Catci Tray

Hi,

Could not resist these little cacti in the garden center today, which now means we have too many to keep in the house.

Had thought about using a 40 x 50 x 9 cm black plastic tray to keep some in the greenhouse as a display we can move around.

Most of our other cacti are in 3" pots and the actual plants around 60 -120mm high.

Just interested to know what is the best way to use them, planted direct into the trays compost or keep them in their pots and sink them into the compost ?

If planted direct into the compost, not sure how easy it wound be to move them in the future if their roots spead readily ?

Any suggestions as to the best compost mix, eg 1/3 Compost, Grit, Sand .

 

In my experience cacti grow at very different rates so unless you are able to get different cacti of similar rates of growth it rarely works long term to put different ones together.
You often see those planted up cactus gardens, but usually one or two will out grow the rest.

I'm a bit stodgy about it and prefer to see each plant in its own pot, probably how you have your other ones.

 

Nice little plants
I'd keep them in separate pots, they look better, and also if you sink the pots into the compost the roots will grow out through the bottom of the pots, and get tangled up just as they would if you planted them directly in the compost.

The best ones for planting in groups are small ones like Rebutias. Of the ones you've got, the two on the left will grow tall, the one second from right forms a big clump.
The one on the far right (every time I've tried it) always grows into a sprawling mess.

They really need a very gritty compost. I don't know the ratios but I usually put half sharp grit and half John Innes No2 or a good potting compost. I don't measure it, I just guess.

 

Thanks both, point taken, will keep them in their own pots and saucers.

As for their botanical names , will stick to spike 1 and spike 2 etc !!

 

I like to plant cacti and succulents into large, communal planters because they look good together and because one planter is much easier to manage than 20 small ones.

The different growth rates do cause a bit of a problem, in particular with thugs like Aloe Aristata. However, especially seedlings seem to do much better in a big planter than in tiny pots where watering is always a bit of a hit and miss. They are relatively easy to pull out as needed with a dessert fork. Root disturbance is in general not a problem.

My big (50cm) bowl has a thick layer of expanded clay pebbles and then a mix of just normal MPC, gravel and sand, about 50/50. A word of warning, bowl planters dry quickly around the edges but remain more moist in the middle. I lost my Opuntia for that.

Nice cacti you have, and nice price tags too Good find!

 

Hi All,

Just wondered if any of you had seen the item on the new seasons Gardeners World this weekend of the guy with a large Cactus collection ?
He has a very good looking greenhouse full of many types, but a couple of his 'tips' did surprise us in a way.

The first was his potting medium, cat litter and some loam .
Might sound crazy to some, though we have a planted tropical aquarium that uses cat litter as the substrate, though it has to the the pure Molar Clay type of cat litter, which is what we assume he uses.
Clearly his plants grow well in it, though is it any better than a more traditional well drained mix ?

The other was the way in which he took his Cactus out of their pots and literally removed all soil and washed the roots as part of a regime to rid the mealy bugs which apparently also eat the roots.
That was news to us and have had some Mealys on some of ours on the window cill and only ever treated /removed the ones visible above soil level, but that does answer the question of why they returned after a few months.
Is there a less invasive root treatment for Mealy Bugs ?

 

I have problems with mealy bugs, and I do think they invade the roots as well, mostly why I use a systemic insecticide as well as the meths on a bush approach.

I do have some of the more touchy cacti growing in Seramis, those clay granules that were all the rage a few years ago, its similar to cat litter I would think.
I have heard of people using a certain type of cat litter instead of perlite to help drainage in composts.

Not an expert on cat litter so I wouldn't know which one to buy but it could well be cheaper than perlite which appears to be a really stupid price.

 

I didn't see the program, I may try it on the iplayer ...

Root mealy bugs are not the same as the ones we see on the stems, although they are related. I suspect my cacti have them but I use a systemic insecticide to get rid of Vine Weevil larvae and I think it also kills the root meany bugs. I'll have to check what iis written on the box.

It's interesting to hear of different methods but I've used coarse grit for my cacti since the 1960s, they do quite well so I don't think I'll change.

 

It's when you turn a pot out and you see white patches in the compost where it's touched the pot sides.
I didn't realise they were a different type of Mealy bug @Michael Hewett .

I've never actually managed to find the actual insect in the soil I've only seen the white patches.