Canker disease in Cactus

Happy New Year everybody! Wish you be healthy and happy in 2010.

For the cactus & succulent planters, I think you all should ever have an experience with canker disease. The bacterium in the humid soil and air causes the canker which can occur with the citrus species (such as lime, orange, cherry) and cactus as well. The first symptoms in autumn are shallow depressions at the base of plants which enlarge in spring, completely circling the base of the branch and causing it to die. An amber like gum may also appear. When the size of the circle is enlarged, the circle will look like full sponge, which later become dark brown flakes split button which is rough and hard curve. But the middle will collapse into the sink itself.

How to Treat Canker

If your cactus has the canker, you should be cut out, back to good part, using a knife or chisel - burn the diseased one. The exposed healthy part can be painted with a canker paint available from larger garden centres. If canker is a major problem, spraying with a copper based fungicide (bordeaux mixture is sold by most garden centres), in August, September and October will greatly assist. Three consecutive sprayings are needed for the full effect.

However, the study show some growers use low rates of copper-based products during bud break to reduce symptoms of dead bud. Copper-based products have not worked well under conditions favorable for disease development. Heavy use of copper products is not recommended as Bacteria will resist copper products and the concentrations in the soil can build up to toxic levels in the long term. Now, we can control the canker the organic chemistry. Anyway, I don't know yet how to do and what the exact result is because the organic chemistry is successful with the lime and orange farms. So I'll have to test it and inform you later.

Cactus in the House & Garden Fair in Bangkok

There was the House & Garden Fair in Bangkok in the last month. In it, there was the cactus & succulent competition. Many cactus collectors always showed off their best cacti collection and exchanged the new tips & techniques in this Fair.


In fact, the award from the Fair didn't matter. The main point of the collectors is to present how excellent they are and update the news about the cactus & succulent.


I also uploaded some pictures of cacti and succulent.

It is said that Uebelmannia buiningii is probably the rarest and most endangered of all Brazillian cacti. It is so difficult to find or buy it in the market now.

Buiningii is a species of Uebelmannia cactus. It is spherical and sometimes elongated with greenish red-brown to deep chocolate bodies covered with very small waxy scales is probably the rarest and most endangered of all Brazillian cacti. It is so difficult to find or buy it in the market now.

Frost Tolerance: Avoid any frost

Minimum Avg. Temperature: 60°F (15°C)

Sun Exposure: Light shade to part sun

Origin: Brazil (Minas Gerais: Serra Negra)

Growth Habits: Solitary, dark green stem, often with reddish tinge, covered with minute waxy scales, up to 4 inches tall (10 cm), 3.2 inches in diameter (8 cm); 16 to 18 ribs; close-set areoles; 6 to 8 spines of unequal length, up to 0.6 inch long (15 mm)

Watering Needs: Like humidity in the air

Blooming Habits:
The diurnal funnel-shaped yellow flowers come in summer. They are up to 1 inch long (2.5 cm), 0.8 inch in diameter (2 cm)

What kind of pot is suitable for Cactus???

Question: What kind of pot is the most suitable for Cactus?

There is no the most suitable pot for cacti. Everything and every material can be the good pot for your plants: plastic, ceramic, clay or something else. I ever recycled the stainless old pot and yogurt cups in my kitchen to grow cactus. They are healthy and grow OK. So the plastic pot can mean every plastic recycling package which can hold the soil and have the bottom draining hole. It reduces the plastic junk well.

Each kind of pot has its own advantages and disadvantages:

Plastic Pot
- Light weight, durable
- Cheaper
- has various sizes to choose
- doesn't look good comparing with another kind of pot
- not drain water well

Ceramic
- looks nice, can use as decorative in your house and garden
- expensive
- heavy to carry or move
- drain water well but the best is the clay pot.

Clay/Terra Cotta
- drain water well so you should water the plant in the clay pot more often than one in the plastic pot
- not too light or heavy weight
- broken easily

The kind of pot is not the big deal. The real key is to make sure that your pot has a lot of holes in the bottom to promote drainage as well as the good draining soil mix. It only makes sense to have a pot that is well draining too.

Cactus Soil Ingredient

Do you have this question when you move the cactus to the new pot: what is the good soil ingredient for the cactus?

Soil is one of the most important factors for the healthy & beautiful cactus and good drainage is essential to prevent cactus roots from rotting. The beginners can buy the ready-mixed cactus soil from the local garden shops. However, when you're experienced growers, you will realize that no soil mix is ideal for all cacti species. It will be better and save more your money if you can make your customized soil for the cactus.

Here is the important soil mix:

1. Pumice is a relatively light weight volcanic rock that is porous. Pumice is not available in many areas. You substitute with pearlite, non-soluble cat litter, aquatic plant soil or Turface, chicken grit, or another similar substance. The goal is to provide an inorganic substance that allows water to pass through the mix quickly.

2. Coconut fibre or coir. It can help hold moisture and air while providing structure to the mix. Unlike peat, coir can easily be re-wet after it dries out and it does not compact. If you cannot find coir, peat can be used as a substitute, but you may consider using less of it

Here is the different recipe. You can adapt them yourself:

A. commercial potting mix (peat based)
bark mulch
3mm pumice sand
7mm pumice
all equal parts.

B. One part (75% sandy loam, 25% peat, plus limestone for a neutral pH, and slow release fertiliser)
One part aggregate (gravel or pumice or perlite)

C. 2 parts packaged potting soil
1 part coarse sand
1 part peat moss or leaf mold
Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal

D. 2 parts packaged potting soil
2 parts sand
1/2 part leafmold or peatmoss
Optional Bone meal and Limestone

It is especially recommended for cacti and succulents that need a dry soil, such as desert cacti, agaves, and aloes. This formula creates a mix that feels coarse and sandy. Yet, it drains very quickly and doesn’t retain excessive moisture.

I usually place small broken clay pot pieces in the bottom of the container. It is as for some drainage material. You can choose Styrofoam packing peanuts, or small gravel rocks work well.

Cactus Item

Let's relax with the cute Cactus items!

































Are you dare to sit on this Chair???

Growing cactus from seed

Cactus has many ways to propagate and one of the exciting ways is to grow from seed. It's possible that the baby cactus will have the different colors or shapes from their parent plants. However, growing cactus from seed may be not easy for the rookies and here is the easy instructions and tips to follow :

1. You should have the cactus seed. It can be find easily on the online shop or Ebay. You may choose the basic cactus types like Gymnocalycium or Mammillaria. Their seeds are not expensive and easy to grow.

2. Mix your potting soil. Use a mixture of about half perlite or pumice, half potting soil. Or add 2 inches of sand on the bottom with 2 inches of equally mixed sand and peat on top. Or you can use the cactus soil sold in the garden shops.

3. Add soil to a shallow container with good drainage, and water the soil before the seeds are planted. Use a container with a depth of at least 4 inches and pure water.

4. Plant your seeds by shaking them on the soil's surface. Distribute evenly, then gently press into the soil to a depth that equals its width. Planting too deeply kills the plant before it reaches the surface.

5. Cover the seeds with no more than 1/8 inch of potting soil.

6. Place a transparent covering across the container. Plastic bag is my best choice because it's cheap, light and easy to find. Meanwhile, you can see the baby cactus through the clear bag.

7. Set your miniature greenhouse in a warm location. Ideally, the temperature should be no lower than 70 degrees F. Your seeds will begin to germinate in about 3 weeks. Certain cactus plants need up to 10 week.

8. Once the seedlings appear, use a spray bottle to mist them keeping them from drying out. Just once a week depending on the moisture in the soil.

Tips:

• Soak the seeds before planting for several hours or overnight (if you can see) The seeds will grow very quickly.
  
• The seeds may germinate in one week, otherwise they may take significantly longer.
• Put the pot under the light shade. The baby cactus don't need the full sunlight.
• Repot when the cactus is at least 1/2 inch in diameter. This usually takes at least 3 months.

Let's have fun and enjoy to grow cactus from seed!