Repot
>> Thursday, February 7, 2013 –
cactus,
succulents
I did some repotting of succulents recently. Confronted with the often overwhelming task of getting seeds started, I sometimes just do something else as a warm-up -- this was the task I chose.
Starting with this fast-rooting Euphorbia tirucalli cutting. It was sprouting so quickly in the tiny pot I had it in, I needed to put it into something bigger just to keep it upright.
The branching structure of this one is weird:
Its main stem splits in several different directions horizontally. Each of the horizontal branches now has a cluster of smaller branches growing from it:
It seems clear to me that I need to remove each of those clusters and make them into new plants, trimming the horizontal branches back to a couple of inches. When this cutting sprouts after that pruning it will be a much sturdier and upright plant.
I also put my not-cold-hardy Opuntia into a larger pot:
The new pads haven't done much growing for the last couple of months, and look a bit weak. I'm not sure if that's a sign of too little light or not enough water. I wanted to put it into a more stable pot too, as this will keep putting on new growth all summer long (I hope) and will get more top-heavy.
The pads have little "nubs" on them, and I don't know if they are normal or a problem. It doesn't seem to be getting worse so I'm not overly concerned, but I will keep an eye on it.
Finally, I found a few tiny sections broken off the Cylindropuntia leptocaulis that are outside on the deck. As more of an experiment I want to see if they'll root and how quickly they'll form into decent-sized plants. The parent plants grew quite a bit this year even though they were in quite small pots.
That's about it on the repotting. I do have my small cactus that I grew from seed that I can probably repot soon, but there's no hurry on that. (The pricklier the plant, the less rushed I am to repot.)
Now that I'm warmed up, I guess it's seed-starting time!
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Your opuntia is fine. I'd keep it on the dry side to avoid rotting. Some cacti are super sensitive, especially if it's cold.
The nubbins look normal to me, by the way.
I'm with Gerhard on the Opuntia...nubbins and all.
I am wondering about your rooting technique for the Euphorbia, did you just stick it in soil? Use a rooting hormone? Please share your knowledge as I have very a poor success rate with this plant!
danger: I'm pretty sure I used rooting hormone powder, and a damp peat-based mix. Nothing special. Under bright lights indoors. I'm going to take a bunch more cuttings soon, so I'll do some tests and let you know what happens.