year between repotting, other times it takes 3 or 4. It depends a lot.

I love to see them in "cactus garden pots" but i found out that some of them have different growth speeds. As they are small the "garden pots" look really nice but once they get big some seem to overtake other cactus place growing towards them leaving them few space to grow. Besides i would need really big pots to have that now.

I don't remember having any kind of pest with them. The only bad thing that happens is winter. Since we can have long periods of rain and cold. Sometimes they have parts that turn black and drop off.
Once i even picked up one of those, let it dry out, placed it in a pot during the summer and it started growing. Only i forgot to protect it form the next winter and it died.

Hehe Yoshi is always there. The bloody bastard knocked a couple of pots down before i took the pictures.

Hope it was helpful, altho i've had these for a looong time now, i'm not very "pro" i just go with my feelings.

Diogo.

Hi Leslie,

With regards to succulents (Which cacti are part of):

- THey do not really like being repotted. When I was still keeping them, they would be repotted once every two or three years. A mixture of 30-50% potting turf, with te rest coarse sand, and some rocks works well as it rehydrates easily, and allows for drying of the soil. Watering is only done during the gronwing season. During that period it is best to water them with a lot of water once every two weeks, rather than a little bit every other day. Cacti are NOT made to go without water, they are just very capable of storing water for a long time. But if the soil is not comepltely moist after watering, you run the risk of rotting roots.

Cacti can get sunburn. If you keep them indoors in a shady spot, and then bring them out in the full sun for a while, the surface of the plants may burn and form ugly dried out scars.

Hope it helps,

Jelle

Thank you Diogo for all the info you shared as well as the link to your climate. Your cactus are sooo big! Mine I've had for a few years and they look so small compared to yours.

Hahaha...Yoshi got in trouble! Now that you mention it, he does have that look of indignation about him in his stance. The other photo where I just see his backend and tail...he must have decided retaliation wasn't worth it so he took off. Thanks so much for sharing!

Hi Jelle,

Thank you so much for the information. The only time I've ever repotted a cactus was to transfer it to the cactus garden. I had a couple of large ones...a prickly pear cactus and another one that I never knew the name of as I just rescued it from being thrown away but it grew to over six feet high. I just recently gave these two large ones away to a good home.

So now I have the cactus garden plus two little new ones I bought this past summer which I will transfer to the garden dish. I just lost one of the cacti in my garden dish...have no idea why. I also have a succulent garden that I put together this past summer. My cactus seem to grow very slowly and rather strangely and they have never flowered. When I water them I soak them good then I empty out any water that accumulated in the bottom drain dish. It can be anywhere from two weeks to a month in between waterings. Sometimes I forget about them I feed them maybe once a year.

Jelle...would you mind sharing what you would recommend for cactus and succulent care during the fall and winter? Thanks!

It depends VERY much on where they are from. Most cacti that you find in homes are from hot summer, cool winters. In winter (When the plant is not growing) you would typicvally place them in a bright cool room (Like an unheated bedroom) and just let it live through winter. Ignore it. In spring time, when the weather warms up, and you feel the sun gaining strength you spray them ever so lightly in the morning, for them to wake up. You should do this for a week or two, three. The moist air thus created causes the cactus to activate the roots again (Which may shrivel up quite a bit over winter). After the first weeks, you can start watering, but only if it is warm enough (Say 20 celcius +). Water strongly; I would normally in spring wake the plants up by soaking them in a bucket with luke-warm water.

Not flowering is typically the result of improper over-wintering, too warm, to moist.

Hi Diogo,

I am sorry for *taking over* your topic here. I'm wondering...do you mind if I, and perhaps others who are interested, continue with comments, questions and photos of our own cactus here on your topic?

haha Leslie!
Go ahead! be my guest.
I'll be very happy if you do, atleast i brought a new subject on the forums
And i'll be learning some new stuff for sure.



hope to see your collections guys!

Diogo

One of the plant shown in your picture ie Portulacaria afra (indian jade plant) is widely used by beginners here in India and it is easy to form good styles in less time and easy tool for learning. Formal upright styles are better. But it is a succulant and not recommended for lonterm Bonsai keeping.