Planting Catctus pads

[Tortus]

Well, I'm growing some indoors for now since it's cold in MD, but I plan on putting them outside this spring.

Anyway, all I did was buy some Miracle Grow organic potting soil at Walmart and put it in a container with lots of drainage at the bottom. I saturated the soil, then stuck the pads in about 1/4 of the way down.

Your new growth should be round just like the original pads. The reason they're growing straight up like they are is because they're straining to get to the light. That particular new growth will never look normal, but if you want new growth to look like its supposed to, you're going to have to get those cuttings out into the sun.

I know what you mean when it comes to stretching for light. I'm not new to plant growing. But don't let the angle fool you. The new growth is mostly perpendicular to the original pads, so you don't see how wide it is in these particular pics.

On the second pad from the left, the left pad on that "pad" is growing straight before you, and you see that it appears rounder.

I'm not denying that natural sun would be much better, but I think for now they're doing fine and will blossom when I put them outside.

If you'd like I can take pics from another angle so you can see the actual width of the new growth.

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Anyways, here's a pic form another angle:

As you can see, the shorter, rounder pad has a shorter rounder growth, but the longer pad has a longer growth. And the longer pad is much closer to the light, so why would it be straining more to reach it? The longer pad is only inches from the light. It can feel the heat from the bulb.

I really don't know, I'm new to growing cacti. But the growth seems to be mimicking the original pad.

I'll just see how they do outside this spring. Any additional info is appreciated.

 

[Tortus]

BTW, does anyone with more experience know what kind of temps these can withstand? Could they survive below freezing?

I would like to get them outside and it's been a mild winter. I just don't want to jump the gun and have them croak. Also, would a metal halide be better for indoor growing? I have one that I used on a reef tank. It jacks up the electric bill though.

I've found that florescents normally work for most plants as long as the lights are low enough. I can't put the lights any lower for these or the pads will be touching the bulbs.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

In the real world cactus are exposed to freezing temps every year. The main thing that doesn't work for them is constantly wet roots. That will kill them fast. Freezing ok, wet roots no good.

 

[Yellow Turtle]

I wonder if they can grow solely under MVB and never get any sunlight.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I tried in my baby enclosure, they started to decompose due in part to the high humidity. Right at the basking spot, but to much moisture. Experiment and give updates.

 

[Tortus]

Mine are under florescent coils. I've only watered them twice so far. Once when I first planted them, and once again when I sprinkled some chia sees in there.

I found 2 more pads in a paper bag in the fridge that also started growing new pads, but they're small and white. I think I'll put them outside now and see how they do in the cold weather.

 

[CharlieM]

You really want the soil to drain well. Also, watch your humidity level where you grow the cactus. They will mold and rot easily.

They grow surprisingly well in hot wet Florida with high humidity. As long as they receive direct sun they don't rot. The snails do more to destroy them than anything else.

 

[Tortus]

Just a note for anyone with extra pads like I had, dogs seem to love them. My little leo couldn't eat them all and the dog helped him out.

My dog loves vegetables though. Carrots, celery, potatoes, peppers, collard greens...whatever I put in his bowl that's unique he eats. I hear the oldest dog on record (29) had a serving of fresh vegetables every day, so I encourage it.

 

[TylerStewart]

BTW, does anyone with more experience know what kind of temps these can withstand? Could they survive below freezing?

The type of cactus you are growing (nopal grande) we have growing here and they are my least cold tolerant ones; enough that we are actually abandoning growing them when we move up 1,000 feet in elevation in the next year or two (they die back a lot here each winter, but our new place is 5-8 degrees colder). We already had a bunch damaged a week ago on a night that was 28 degrees. The lower, thicker pads can survive it, but any small or medium pads will turn to mush and fall over and don't recover. It's frustrating because it ends up being most of the year's new growth that dies, so it's time consuming to get the plants to a good size if they are dying off so much. It helps if they're up against the South side of a Northern wall (with the heat from the wall radiating back to the plants through the night). The plants in the center of our yard die off a lot in cold temps, but those against our back, North (concrete block) wall do better.

The main type of cactus that we grow and sell (and I don't know the specific, exact type) is at least 10 degrees more tolerant, and we rarely have any damage from cold; at least down to about 20 degrees.

 

[Tortus]

So I'm pretty much wasting my time growing this variety? I know they get big since the seller on eBay was taking all the pads from one plant in his yard. So he said.

Digging them up every winter and bringing them inside sounds like a hassle. I have a bay window that might work as long as I keep them at a manageable size.

 

[Tom]

But I would start to water right away and not wait a month.

I think Tyler spelled this out really well in his big post, but just to be clear, it is definitely a good idea to wait a month to water when you first plant them. Leave them bone dry. They will start budding even when they are just sitting out in the dry air on a flat table top.

In the summer I water my established cactus plants once a week. In the winter not at all.

 

[TylerStewart]

So I'm pretty much wasting my time growing this variety? I know they get big since the seller on eBay was taking all the pads from one plant in his yard. So he said.

Unless I'm wrong about the variety you have... I got mine originally from Rivenrock and I love the cactus (they look identical to yours), but they have a hard time in our winters here in Vegas. Like I said, the older pads make it through, but most pads that are less than a few months old end up freezing and die off in the winters. In theory, you could wrap them in burlap or plastic and probably have them handle colder temperatures, but for me, I'd rather just switch to a type that I don't have to babysit as much. It'd be a lot of work to wrap them all, and once they were larger it would be near impossible.

 

[CLMoss]

Interesting... I have a couple of dehydrate cactus pads on my kitchen counter right now... No signs of budding. I would recommend trying both methods, wet and dry. What works for me, in my location, to encourage root growth would be to create a situation where the cactus pad would want to grow. Tyler is growing his cactus pads out-of- doors, in the desert. Given the same location, I would do exactly what Tyler is doing since he has been successful.

I have been actively growing plants all of my life. For the last 18 years growing all different species of orchids, from all over the world. I can almost look at a plant and know how to grow it. Epiphytes and some terrestrial orchids are very similar to succulents and cacti; both need to keep reserves of food/energy to live. I compare different ways of growing methods to other orchids growers in different regions around the world. We need to try different methods with the same orchid species inorder to be successful. What works for you may not work for me in my location.