Cactus Cultivation Hints

Notes for customers purchasing plants by mail order:

Our plants are sent bare root and will need to be potted using a well-drained compost such as John Innes no. 2 or a “General Purpose” potting compost. If possible add a little coarse grit and coarse sand to improve the drainage.

Do not over pot, too large a plant pot will cause growth to slow. The general rule is that you should just be able to get the width of a finger between the edge of the plant and side of the pot. For slim, columnar plants the diameter of the pot should be about ¼ the height of the plant

Newly repotted plants should NOT be watered for about a week after potting. This is to allow any damaged roots time to heal before watering begins and is contrary to the treatment for normal houseplants.

Plants should be fed at every watering with a ½ strength liquid feed such as Chempak Cactus Feed, Chempak No. 8, Phostrogen or Miracle Grow. For Cacti, water should be withheld over winter, for Succulent plants it should be reduced.

Good luck with your plants!

Tillandsias

The Tillandsias we offer are propagated from plants in our own collection and have been acclimatised to greenhouse cultivation over a number of years, unlike plants freshly imported from Guatemala.

These are all desert Tillandsias and can mostly be found in the wild growing on Cacti, many of our species are Argentinian or Bolivian.

They prefer to be grown in good light with ample air circulation and are not suitable to be grown in the shady enclosed conditions of a bathroom!

We mount our Tillandsias on pieces of driftwood hung from the roof of the cactus greenhouse and tie them on using monofilament fishing line. You could also use strips of old nylon stockings as these blend in well with the wood. We prefer not to use glue as this blocks the trichomes, through which Tillandsias breathe.

To avoid premature maturity Tillandsias need to be sprayed with nitrogen, rather than potash feed. Too frequent use of a potash feed will lead to a reduction in plant size prior to flowering. “Miracle Grow” used half strength should allow the plants to make normal growth while also encouraging flowering.

Tillandsias are monocarpic, which means that when a rosette flowers it stops growing and will be replaced by a new shoot. Eventually these old, flowered shoots will need to be removed to keep the plant looking tidy.

We have a few other species available in quantities too small to list – if you are looking for a particular sort please contact us – we may be able to supply.

Display Bowls

We offer a small range of Soparco “Decor” octagonal display bowls which are suitable for growing clustering cacti sorts. These are UV resistant and should not disintegrate when subjected to the strong sunlight in a greenhouse. We can offer:

12cm @ £30p each

16cm @ 60p each

18cm @ 90p each

21cm @ £1.20 each

Colour is terra cotta only