Cacti growing

[fred]

hi all
I went for a trip about 3 years ago and I got some Cacti plants.
I keep them in a green house I have around 25 of them.
I keep them in a green house as the nights here in Tassie are to cold for them.
My father was mad about cacti so i thought i would give them ago.
Any tips would be greatful

[Ellen]

Put them in well-draining medium, don't over water them, don't tamper with them, just leave them alone and they should grow. They obviously need lots of light to bloom.

[fred]

thanks Ellen that is very interesting

[Kevin Western]

Hi Fred,
I've been over your way a couple of times and I reckon Tasmania is damned near to heaven on earth. I love the cold. Experience in Europe in 2005 at -10deg C in a summer shirt and jeans tells me that is what I need to live in. We like cacti too. Most will stand even a bit of frost - deserts where many come from are like that. Inspite of stating the obvious - the cacti should do very well indoors inside your house during the cold months on or near to a window ledge with good light and could later go outdoors as soon as the frost or persistent cold was over for the season.
Kevin W

[fred]

thank you Kevin.
You like Tassie ( like heaven ) I think so to.
I have been here now for ten years i used to live in melbourne.
To busy for me.
Next time you pay Tassie a visit you can pm me as I would love you to come around fot a chat and a coffee.
If you can not find my place i can meet you also.
I know what we will talk about.
orchids and more orchids lol

[tom499]

my dad grows cacti, they just sit on the window sills, for most of the year, go outside on racks in the summer. they get watered maybe once a year in the summer, spend a day in a water tank, then they go back on the shelf for another year....

very low maintenance wouldnt you say

[fred]

gee thats pretty good I wont have to worry about them to much

[Kevin Western]

Thanks Fred,
I was talking to a couple of equally certifiable [ when compared to myself ] orchid nuts in and around the Launceston area last night. My wife & I don't need much encouragement to come over your way for a holiday at all - just the time. We are getting quite enormous orders for flasks of Cym clones from outside Oz in particular to the extent that I tend to use my annual leave from my day job to produce flasks for the night job in my lab. Wer'e heading off to New Zealand for a 10 day series of presentations at Orchid Clubs in the North Island + a few days off touring in the south island and we'll be taking flasks to sell so lots of time is going in getting ready to go there. Hopefully within the year we can get some time off to see Tassie. I reckon the only quantum leaps in orchid knowledge and cultural understanding these days is when we go interstate or abroad and the people are fantastic as well.
Regards,
Kevin

[fred]

hi Kevin
you sound like a very busy man.
New Zealand hey that will be realy good I hope you come back with heaps of pics for us.
I look forward to the time you will be over here in good old Tassie.
It will be good to catch up with you.
I can show you a few orchid growers around here I know a few in the north west.
You will have to bring a few flask,s to sell also I am sure the orchid growers here will be interested.
When you do decide when you are coming over you can pm myself and I can have the orchid society announce that at the meeting.
thanks Kevin

[fzzdk]

my mother has had this one cactus for about 25 years (it was her baby before i was) and she just leaves it outside on the deck for nature to do as it pleases. she lets it get watered by the rain and it's actually potted in half sand from the driveway/half dirt from the yard. it gets repotted every 3-5 years, and it blooms beautifully, 2-3 times a year.

[fred]

fzzdk
thank you for letting me know that.
more useful info

[Ellen]

Might be interesting to mention that when I was a kid I collected cacti. I eventually had every species that was for sale at the local Woolworth's, and knew everything there was to know about them. I'm sure if there had been orchids for sale back then, I would have opted for orchids. So I guess cacti are the non-preferred, but adequate, fix for born orchid addicts. Tillandsias work, too.

[drof59]

There must be something about orchid growers. We seem to like other "non-standard" plants like cactus and bromeliads. I wonder how many orchid growers are into roses?

[fred]

we also have Roses

around 20 of them

[Maddy]

I started out with cacti, way back when. Still have quite a few of them, too, including a golden barrel that's about 12 inches around - with two-inch spikes.

Yes, it has occurred to me that some day I'm going to need to repot it. I think I'm going to need bulletproof gloves when thay day comes. Those thorns go right through leather.

[fred]

Maddy

I have a few cacti

the worst one for spikes is the one called mother inlaw seat.

It about 2 foot in diameter

good thing its planted in the ground for I would not like to move that one

och och

[Maddy]

I think that's the same one I have - it's pretty, but spikey.

[colin walkom]

when transplanting larger cacti, particularly the very sharp and long spined varieties try this trick. For the smaller ones a sheet of newpaper rolled up then wrapped around the cacti, the ends of the paper can be pinched together and used to lift and hold the plant for repotting. For larger ones use hessian bags rolled up and placed around the plant. the idea is to protect the plant not the transplanter. I used this method for over 30 years on plants exceeding 200 lbs, it works

[fred]

thank you for the tip

I will remember that one