prognosis: GRIM

[pikevi]

A visit to an orchid doctor resulted in a referral to a non-specialist plant doctor.

I think this forum has a number of 'bugs' floating around and I caught one recently: I am sure it is from fred!! (offence INTENDED )

I bought these plants yesterday from a 'Plant Doctor'.

Two cyclamens and 15 cactuses. I have already been pricked three times in a matter of a few hours. I think I am developing masochistic tendencies after joining this forum

Now the fun starts with identifying , re-potting and so on.

[fred]

no offence pikevi

I love the cactuses you have very nice I am sure you will get alot of enjoyment with them.

sorry about the bug I thought i had them under control hehe

[chefatplay]

More pretty additions to the family! Are you going to make arrangements out of them or plant them singly?

Fred, is your new avatar Socks in attack mode? I like him with Angee on his back much more.

[Vivienne]

Ellen - I just wrote almost the same thing in a different thread (about Socks). LOL

pikevi - how much attention do cacti need? Have been toying with the thought of putting a cactus garden in the boys window well, but I know I'd always forget about it.

[chefatplay]

Isn't that the joy of cacti, they don't need a lot of attention? Plus, if the boys wanted to sneak out of the window, well, sticky, sticky!!!

RE: Socks, I guess that shows we think alike, Vivienne. LOL (Now I know you would like my orchid doc.)

[fred]

what a thing to do to the boys sheeees you take all the fun out of being young lol

no that looks like Socks i am glad its not him if Socks looked at me like that i would run hehe

sorry pikevi
I water my cacti when I think of it and thats not very often

[chefatplay]

My faith in Socks renewed!

[kmarch]

Mmmmm, yum, Cyclamen. I love these little guys. In Michigan where I used to live there grew a wild, species Cyclamen. They grow to only about 3-4 inches high, most fo that height was the flower stem, and they bloomed very early in the spring, before one would typically start mowing. One of my firends had them all through her yard. I've got 3 here that I grow with my Cymbidiums. They are just now coming into bloom. Maybe I should post some pics of them. I have 2 minis and a standard.

[arleneg]

pikevi -- Very nice addition to the family. I, too, have bought a few cacti/succulent plants in the last couple months.

Vivienne -- Cacti/succulents are easy to care for. I water mine once every week or two, and rather ignored during winter months.

[PhalPal]

Nothing more delightful that potting up cactus!
Vivienne -A forgotten window is the best place to put a cactus. If you get around to watering it every few months it will do fine. More sun the better.

[Vivienne]

thanks for the cacti input. See what you started pikevi!

Think I'll need to monitor the amount of sun that window well actually gets. And yes, it will make an excellent alarm system for the boys. LOL Who am I kidding... they can easily go through the front door and I'd never know it (unless I have the alarm system armed).

[Sharyn]

pikevi: Nice new catus plants.
Phalpal: For repotting catus, I use a tip I found on the forum or elsewhere. Wrap the catus in several layers of newspaper (folded to height size). Tape the paper in place and remove the catus - NO MORE BLOODY FINGERS! Now, the big guys take a whole section of newspaper folded and wrapped, but it works great.

[Gladys47]

I have a thing about stickers. They don't like me. It's really kind of funny because I have very little feeling in my hands from old injuries, but I feel stickers just fine thank you! I love african violets but they just die! Must be a magic trick to growing them that I don't know. They sure are pretty tho. Wish I could do them. Gladys

[Tobi]

Pikevi,
I have been growing cyclamens in my basement for a about 5 years now.
Have had good success with them. They don't like warm weather at all. They love it cool,
cool, cool. My basement rarely gets above 65 F all year. Their best blooming
time is between Oct-March here. They do bloom all year, but in the summer
months they don't grow as many new leaves or put out as many flowers. I repot
mine every other year, keep them slightly damp between watering (otherwise
the leaves and flowers will wilt if dry). Since our geographical regions are
very similar, they should do quite well for you if you keep them cool.

[PhalPal]

I have cyclamen here virtually all year outdoors. I have a shady porch and like to plant mixed pots and include them. They do okay with high air temps (90 - 100) if well watered but they don't like sun. Having a dry heat may help??? They seem to be spreading too....I find itty bitty ones growing out of cracks! Too cute. I don't understand that since they are basically a bulb. At Christmas it is a tradition in our neighborhood to mix white cyclamen with pointsettias in pots in our front yards. Looks really pretty!

[pikevi]

Thanks everyone.

chefatplay: I like to keep them individually, at least, for now.

Vivienne: I have heard that some water them only 4 times a year!!
[BTW, I did not think I will start an avalanche ]

What I cannot figure out is that in their natural habitat they will get some moisture 'every night' in the form of condensation which they will not get if grown in urban areas. So how would monthly or quarterly watering be enough to sustain them?. I am still reading up hoping to get the right answers.

Sharyn: I usually use just latex gloves in potting, planting and so on. I just bought a pair of thick cotton gloves to re-pot the cactuses. But your suggestion may be more practical. Thanks.

Tobi: Yes, I was reading about Cyclamens. I could not understand the two types : viz.,florist and hardy . But almost all accounts that I read are consistent about humidity. I am OK for now but I will have to think of the winter when it is hard to maintain even 60% humidity. Your plants seem very healthy and happy

PhalPal: I think I saw one white cyclamen at the garden centre. They only had about few cyclamens. many were red. I will go there tomorrow and see if the white is still available. If it is I will buy it.

[PhalPal]

My cousins live in the desert (Phoenix, AZ) and it is extremely dry with NO humidity. The cactus are lucky to get only a few downpours a year, surviving in 10% humidity, so very little condensation overnight. The worst thing to do with a cactus is to overwater it.

My cyclamen live happily outdoors with low humidity also, 10-30% in summer and not much higher in winter. I have had the best luck with plain old cheap Home Depot brand from their garden center. White is the hardest color to find so grab it when you can!

[brookn]

I just bought six little cati. Very cute, I snagged them onto a t-shirt then had someone hold the shirt with the cactus snagged and hanging, in the pot as I filled in with dirt. I think I can help I.D. a couple, I have a lot of succulents, which is what the four in the back look like. Two look like a form of hen and chickens, I know they are in the same family at least. I think they are called sempervivums. I use sedumphotos.net to i.d. succulents sometimes. They have a section devoted to them. I recently got a portulacaria that was huge. I have been collecting succulents for ages.

[pikevi]

Thank you PhalPal and brookn.

I was under the impression all 'desert' areas get very cool at night and condensation occurs every night. But I love the idea of watering them sparingly since it will save a bit of time for me. Your HD-stores seem a bit different than in Canada. Here we don't get many selections of plants. Orchids invariably are always Phals.

Brookn: I am thinking of re-potting them this weekend. I hope to be able use the 'net to identify them. If I fail I may bother you for some help.Succulents are bit more expensive here ($14.95CAD vs. $9.95 for 6 " pot cactus). Are you using small pots or large pots?

I have to do some research about the potting mix. It is too expensive to buy pre-packaged ones .

I hope yours will flower soon. One of mine shows some bright red growth and I am hoping they are flowers.

[pikevi]

PhalPal: You are right. I went back there yesterday and there were many more cyclamens that must have arrived yesterday. Thre was only ONE white ( it is the same one I saw the previous day) and I grabbed it right away. There was one other that caught my eye. This one is the only one out of about 25 that had/has a unique design on the leaves.

I am posting photos of both.

Thanks for the recommendation

[sandra]

Nice selection pikevi. Remember, cacti have short roots and even the ones that don't, do best in shallow, short containers. Deprivation and lots of sun is the key to caring for them. Enjoy!

[PhalPal]

pikevi - all of my cyclamen leaves look like your first picture but i have never seen leaves like on the second one. The're beautiful!!! Very interesting plant even if not blooming. I will keep an eye out for one and snatch it.

[pikevi]

Thanks sandra.I will try and remember the watering. I usually water all my plants very thoroughly. May be I should be very stingy with cactuses.

That was the only Cyclamen that had such a design, PhalPal. Even if it does not flower I would not mind since the leaves are so beutiful

[pikevi]

Just wanted to add a photo showing all four Cyclamens. I just finished re-potting them in a mix of 'black-earth', peat, perlite, 'top-soil' and a little bit of sand.

I also bought a cactus today. It is a lot larger than the others. I have not started to re-pot cactuses. The idea of repotting them has not been very appealing to me thus far

[sandra]

Another thing interesting about this cactus pikevi (and most others) is that you can cut off some of that smaller growth (just a tad, it doesn't have to be the whole growth), let the sap dry out (about 24 hours) and stick in back into the earth in the same or new pot, where it will grow a new plant. They also grow very pretty flowers.

These cyclamens are interesting....I don't think I've ever seen them before.

[PhalPal]

LOVE the leaves love the leaves love the leaves!! I am now on a mission to find a cyclamen with such interesting leaves; they just may be a variety that does well in Canada and not in Ca.

[pikevi]

sandra: All the cactuses are 6-8" high except the last one I bought which is almost 20". Are they too small to break the limbs from? Should I wrap in paper towels to get the latex out before drying out? After sticking it in the soil can it be allowed to stay under the (direct) sun?

I am sorry to ask many Qs. I hope it is not too much of a bother.

Thank you.

Phalpal: As I had said before it was the only one which had such a beautiful design. I hope it is not just a genetic aberration.

Good luck with your search.

[sandra]

pikevi, don't be sorry. I'm glad I have the knowledge to pass on. I typically ask more questions than I have advice when it comes to orchids so it's my pleasure. I wouldn't want to cut off any growth from the smaller cactus just yet. Once you start seeing growth occur is when I would cut. Leafy cactus can be cut no matter what the size and put back into earth. And definitely your tall cactus can be cut if you want to expand here. The cut portion on the cactus will heal and grow new growth. (I don't know it's name but I've had them and they grow and grow....you can't kill them unless you overwater...once a month is all).

I took this photo for you to see how well cacti and succulents procreate. I took about 20 leaves and cut each one into 2 and 3 pieces, stuck them in soil and wha-la!

Although it's recommended to wait until the sap dries (about 24 hours), I never do! I passed along to you what common knowledge dictates in general regarding cacti....I never follow this advice though.

[sandra]

pikevi, now that I've looked again at your collection of these small cacti, I wouldn't want to cut any of them, ever. Firstly, they're slow growers and most of all if you do, you'll interrupt and add stress to their potential flowering. All of these have flowered for me except for 2 of them (3rd row from top, middle cactus and the first row, 2nd cactus have never bloomed for me.) The succulents will grow fleshy branches with new plants...those you can cut and re-pot!

Oh and YES, direct sun immediately after potting these little guys up!

[pikevi]

Thank you very much, sandra.

I appreciate all you help. I think I will await a while before trying that.But will tr with the last acquisition and the christmas cacti which I have had with me for a few months.

I will post the results.

BTW, your plants look so lush and healthy and so does your lawn

Thanks for the photos as well.