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Cacti & Succulents

Need help identifying 3 cacti!

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

My dad and stepmom recently gave me a few cacti. I absolutely love them but I don't know anything about cacti, except that there are many types with different needs. I really want to properly care for them but I can't do that without knowing what they are. Your help is greatly appreciated!(:

This is them pre-repotting:

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Comments (4)

Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Left-Hard to tell, but looks like a Mammillaria. What species not sure:).

Middle- Echinocactus grusonii aka Golden Barrel

Right- Stetsonia coryne aka Toothpick Cactus

All of these guys need a fast draining mix. Most store bought cactus mixes need to be amended with perlite and or pumice. Since they are small and you only have three perlite and cactus mix will be fine. Pumice can be hard to find in stores if you don't live in California. I have no idea why;).

A mix of 60% perlite and 40% cactus mix will do. The containers they are in now look like the right size. Make sure they have drainage holes. When repotting get all the old soil off roots. Rinse the perlite off because it can be dusty. You can use an old kitchen strainer. Then just pot up like any other plant;).

Don't water for a week after repotting. Since winter is near it's time to put these guys to "sleep". So I would give them that one drink and then keep dry till spring. They will be fine:). Most cactus go dormant during the winter and so it's important to keep dry. When spring comes around you can begin to water once a week or every ten days. Just make sure the mix is thoroughly dry before giving another drink.

When it comes to light in the winter just keep near a bright window. As long as you keep dry you shouldn't get much if any growth. When March comes start acclimating to more light slowly. Eventually they should be in full sun during the warmer months. Goodluck:).
Dainie Flint thanked Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
6 years ago
Good info given above....just one more point....please don’t reuse that straw like stuff on the top of any cactus or succ. It will retain moisture and could lead to rotting and other nasties....fungus gnats for eg. Best to top their pots with a small grade gravel such as aquarium gravel or similar, if you like the look of it, but no mossy, straw like substances again please :-)

Gill
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Need Help identifying these cacti
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Flickr makes it very easy. Go to the picture you want, go to "All sizes" (above the picture), and choose the size you want to display. Below the picture there should be two fields with code in them. You want to use the first one. Simply copy and paste it into your message and that should take care of it. Can't help you with the IDs, though.
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Hello, sorry can't ID as I don't grow these cacti. EL gives sound info above. As the first cactus is a tall one as opposed to a barrel shaped one, could I suggest that the best mix for both it and the other, would be a mix of thirds using c/smix, perlite and horticultural/alpine gravel. You can get small bags of each of these from B & Q for around £3 each. Make sure you either wash the perlite thoroughly in a sieve or just seive it downwind, don't breath the dust in. B&Q perlite is rather dusty, mine is, so there is a lot of waste, just use the largest particles you gain from using your very best kitchen seive! I've also used Wilko perlite, that wasn't quite as bad. Wilko may not sell it now it's Nov, B&Q or garden centres may be a better bet for all the ingredients at this time of the year. The gravel will give the plants much more stability, especially the tall one. Don't get vermiculite if no perlite, it's too water retentive. Aquarium gravel or chicken grit with no shell can also substitute for the hort/alpine gravel. Repotting into a better mix will get rid of any bugs that you think you may have there and it will also solve the problem that you almost certainly would be asking us about in the not to distant future "why are my cacti dying?"... which would be due to the wrong soil they were sold in! So, to prevent that from happening you need to make sure all the old mix is removed, use a chopstick, pencil or similar to get rid of it all. If it won't come if with poking and shaking, swish in water, keep bases of plants dry though, let the roots air dry on kitchen paper, plant when dry. Hold the cactus in a wrap of newspaper or bubble wrap to protect your hands. Moisten the mix and replant, not soaking wet, just moist and crumbly. Won't need much water anyway now weather is colder. Shout if you need any more help. Gill
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ktrayn It is actually better to make 1 thread with plants to ID - too many individual threads on same subject (ID) just clutter up the forum. Just number the plants if few in the same photo, or if 1plant/photo - number photos, and it will be just fine :) Do not worry about this post, at least you can see how fast, sometimes, you get the answer :):):) Most plants I bought that came from Altmans did have labels. It is the grower that supplies the labels, not the seller (HD, Lowes, or any garden center). So if there is no label, it is grower not the store - unless they had only stick-in plastic tags that get lost, and/or misplaced by ppl pulling them out to check and not putting them back where they came from. And there are some mistakes too, sometimes grower will put wrong label on whole bunch of plants....Some growers use only common names and that could create problems since some common names are used for few different plants. Best for everyone to learn botanical/scientific name.
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Thanks to all that have helped us identify this succulent. My mother has had this plant for several years and she said no flowers ever bloomed. My Aunt lives at sea level, her "flapjack plant" is very green, and not in full sun. Both plants are in pots, maybe one day we will transfer to the earth. She brought them from the island of Molokai many years ago on her annual Memorial Day visit. There is a rare Hawaiian Portaluca plant similar in leaves, but it grows quite tall, and blooms yellow flowers. These plants seem to grow in clusters and are so unique, each time I visit, I sit and just wonder about its history.
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Dainie Flint
Original Author
6 years ago
That's what they came in, I threw the straw stuff away right after this picture (: thank you for the advice!!
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
6 years ago
Excellent!

Gill

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