Gymnocalycium species cactus planted in a mix of coco+perlite

Chilidude · Jan 19, 2018

The people who knows me, think i am a bit crazy in the head, but for me it is a form of intelligence/creative side. Already have a Hoya carnosa living in a coco medium, but just today had this pretty crazy idea to test how a cactus would grow in a mix of coco+perlite watered with the fertilizers, i have been giving to my chilis:

Coco coir+perlite with floramicro 10ml/floramato 10ml water mixture:

Looks to be one of the Gymnocalycium species, but i dont know anything specific for now:

Hanging basket and a pot with the water reservoir below:

In it's final place hanging from the ceiling:

SavinaRed · Jan 19, 2018

good luck with your experiment I have 150 plus varieties of cactus and succulents I'd be really curious to see the end result and how soon root rot will set in.

Chilidude · Jan 19, 2018

SavinaRed said:
good luck with your experiment I have 150 plus varieties of cactus and succulents I'd be really curious to see the end result and how soon root rot will set in.

I hope not too soon, if i am careful with the watering. Coco+perlite mix should let the roots breath pretty freely, so maybe it will halt any rot things. When i was younger, i did grow some cactus and few other succulents, so maybe i will try again doing the same thing.

These two will be the next sacrifices in my tests and these do not yet have any roots, as i just cut them from the plants:

Crassula ovata and Schlumbergera bridgesii. If i am able to kill these, i am not much of a gardener after all...

Edit: If the round cactus is one of the Gymnocalycium species, do you know what variety it is based on the looks?

Chilidude · Jan 19, 2018

I may not care about many things in life that "normal" people seems to do in daily basis, but that root rot talk made me remove the water reservoir below and also made plenty of bottom holes to the white pot, sorry but the plant grower inside me cant allow my plants to die from that sort of mistake, even if this is a test. :shh:

Still the coco+perlite mix will stay and i will continue to water the cactus with the fertilizer mix and monitor the results.

Chilidude · Jan 20, 2018

My creative urges are out of control and made another hanging basket using a mammillaria species cactus:

The intended white plastic hanging bucket didnt agree with my idea, so i modified it a lot using a small pen shaped blow torch:

The cactus is in and made a huge mess in the process:

Maybe not the job ever creating the final basket, but i think the overall idea is pretty interesting:

Also made a much better metal chain height adjustable system too for all my hanging baskets.

Chilidude · Jan 20, 2018

Upon seeking info about my first round cactus, it seems to be Gymnocalycium baldianum and they say it a easy one to grow. I have never seen any flowers produced by my own grown round cactus, so maybe i can make it flower and see some pretty cactus flowers. :woohoo:

Chilidude · Jan 21, 2018

The another cactus i have seems to be Mammillaria scrippsiana by the looks of it, so both are easy to care. I will have to start getting more info about other potential easy to care compact cactus varieties to grow in the coco+perlite hanging baskets.

It seems my old succulent and cactus interest is starting to get the best of me, cant resist those small spiky things. :rofl:

The Gymnocalycium baldianum is compliant to provide me the rare sight to see some cactus flowers of my own, because those three bumbs in the cactus are pretty sure a developing flower buds:

Chilidude · Jan 22, 2018

Two new cactus things, another Mammillaria and that most hateful spiky thing is one of the Opuntia pailana one:

The first thing the Opuntia one did to me in the shop, is to fall down and bury it's most devilish spikes in to my bare fingers, those spikes are like lazers i tell you. :rofl:

The devilish Opuntia pailana cactus handled with double thick gloves and i still felt the spikes going inside the gloves:

Mammillaria spinosissima perhaps :

The shop ordered a chilimix for the next week, so i have to go check it out, maybe i will spot another easy Gymnocalycium among them. :dance:

I am trying to make my collection somewhat presentable:

Window shades are only in the shut position, because the light outside made my photos even worse with my crappy cameraphone.

Chilidude · Jan 22, 2018

Another batch of cactuses, i spotted in the market:

I know by the looks, that two of them are Ferocactus things and one is another Mammillaria cactus, but not sure about the lower left one.

Now those cactus are in the coco+perlite mix, let see how will they do:

The more various cactuses i try to grow, the better test it will become in the end. I now have 7 cactus specimen to test, maybe i will get 3 more to get it to 10 cactuses in total.

I try to get all of them up in the ceiling in due time, but for now they have to stay in the plastic pots.

Chilidude · Jan 23, 2018

Gave away the golden spiked cactus to my friend, but i still have seven happy cactus subjects, let the real test begin:

-Gymnocalycium baldianum
-Mammillaria scrippsiana
-Mammillaria geminispina
-Opuntia pailana
-Ferocactus latispinus
-Ferocactus( unknown variety)

SavinaRed · Jan 23, 2018

are those overwintered peppers in the last pic and if so what type ?

Chilidude · Jan 23, 2018

SavinaRed said:
are those overwintered peppers in the last pic and if so what type ?

Last year overwintered two hot paper lanterns, very easy to grow all-around habanero type tasty pepper for sauces/cooking. But my ultimate chili for sauces/powder is the Naga morich, amazing fruity taste, very easy to grow and it is super hot too.

Chilidude · Jan 23, 2018

Oh lord, what i spotted in another shop when i was taking my usual evening walk...another Gymnocalycium cactus, i know them based on the unique shape they possess. Tomorrow i must know how much the large cactus cost, once the shop opens again.

Picture of another Gymnocalycium, i just picked today from the flower shop:

These are fascinating things for sure and also this one is developing flowers.

Chilidude · Jan 24, 2018

Why waste the 120w led light for only chili growing, when you can provide the cactus some nice light during the later winter months before the sun starts to shine enough to provide the natural sun light:

This way they will not become too stringy before spring arrives, because the lack of light. I guess i have enough samples for now and dont need any more for the time being... :party:

Edmick · Jan 24, 2018

I just picked this little guy up at the store couple days ago. I'm not really into cactus and succulents but I like the pattern and color. Label says its a jovibarba heuffelii

Chilidude · Jan 25, 2018

Actually we have few similar kind of succulents growing outside in a rocky places, that can tolerate our cold weather in the winter and they always grow back in the spring. You live in such a hot climate, that you can plant that succulent and few pretty cactuses outside using soil that dries out very fast.:
https://www.drought-smart-plants.com/how-to-grow-jovibarba-heuffelii.html

If you are very creative, you could even make a rocky kind growing places for your succulents/cactuses and once they start to multiply, they looks just great in such a place. Most of those kind of star like succulents produce quite small, but pretty flowers once they feel happy in their growing place. I see California have many kind of pretty looking cactuses growing in the wild: http://www.americansouthwest.net/plants/cacti/index.html

Tip: Dont let the succulent or cactus bug bite you.... you buy one and start to like how the leaf colors gets even darker, when exposed to the sun and it even grows/multiply fast with no special care...You see another pretty looking in the shop.. :party:

Chilidude · Jan 25, 2018

Mammillaria spinosissima and Mammillaria scrippsiana really think the spring is here:

They have notable grown under the 120w led growing light, but the new grow seems to be good and it is not like i dont have the light power at my disposal to make them grow normally.

Next time i will give them floramicro 5ml/floramato 5ml fertilizer mixture and i think it is quite enough and dont need to rise it any higher for the rest of the season, as cactus dont need that much nutrients in the first place vs some other plants.

Chilidude · Jan 26, 2018

I picked this still tiny Aloe juvenna plant too for the test:

It could not resist my charms in the shop or was it the other way around. :onfire:

Chilidude · Feb 1, 2018

Noticed this unusual looking cactus in the shop and it looked pretty with all those golden spikes:

After finally finding info about this particular cactus, it is Echinocactus grusonii forma intermedia and it is pretty rare find too, so i think i did pretty good. Price for this beauty was only 6 euros.

Chilidude · Feb 4, 2018

My cactus/succulent collection have not been under the led light for a few weeks now to make them grow more slowly until spring arrives, instead they have been next to the cold window and have been getting that natural light/sun:

I have not given them a single drop of water during all this time, as the coco coir is still moist by checking the bottom holes of the white pot and there is no need for re-watering until i can see that the bottom holes looks pretty dry.

Overall look of the cactus is fine, so i think the coco+perlite mix works really well. I now believe coco coir is the single most universal growing media for everything mixed with some other suitable materials, depending what plant you are going to grow in it.