Last year I repotted some of my Rebutias and Gymnocalyciums. This year I want to try and repot everything over the coming weeks and months. (Don't laugh...... ) Hopefully I can de-pot most of a black tray on Saturday and then pot up into dry compost on the Sunday. Early finish from work today so I've made a start on the Notocactus tray.
I am interested to see exactly what is what inside the pot.
It is no surprise that a couple that looked like they were sulking have much less root than the others and several seem to have been in a solid peat ball.
I've tried to get as much of the old soil off as possible and am planning a 40:40:20 JI:Grit:CL as suggested by Peter last year.
Remains of tray one de-potted with yesterdays plants potted up in fresh compost.
This puzzles me. I occasionally get pots where the plant and soil is very low in the pot. I don't think I will have planted it so low originally. There certainly wasn't an inch of gravel at the top. I can only assume some of the soil has washed out of the bottom of the pot. Nice also to see it producing more offsets/stems at the very bottom of the plant - totally buried, but with spines and everything.
Well done Chris, you have tackled this with organisation and determination, your plants look good and I'm sure you will see benefits from your efforts. I am always way behind with repotting, although I try to keep the smaller plants moving on into fresh compost.
Croydon Branch member, growing mainly cacti and Echeverias
I've done about 100 so far this year, but at least the same again to go, and not really started on couple of years ago. So yes, do come and do mine as well! I do like to get as much old compost off as possible, best chance for a number of years to check the health of the roots. The mealy bug spray is always at hand, just in case, though so far, only one case in a plant that I bought last autumn and didn't repot when I got it home, as I usually do.
Surprisingly, though it is so bitterly cold outside, yesterday in the greenhouse the vents were opening, and the temperature peaked at 26.3C. So more inviting than on a cold and rainy day, when the greenhouse would be at 6 or 7C.
Early work finish again today so decided to be brave and venture out to the GH to get some more plants - this time Mammillarias and a few other things from the second tray.
Most seem to have quite a lot of roots, but a couple seem to have lost them completely. Not surprisingly those were the ones that seemed to be sulking last year. I'll pot them up anyway and see what happens (obviously they won't be drowned first watering..... )
One plant was very nearly all tap root in the very small pot it was in There was practically no soil at all. I can imagine how they might get punctured with a sharp stone squashed between the pot and the tap root. Possibly that might cause them to rot if then watered.
Most of the Mammillarias are back, apart from the few that need looking at as they have no roots. Unpotted the next black tray and ended up with more plants than I expected to re-pot tomorrow (smaller pots....)
My greenhouse is heated to be around 4 to 5 degrees, though no doubt it has fallen lower in the really cold spell we've just had.
If there are any (possibly dormant) mealy bugs on the plants I've brought into the house will the much warmer temperatures have woken them up / made them hatch?
If so, will going back into a coldish greenhouse affect them at all?
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There was practically no soil at all. I can imagine how they might get punctured with a sharp stone squashed between the pot and the tap root. Possibly that might cause them to rot if then watered.