i water once per week. soil dries out fast, less than a day. this one now appears to have two cracks in it. did overwatering cause this? it's quite firm so i think i'll withhold watering until it softens up. while trying to push your plant along, how do you judge how much watering is acceptable? could temp be a factor?
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i always suggest that one should run a natural cactus pretty dry.
ya can hydro a hydro cactus, but not a natural.
i say let the thing sit a few months , then water every 60 days.
ya cant really push naturals on dirt.
combo of pests, mold, bacteria, , makes them finicky if watered alot.
Ok I'll try that. 60 days though? Really? That's nuts. Never would have guessed. Maybe during the winter. I will ease up though. Thanks. It must be best to develop a feel for lophophora turgidity. i wonder if you run the temps and lighting higher then you can push them. Have you done any experiments with light intensity?
its alot of factors.
water PH media, lighting power , light color , and temp.
now im running about 250-300W at about 7500K+ and its LED.
so were talking sunglasses power blue, for a 2x 2 bed, at about 18 inches.
they are also in a stiff wind.
temp about 86 degrees day 78 night.
we get a crisp grow rate with that, for all types of cactus on dirt.
peeps note my pics are usually quite bright .....
my lights are quite bright.
youd need sunglasses in a desert.
an effective indoor grow ya need glasses also.
as for water, they can go forever without.
lophs those size could go 6 months bone dry easy.
sometimes the effects ya see are due to changes in conditions OR sometimes PH,
or a combo......
keep in mind, even at top natural speed, on own roots,
its never gonna be the grey hounds the grafts are.
wow is that ever bright for that area. is there an led manufacturer/product you're particularly fond of? can you dial it up and down for seedlings and such? i know grafting is the way to go but the shape etc... are affected so plants, at least to me, are less valuable.
I have let 2cm peyote plants dry out 4-5 months before. Most of the time I water every 2-8 weeks. These plants have been out of soil and had no water for 6-7 months and started to pup.
thanks roach. that's nuts how they pup with no water. this winter i had a peruvian apple cactus send out a new branch almost a foot long after no water since sept! from now on i'll wait two weeks for my larger ones with the exception of that cracked one. i have a couple in larger pots and i usually wait about a month for those. do you exclusively bottom water?
..this myrtillocactus has been like this for over two years now and still looks alive. i can't get it to root for some reason. amazing though.
this site has the best cactus pics.
im impressed.