Hi Lamora,

I strongly recommend that you not repot these or join them together. They are not easy or forgiving plants. I've been growing in this apartment for more than 15 yrs. & I just recently threw out ANOTHER EC I've killed, that's somewhere btwn 4 & 6 that I've already lost & I'm quite an experienced grower.

Sorry, I guess you want to repot & this is not what you wish to hear, but this is the best I can offer.

Since they're Mother's Day gifts & you say you 'would really love not to hurt them', I vote leave them be exactly as is & hope to learn their care that way, read all you can, but do little or nothing to change their circumstances.

EC re-potting are you Ready ?

Personally if mine to re-pot I'd wait until a better time like early/ middle Autumn season when EC new growth is at it's slowest and sunlight timing is more idle and maybe replicate inside.








If you must by reasons of: If it's now in peat based soil or roots are shifting outward of pot or just to have the experience of saying I did something someone else couldn't do. Then there is something else to consider.












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If P girl is right ( and she is ) ...and the pic you see is right then in some from someone does need to "Unsay" whats already been said.

If you don't re-pot the EC you have,,, sooner or later it may one day out grow the pot(s) its in now and it's life would be sadly shortened ( As a gift I am only guessing the pot you have your EC in now is a 4 inch plastic or 6 inch at best)

The one you see in the pic is ONE PLANT also it WAS in a four inch pot and then a 8 inch hanging plastic pot and then the ceramic pot it's in now. ( you will probably want/like yours in a hanging pot for a while) EC is like most other Jungle Cati. They get.... longer...hanging in drop and set secondaries.

What else makes P-girl right... EC is Hmmmm.... at best for some. It's not as easy for the EC epic tropical jungle cacti to get to grow successfully as other epic jungle cacti than can be grown by the same person(s) I Agree they can be on some occasions, much more sensitive, picky,temperamental to some who attempt growing it

Will the mentioned 5-1-1 mix work ? I Don't know , I don't use the mentioned 5-1-1 for the plant in the pic. If I had to and only guessing, with no intended offense, I'd have to say..... No the mentioned 5-1-1 mix wouldn't work as well as the 3-1-1 mix I use for this plant.

When to re-pot: After flowering AND/or when there are other signs of NEW growth present.. Yours now ? difficult to say as they do tend to " grow " this time of the year EVEN AFTER Flowering your EC can have signs of new growth ( but not always )the new growth if seen seen small leafs are tiny you could see if where " growing " after flowering in a few days days if not sen then yes you could re-pot.

Ohh just in case you do re-pot sooner over later YOU have the right to cringe and worry. As said they aren't that easy. (Is the world bigger being flat or more rounder than half it's size ? Asked Columbus.)
In pic as seen, They aren't that difficult/impossible either. Lets see if I can word this correctly if "EC" where a Native American it would also be in a Tribe. EC is the " Indian" of that particular tribe who will one day be the ONLY great bear hunter of all Native American Tribes, EC by these words would EC would also be Specifically Unique but there are other plants that fit this area of S U as well. as most people can grow S U plants with ease others will still have one or multiple problems.

Mix 3-1-1
3 parts Medium sized orchid bark ( or repti park at pet supply store )
1 part Perlite
1 part filler ( truface or all sport)
Optional the filler part I use in pic is in actuality two parts at 50 % 50%
In fall I grab a few fallen leafs from trees and shred them to be the same size as fines then toss them in an empty 3 Gal container to have on hand

Soak these items for two three hours and then let them air damp/dry but not dry completely then submerge the root and 1/3 of that leaf into soil

Watering; YOUR WATERING MAY BE DIFFERENT This time of year and where ever you have it with indirect but still bright lighting inside with out AC As soon as you see new growth then water it. As you also slowly over the next two weeks up to three transfer it to the more shaded but more filtering sun Keep eye on the leaves if any fall off sheds chances are it needs water during this time of the year
It takes a bit of time to practice watering yours will be different myself for EC in pic I WATER AND then I WATER AGAIN EXAMPLE If I water mine today I will then again water it in thee/ four days from now ( time of year )later in fall season I wont water it and water it again but I only water it once and wait 2 - 3 weeks apart and 1/2 less water L FALL If there is NO New growth I water it 1X per month need it or not winter 1.5 X a month the schedule is easier for me cause the amount of water for each watering time is nearly perfect BUT your watering will depend and be different considering on your area of growing... plant positioning

HOW MUCH water ? at any amount any time of year but as reference more and more frequently when growing less when not growing as quickly I strongly suggest that you not water or mist the leaves, water directly into the soil line or bottom water

Yes, I agree, these are more difficult to grow than the Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus. I have had mine for about ten years, and I confess I have had it in a peat based mix until just recently. Now, that said, the way I have kept it so long is by re-rooting clones of it whenever the roots started giving the plant trouble. So peat is okay if you aren't afraid to re-root things all the time. This does mean that your plants will always be a manageable size. I am switching to some of the gritty mixes because I would like to have my plants for the long haul, roots and all, and see them get big like Mr. Like's. Now I wonder if I will kill it by not being able to switch my watering habits to match the soil it is now in. It is shedding some pads, so I am keeping it too dry, as Mr Like says. I am going to try his double watering method.

I think a general rule of thumb for plants is to repot when they are not growing or blooming. Often an EC (or TC or CC) will do some growing of new pads when it is done blooming, so I would wait until this growth flush is done to repot. I think 5-1-1 could work, but I am not an expert on this by any means. I think it would take watering more frequently than I am used to. But I would get them out of the peat soil as soon as they are done growing, and be watering them very judiciously until I do. I give a weak fertilizer with micronutrients while there is growth each time I water. I don't fertilize at all if they aren't growing.

If a plant will survive in a peat mix, then it will certainly survive in the 5-1-1.
That said, I would recommend that you modify the 5-1-1 by screening out the fine bark dust,
which increases moisture retention for growing crops in the full heat of Summer.

My Jungle Cacti are in fine-grade bark, or fine-grade bark ammended with a small fraction of
Perlite and potting soil. The mix is essentially a 5-1-1, but with the fine particulate removed.

Josh

Thanks for the responses.
Pirate-- I am sorry about your ECs. I have heard they are hard to grow and keep. But I do want to try, trial and error, either way I learn something-- :)

Yes it is still growing, I am going to wait to re-pot until it has slowed down/stopped growing, being my first ones, I wasn't sure when that would be. They are still in 6" pots. I am going to modtify the 5-1-1 mix a bit, just not sure how right now. I don't have the things for the gritty mix. Not sure when I will be able to get it.

Fir bark (from pet store), perlite, and peat moss is what I have, wanted to use that up before getting anything new. I was thinking some soil for succulents/cactus too, maybe 3-1-1(soil)? I have time to think and study on this.

As far as watering is concerned, I wait until the soil is almost, but not quite dry, slightly moist at the very bottom of pots, dry on top. Lately that has been every 3-4 days-- is that too much? Haven't fed them since I got them-- is it time for that? 1/2 strength. (that is what i use on my other plants, haven't fed them in about a month also)

So, I wait until fall to re-pot them. OK, will do. I hope they can stay in their pots until then, they are growing so fast right now.

There is one in my dad's Dr. office,, HUGE!! My DH just about dropped to the floor when I showed him what MINE could be.. lol

Is there a GOOD SITE on this that I can look up? Maybe a video? All I am getting on this is very basic stuff, nothing on how/when/or why to re-pot this plant. They are going to be needing it when they outgrow their pots. I just want to know now, so when the time comes.

I thank you all for your advice on this. It is so very much appreciated. =D

Marjie

If you have "small" Easter cacti, and they are in pots that are 6 in. in diameter, then this make me wonder what you consider "small". My 10 yr old plant is in a six in. pot. As far as sites, I can't think of any off hand. Have you looked yet yourself? I'd say mr like gave you a lot of info in his post.

Hi Lamora,

Perhaps you don't know that these plants have smallish roots. Over time the plant will get bigger but the roots can stay relatively smallish for the size of growth they often support, so it won't be needing (or wanting) the increasingly larger pots as fast as you might think.

Sorry there aren't other particular sites that spell it out further. I re-read the above info & I agree w/ Barb. There's a lot of info. given here. Perhaps read it several times, note that he doesn't mention peat at all.

Hey Marjie! :-)

I understand why everyone says not to re-pot these, but if they are in the same soil mine came in I would. I re-potted mine and the one I purchased for my mom for mother's day. I them got from walmart just like your daughter did.

Just to clarify, the soil mine came in was absolutely horrible. It was COMPLETELY peat...there is not one piece of pearlite or bark in it. When it dried it was as hard as a brick. I didn't pot them up into a bigger pot, but I found a pot similar in size and put them in better soil. All I had on hand was regular potting soil and perlite, to which I used about a 50/50 mix, maybe more perlite. I wish I would have had some bark to mix in. I did this about two weeks ago once the plants stopped flowering. They both actually look much better. They are greener and not as floppy and putting out new growth. I am far from an expert on this, but I do know they weren't happy in the pure peat soil.

To re-pot I very carefully removed what soil I could by hand, and then slowly rinsed as much of the rest as I could off with lukewarm water. After I potted them in the new soil, I waited to water them until the next day and haven't watered since. I am treating them very similar to my TC, which is in the same soil. I only water the TC about once every 2 weeks, but it is set in the sink and given several large drinks (the pots have drainage holes). Both the EC and TC get 10 + hours of indirect sunlight in a south facing window.

Hi again, yes, I read and re-read, came to the conclusion that I didn't need to ask that silly question after all. (about the sites) This thread is telling me what I need to know. sorry. My bad...

Long day driving for 7 hrs, 3 hrs in a hospital for tests for my dad.. should have waited to answer until I was awake enough to really understand.. oh well.

I was looking "again" at some pics of this beautiful plant, came to another conclusion.. it can stay in a small pot for quite a while. When I do re-pot them, will be new soil but same size pot.. sound good? But not until Fall.

Pirate- no, I didn't know they has smallish roots, haven't seen any roots for this plant, but from the pics I was looking at, I should have realized. Thanks for that bit of info, helps me understand more. :)

Thank you all so much for your patience with me.. like I said, I should have waited until morning to answer. /sigh. I'm off to bed now.. have a good nite y'all.

Hey Jessie, guess we were typing at the same time! lol.
thanks tho, I needed to hear that re-soiling at this time wont hurt them. (knock on wood) They have stopped flowering. Will have to see about doing it soon. Yes, the peat in it does get hard, wants to come right out of the pot when dry.

Thanks, and again.. have a good nite-- :)

Same 6 inch pot new soil is a good plan they can grow in a 6 inch for a year to two. It's a very good plan as you can " shop for a pot" and not worry about having to run out and get one if the plant doesn't do as well or as P-Girl said in first comments.

EC has fine thin roots that are less than sewing thread size in thickness the length of roots, they're roots are what hold them from tree branches, in canopies on sides of trees and other such places the fine thin roots would need to be long enough or have as many as it needs to hold the plant to these places.

When you see fine hairy fibers coming outward on top part of your older leaves the roots are a little bit thicker than that thin. It's these hairs on the leaf that also could (at a low ratio for each leaf) become a new leaf.

Also for watering practice; EC over watering can also cause leafs to shed. What I look for is the new growth of leafs to be more upward in direction and a thicker mid section on older leaves if so then I hold back on water If seen is wrinkling outer center on older leaves this is an indication of a good time to water.

Lamora, would you mind posting a couple of pictures of your Easter Cactus...I sure would like to see them...Thanks!!

Too funny Marjie! I didn't notice until this morning. I wanted to post pictures of mine so you could see how well they are doing...too bad I don't have a before. Sorry for the quality, these are from my cell phone :-)

New Growth

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You can see new growth up at the top

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My EC-- in 4" pots-- thought they were 6" ~~ my bad. Anyway here they are, the big one is off to one side of the pot. The second pic shows the soil it is in now.

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they were so pretty just a few weeks ago..
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Do they look good tho? I think they are growing real nice right now. I am going to wait till Fall to re-pot them in different soil. They don't seem to mind this too much for now. (knock on wood)
But here they are-- :)

It would be better to get them into new soil during the prime growing season,
that way they won't be spending energy at the same time that solar values are decreasing.

Josh

Thanks for the pictures Lamora...you had some really pretty blooms! Good luck with them. I have a pot and they are definitely more sensitive and picky than Thanksgiving cactus for me as well.

Nice new growths and very healthy EC Jessie. Great job growing them.

Hi Josh!!

Hey, Nancy! ;-)

Josh

Hi Josh!

That too is when I do most of my repots, along with my EC.
They continue to grow uninterrupted as if nothing happened even if I do a bare rooting into an entirely different mix.

Mike

Hey, Mike! :-D

Josh

Hi Everyone!
Sorry Jessie, forgot to say how lovely yours looks. Very green and bright. (Didn't realize the water spots on mine till I looked at the pics! how "un-motherly" of me! Will have to do something about that)

puglvr- thanks, they were real pretty.

So, from what I am understanding NOW.. (confusion sets in-- lol) is I could re-pot/soil anytime? (cept when flowering of course) Even if there is new growth and it won't hurt them?. Cuz I would really like to get them out of this "soil" and into better stuff.

So much information here-- thanks to all for the advice and personal exp. I know that plants are like kids, pets, or whatever you have, everyone has a different way of doing it~~ I just have to find MY WAY!

But thanks to all of you, I am well on my way of knowing A LOT more than I did a few days ago.
(1: don't read/answer posts when I can't THINK!--lol)
(2: I don't need to be afraid to experiment, (as long as I have good, basic info) success or fail~ either way I learn something~~ I love learning!

I just need to find what will work for me. Right?
Thanks again to all of you. I understand a lot better now.
Marjie :)

Thanks pug and Marjie :-)

Marjie, was it you that lived in Washington State too?

Jessie-- yes-- now in ID for a while-- not sure we will be returning to WA any time soon, but things change all the time. Never know what is going to happen with us-- /sigh

That's not too far away though. The uncertainty of the situation must be tiring.
I keep meaning to ask if you have a TC yet? I just pruned mine a bit and have some segments that are starting to root. The flowers are the white/pinkish ones. I'll attatch a picture of one that looks similar to mine. Would you like some?

Here is a link that might be useful: TC similar to mine

Jessie-- exhausting is more like it-- but it seems as if we have been doing this for 35 yrs, a few more won't matter. But it is different this time. We really don't have a choice this time.

No I don't have one of those beautiful plants~~ And YES!! I WOULD LOVE THOSE! :D thanks. Email me and we will touch bases. Give my DH a reason to put in more hooks and shelves in here-- lol. (he needs something to do-- haha)

But yes- contact me and we will see what we can do.
Marjie =))

Correct you can re-pot now it's a very good time after seeing your pics. As I follow along you mentioned that you where going to use the same pots with an airy light mix then re-pot them again later in a better looking pot.

Roots like to move around a little and need wiggle room EC roots as most plants are don't like to be pot bond ( no wiggle room I mention this because some plants wont flower if there isn't enough root.

Hey Mike M hope you are well I went to B West today was bit surprised by who was missing.

Actually Lamora, I could confuse you even more by mentioning that I "re-soiled" my EC about a month and a half ago, since I thought that sometimes when it doesn't bloom in the spring, it waits for July or so, and the first thing it did immediately afterwards was get a ton of buds and start to bloom. It has better color now, too. I think we on forums are quick to give the advice for the "best" times to do maintenance on plants, but often don't follow our own advice. At least in my case, anyway.

Marjie I sent you a message :-)

Hi all. GOOD MORNING!! =)

Jessie- for some reason I did not get your message if it was by email. If there is a message on this forum, I don't know about it. I will email you tho. :)

mrlike2u-- Thanks. It wouldn't hurt them to put them in the same pot, would it? I was thinking about maybe an 8" for both, there is a very nice hanging one for only a few $ that I seen yesterday.(That was the only size they had for that pot, and I really like it)

And I was going to mix some fir bark, soil and perlite- 2-1-2 mix-- would that work? Put some stones on the bottom for better drainage.

aseedisapromise- (love the name you picked btw- :)) They only bloom once a year- dont they? It would be so cool if it did bloom again in July. But for now, one step at a time.

Thanks again :)

p/s- sorry if this sounds distracting-- right now I am very distracted-- trying to get away from it by being HERE! Not working too well... /sigh

Lamora,
as long as the mix is well-draining, you can use any pot size that you fancy.

Stones in the bottom of the pot will *not* improve drainage.
Instead, the fine particulate lodges between the larger gaps and actually impedes drainage.
This creates a layer of perched water immediately above the stones, and also reduces the area
in which roots can grow.

Josh

oh ok-- was misunderstanding what the stones were for then. Makes since tho that it would do that.
Thanks :) (I didnt have any stones anyway- ;))

mrlike2u-- Thanks. It wouldn't hurt them to put them in the same pot, would it? I was thinking about maybe an 8" for both

Ambition you do have, determined is also a yes, good support on this thread and forum too. Reminder P-girl is right. None of the good things just mentioned remove EC's difficulties of growing..

Same pot ( for what it's worth )If one EC where to fail I would think that both EC plants would fail.

Yet if one of two in same pot plants where to grow: See again my pic it was in a 4 inch dish four years ago and a few segments or cuttings have been removed.

If both EC where to make it then you would have one ( or two) rather big EC plant(s) in a pot.

They both have the same light and watering requirements they both have the same everything in these concerns other than flower colors.

At worst in the long growth of two EC, if both EC are growing well in same pot both EC >>>> could

mrlike2u- Hi, I didnt think about one being more dominant than the other. One is a bit bigger and had more flowers.

But I went ahead anyway, put them in one 8" pot. (there were 3 plants in each old pot) I hope they are not over crowded. I just wanted the 2 colors together. I seen some pics of them like that and loved it. not many, but some.

3pt bark- 2pt perlite and 1pt soil-- I hope that will be ok.

So what is done is done, I am just hoping for the best.
Wish me luck?? I may need it...
Marjie :)

I know I'm a little late..but I'd re-pot them right now, trust me they'll love it, and will appreciate you for it..What I found best that works for these cacti, is perlite mixed with cactus soil (if you put in just cactus soil made by MG it just floods then finally drains, which isn't good) also thanks to Josh pure orchid bark works wonders! but you have to water more often (which isn't an issue) my plants I've had for a good amount of years, and they've always rewarded me, I never wanted them to get overly big, and the more I prune back, they more new growth they put out =) I fertilize mine from about March all the way through August. When it comes to fertilizer, less is always more; you don't want to burn their roots. Good luck with both your cacti! =D Last note, the Easter Cactus grows exactly the same as any holiday cactus, so don't buy into all the negative hype; that's just an over blown rumor that got started because people don't know what they're doing ;)

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