Tina wrote:Hi Faelle
Re potting mix I don't think they are really that fussy, mine are in JI no2 with cat litter normally, no special recipe.
I really don't find them hard to grow, I have more of a problem if they are received as an unpotted plant & I have to get them to rooted, it can take more than a year. A friend recommends placing them unpotted in a pot & only pot them up when you can see roots developing, he has a cactus business so should know what he is talking about BUT I tend to just pop them in cat litter or pumice until they are rooted then the next year in the summer when they are in full growth I would pot them in soil mix.
In the summer established plants can easily sit in water for a while as I often have them in trays.
If you are growing your plants under grow lights then you may need to think about watering thembut as you have repotted them it might be better to keep them cooler & not put them under lights as you could dry them out a lot.
Thanks Tina I guess I will leave them in akadama and pumice till April (is this okay?) and then move to John Inne's No 2, lot of grit, akadama (2:1:1 ratio is okay?).
Think I will move them to an indirect location of my greenhouse (away from directly under grow lights) and water them a little bit throughout winter.
Hope I dont kill them as this is my first Ariocarpus!
"Think I will move them to an indirect location of my greenhouse (away from directly under grow lights) and water them a little bit throughout winter"
I really wouldn't water during winter - Ariocarpus are highly adapted to drought conditions, hence the fat tap root which acts as a water storage organ. It should be quite dormant at this time of year and as such, will not take up water - and these roots are very sensitive to water and you risk rot by watering it now, so my advice is to leave well alone until March/April when temperatures start to rise, then cautiously start watering. Until then, keep as cool and dry as possible.
Hi
The roots don't look badly dessicated so thats good, your plant is clearly dormant now, it won't start growing or sending out roots until the new growing season and then very slowly.
I would just leave it as it is and not keep disturbing it, your mix will be good as its very free draining, ariocarpus can take more than a year to root so as Diane has said no don't water it, it won't die from lack of water but will if watered when it has no roots.
If in doubt DONT water.
You could remove the old flowers and check if there are any seed, then get them growing under lights. I may have some spare ario seed if you want to grow your own.
Tina
varied collection of succulents and cacti but I especially like Euphorbia's, Ariocarpus and variegated agaves.
Tina wrote:A bit of a pants photo but I still have 5 or 6 ariocarpus with open or emerging flowers, a bit worrying at this time of year as I have had rot develope from old flower remains.
Any one else got this problem * what do you do, I have been trying to pull off the flower remains once they are spent but it's messy & I wonder if I will do more damage.
I just read about a way to prevent this and remembered your problem. A possible solution might be this: the Ariocarpus plants that are done flowering, should be placed in a heated room until the flower remains are dried out, after this the plants will be kept cool during winter dormancy.
