Saturday, September 10, 2011

HCSS show and sale

The HCSS (Houston Cactus and Succulent Society) is having their show and sale this weekend. There are some great plants to see and buy. I volunteered to clerk for the judges. Basically I stood there and turned the plants for the judges so they could see them from all angles because judges are not allowed to touch the plants. The great thing about it is that I get to learn what the judges are looking for and what they take points off for. Maybe someday I will get up the courage to enter some of my plants.

adenia
euphorbia
astrophytum

euphorbia

Monday, September 5, 2011

Green thumb




This weekend my father-in-law kept telling me that I have a green thumb. I don't think of myself as having one because I have killed many poor plants. I have found out what plants I can keep alive the best and stuck to those. Then I had the thought, maybe that is the secret to having a "green thumb". Don't be deterred  by plants that do not make it. Learned from mistakes and continued to try growing different plants. Not everyone is going to have success with the same plants.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

More flowers



Night blooming cereus. For some reason ants like to congregate on the buds as they grow. So far they do not seem to harm the blooms.

So many flowers


I am so excited about all the flowers my plants have produced this year. My huernia has been blooming for months and still has more buds growing. They are such a deep red. Unfortunately they are hard to see since they are located at the base of the plant.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Lithops, aka living stones, stone faces ...

I have now officially killed my last lithop. I have tried to grow them several times with no success. I think I will now give up so as to spare any future victims. This partiular plant started off really well. I had it in a bright window and watered it only once a month. (They are very prone to rotting from over watering.) It grew and flourished through the winter. When the warm weather came I decided to try it outside. That is when the poor plant started its slow decline. A slug somehow got to it and scraped a large chunk out of it. So I brought it back inside but it never really recovered. For a short while I thought it had. A new set of leaves even grew out of it but they were so small and they shriveled as soon as the old leaves exposed it. That was the end. I can't help but wonder if I had kept it in the window if it would still be thriving. Maybe I will try them again someday down the road when I have more experience.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Drought

Houston is now under water restrictions because of the drought. Not too bad for my plants but I have to remember that I can only water on Sundays and Thursdays. This is definitely going to be harder on me than them.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

In need of some support

One of my very first plants that I still have is a euphorbia. It has taken off since I moved to Texas and it has become very top heavy. There are not alot of branches on the lower half of the plant because I was very nieve about how to properly prune it. The other day we had some strong winds and my husband said it looked like it was going to blow over. Sure enough the next day I found it on its side. So far a plant stake from my local hardware store, for only a couple dollars, is holding it up well. One really helpful thing that I acquired at some point is a roll of velcro that is made for use on plants. I have had to add support to several plants and this stuff is very handy. You can cut off whatever length you need and the velcro holds strong. There are various versions such as plant ties. I recommend anyone growing plants get some.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Where do I get my cacti?

I get my cacti and succulents from wherever I find one I like. My first cacti came from a cacti show and sale put on by the cactus and succulent society in my hometown. This is a great place to get plants because you are buying them from the person who grew them. They can tell you what conditions they grew the plant in and give you tips for once you get it home. Many of these growers are local so the plants are more acclimated to your local weather. These show and sales are only once a year so where do you go to add to your collection the rest of the year? I am lucky enough to live in a city that has a local nursery that grows and sells a wide variety of cacti and succulents. However, I have bought some plants from the big name stores Home Depot and Lowe's but many of these plants have not suvived. Since these plants are mass produced I have come to the conclusion that they are grown in unrealistic conditions and they do not adjust well. The tags on the pots give very generic tips about lighting and watering and knowing where a plant originated doesn't really help either unless you majored in geography and climatology. Now I do have to say some of my plants have survived and are thriving.  I am not saying to avoid buying plants at a national chain. They recieve a great variety of plants. I do recommend leaving it in the store's pot for awhile, several weeks, after you bring it home so it can acclimate. If you repot it right away then it has to deal with root disturdance at the same time and this can add extra stress.  When you do repot make sure to lossen the roots. If there are dry, dead roots, carefully cut them off. Water the soil and place the plant in a well lit area but not direct light.

Lastly, if you have a local cactus and succulent society join it. They have plant exchanges where members bring in plants, plant cuttings, etc. for other members to take home. The majority of my plants have come from plant exchanges. You will also get lots of knowledgable advice. On my home page I have a link to the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. It lists all the society's affiliates and their contact info.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Pots, soil, watering, lighting, etc.

If a plant has special needs they will be included with that plant's posting.
Pots
Most of my plants are in basic terra cotta pots. When I gt a new plant that is in a plastic pot I try to repot asap in a pot that is slightly bigger. Lots of store bought plants are root bound so I like to give them a little room. For plants that need really good drainage I use orchid pots because they have more holes along the bottom.
Soil
My general soil mix is 50/50 potting soil and perlite. I have used commercial cacti soil mix but found that it compacted down and did not let water drain well. For my adenium more perlite was used then soil, 70/30, since these plants come from such an arid place and I lost one to root rot.
Watering
During the spring I do not water if it has rained. That pretty much explans itself. If we are not getting any rain then I water once a week. This is when most of my plants do the most growing so I figure they need the water. During the summer I back off watering to every 10 to 14 days. Lots of cacti and succulents slow down or go dorment in the summer heat so their roots do not need to sit in water. Some plants do some more growing in when temperatures go back down in fall so I up their water back to once a week. Once winter arrives I cut way back to maybe watering only once a month. but don't totally cut off water. I have lost some that way bacause their roots dried up and then could not absorb water at all. The plant ended up sitting in water and rotting. I also think humidity affects how quickly a plant dries out. My rule of thumb, Safer to not water then to water. A cacti can recover from underwatering better then overwatering.
Lighting
Cacti and succulents do not need blazing sun. Some plants actually want shade. My backyard faces southeast and has a tall cypress tree in the middle of it. For most of the afternoon the cacti get filtered sun with spots of direct light. It takes experienting to figure out a plant's light needs. If a plant looks like it is burning or turning colors then I move it to a more shaded area. If it is growing leggy then it needs more light. (Side note: if a plant is getting lots of light it can handle more water.)
Temperatures
Simple, if it is below 45 degrees it is safer to bring cacti and succulents inside.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

I took pictures of all my plants today. Multiple angles and closeups of flowers, buds, details. Now I get to post them and give some basic info about each one. This might take a while. Guess it won't be done this weekend:).

Friday, July 29, 2011

About me and this blog

I started collecting cacti 15 years ago, wow I had to stop and think about that. Cacti and succulents have been the only plants I can keep alive, and I have killed quit a few of them too. They are a great plant for people who forget to water plants or are busy.  I started in Tennessee with eight cacti. Now that I am in Texas I have 30 or so. But don't smirk at the Texas part. Cacti grow in nature all the way up into Canada. No, they do not have as much variety but neither does Houston which used to be a swamp. And that is why I hope this blog helps people all over the country. I plan to chronical my successes and my failures. I will be posting pictures of the plants I have and new ones as I acquire them. If I repot anything I will tell what kind of pots and soil mix I use. My watering schedule will also be posted. Then I will add pictures and text as they grow or wither. As with most things I learn alot more when things go wrong. I hope to have everything up and going by the end of the weekend. Wish me luck.