Piante grasse cactus spine

Tag: cultivation

Severely dehydrated Astrophytum asterias: here’s a rescue attempt with… hydroculture!

Hydroculture and succulent plants sound, in some ways, like a conceptual oxymoron. Plants that have naturally evolved to cope with drought, rainfall concentrated in short periods of the year; plants that grow in extremely dry soils, in short, how can they get along with hydroculture? In other words, how can they be grown with a technique that requires the roots to be in constant contact with water? The answer is simple: they can’t. However … however in certain cases and following precise precautions, the constant contact of the roots of a succulent plant with water can be used to save that plant. Even if that plant is a succulent. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do these days to save two Astrophytum asterias of my sowing in conditions of extreme dehydration, on the verge of dying of thirst (which would be very strange for a cacti!). But let’s go step by step and see exactly what happened to these two plants and how (and why) I’m trying to save them through a kind of “temporary hydroculture”.

I explain everything with lots of photos in the following article, which I consider – in fact – the description of an experiment that is perhaps risky and certainly unorthodox but at the same time not devoid of logic. (…)

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Towards summer: useful tips for taking care of cacti and succulents and avoiding nasty surprises

After an almost non-existent, anomalous and ugly spring (at least here in Italy), the temperatures have risen considerably and we are heading towards summer. In some respects, the most delicate period for cacti and succulents, i.e. the transition between the end of winter and the vegetative restart, is now behind us and the next few months will be rather “quiet” for those who cultivate these plants. In fact,  the main commitments will concern watering and fertilization, since repotting should by now be completed and treatments against pests and parasites can be given when necessary and not systematically. Even in the period of full vegetation of cacti and succulents, however, there are pitfalls and there are some elements and factors of cultivation to be taken into due consideration.

We see them in detail in the following article (…).

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A repotting… monstrous! How to choose a cactus well and what to do immediately after the purchase

I’m not particularly fond of crested succulents, but at the same time I’m not entirely indifferent to their charm and every so often some “monstrous” specimen ends up in my greenhouse. Small digression: if you don’t know what a “crested” or “monstrous” plant is, there is an article on the italian version of the website (you can find it here and use the internal translator). Having said that, in the last few weeks I bought a crested Cereus peruvianus monstruosus from a nursery specialized in succulent plants. The plant is in excellent health and well formed, but the substrate, as almost always happens when buying cacti, is excessively peaty, at least for the type of cultivation I’ve been using for years now. I then took the opportunity to describe the repotting operation of this Cereus, so as to be able to speak of “monstrous” plants, of repotting, of simple substrates and within everyone’s reach from the point of view of realization and of good practices to follow when buying new plants.

Here then is the report – accompanied by photos of the individual steps – of this repotting, with some useful considerations, precisely, regarding soils, new purchases and crested cacti. (…)

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The cacti, the spring that doesn’t come and the rain that doesn’t stop: should we be worried?

A spring that is struggling to establish itself, temperatures that fluctuate continuously with sunny and very hot days and gloomy days with the thermometer plummeting. Above all, heavy rain almost every day for at least a week, at least here in the North Italy. Many of us have already moved their cacti and succulents outside, or have removed the winter protections (non-woven fabric or transparent sheets). Many are worried, some run for cover by bringing the plants indoors, others are undecided about what to do… Is it really the case to worry about the combination of low temperatures and persistent rain?

In this article, here are some reflections and the answer to the question that many of you are asking me these days, as always based on what I have learned in years of cultivation (…).

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New cactus species discovered: “Copiapoa invisibilis”! Exceptional photos of a plant… that no longer exists

For the avoidance of doubt: the title is ironic and here we are talking about rot, unfortunately. No new Copiapoa has been discovered, neither the one you see in this photo and in the other incredible images within this article. Simply, this is what remains of one of my Copiapoa cinerea that rotted this winter without me even realizing it. What we see now is nothing but the armor of thorns that the plant has left me. The quills are so compact and close together that they perfectly maintain the shape of the plant (complete with a dry flower at the apex). The stem simply no longer exists. It has rotted and “evaporated”, disappeared.

Here is what happened and, above all, here are the exceptional photos of this plant, whose fate, moreover, from time to time also touches the specimens in habitat, as I happened to see in some online photos and once, directly, with a young specimen of Ferocactus during a trip to Mexico. (…)

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