Large cactus/succulent for conservatory

[esp]

Cleistocactus strausii and various Trichocereus could be good options too.

A post in the (members only) "Wants/Swaps" section of the forum here could unearth something really good for you. Possibly worth the membership fee just for that!

[PatrickBateman]

How about the organ pipe cactus, Stenocereus Thurber, as well?

[BarbusBarbus]

I would second what Ralph & others have said & ask around, you might get what you want for free! Also worth keeping an eye out on eBay & Facebook marketplace...large cacti do come up for sale cheap when they get too big for their owners, but condition can be variable, & collection poses problems unless you own a decent van, etc. If I had to choose in your situation I’d go for a ‘hairy’ species like oreocereus...more insulated from the cold & wont show up any cold damage as much. That being said unless your conservatory is massive I’m sure you can keep it above 5deg in winter with a simple fan heater attached to a thermostat. If you’re dead set on a euphorbia then perhaps go for a smaller one, it will get big quick if you give it root room & water/feed!! On another note I’d also shop around & I think you could do a lot better than the £239 price offered by The Palm Tree Company, although they do have a solid reputation for good plants. A quick search on eBay reveals you could buy the same size plant from Belgium for around £70 including postage - a lot less money to lose if it dies from cold! Attached some other examples of larger cacti from this seller...you could have all 4 & still have change from your £239! (Please note: I am in no way attached to this seller & have never ordered from them, but shown as an example only!).

Alex

[Chris L]

Obviously they are all fast growing species otherwise there wouldn't be any money in them for those involved.

What I wanted to know is how long would it take for the plants to be ready for sale. Take a tall stem of a cactus. Are they just chopped off a mother plant, bunged in a big pot full of peat and allowed to root, or are small cuttings allowed to grow and then potted on until they reach various sizes required? Which ever way they are not going to want them growing in a greenhouse for more than a few months otherwise it wouldn't be viable.

I've often wondered what happens when they are in situ and get less light and probably a lot less feed. They aren't going to be in John Innes and grit, probably some unwettable coir or peat.

I should imagine a lot of them are destined for a short lived corporate life in some dry and dusty office complex and they are replaced on a contract basis every year or so.

[Cidermanrolls]

You might be being a little harsh there Chris.
That seller has large E grusonii for sale, I very much doubt these are top cuts.
They have large Pachycereus that show characteristic signs of a narrow base, exactly what I would expect for seed grown plants.
Clearly some of their plants are too cuts, they even offer unrooted ones.
The plants also do not look generally steroid-pumped. There are some Oreocerei that are very nicely formed, not what you see with fertiliser fed plants. the grusonii also look solid.
I suspect this is a grower might be importing field grown plants from Spain or Italy perhaps. Either that or they have found a niche in the market for mature plants.

[Chris L]

You might be being a little harsh there Chris.
That seller has large E grusonii for sale, I very much doubt these are top cuts.
They have large Pachycereus that show characteristic signs of a narrow base, exactly what I would expect for seed grown plants.
Clearly some of their plants are too cuts, they even offer unrooted ones.
The plants also do not look generally steroid-pumped. There are some Oreocerei that are very nicely formed, not what you see with fertiliser fed plants. the grusonii also look solid.
I suspect this is a grower might be importing field grown plants from Spain or Italy perhaps. Either that or they have found a niche in the market for mature plants.

Just to clarify - I wasn't refering to the seller on eBay. Just commenting in general.
Sorry if my post wasn't clear enough.

I have amended my post slightly to avoid any further confusion.

[Terry S.]

I don't know which nursery is selling the big plants in the post above. However, I have been several times to UBINK's nursery in Holland who have large plants like this at low prices. UBINK has a second, probably larger, nursery in Spain where the big specimen material is produced and I agree that what is offered is going to be a mix of seed grown and cutting-raised material. Al those ferocacti and big melocacti with cephaliums must be seed grown. What they don't do is use micropropagation because profit margins are so small that they don't want to pay the extra for lab work.

The price difference between plants at the wholesale nursery and the same plants being retailed by a garden centre in the UK is enormous. It might still be worth going to UBINK's open day in early June each year, after COVID-19 and Brexit, because I bet a nursery of that size will be set up to provide CITES and Phytosanitary documentation.

The compost used by UBINK appears to be largely organic but is not pure peat. When you want to transfer their plants to your own potting medium, their compost can be removed fairly easily.

[Aiko]

It might still be worth going to UBINK's open day in early June each year, after COVID-19 and Brexit, because I bet a nursery of that size will be set up to provide CITES and Phytosanitary documentation.

The fair during Ubink's open day is cancelled for this year. But the open day itself might still continue.

[PatrickBateman]

I would second what Ralph & others have said & ask around, you might get what you want for free! Also worth keeping an eye out on eBay & Facebook marketplace...large cacti do come up for sale cheap when they get too big for their owners, but condition can be variable, & collection poses problems unless you own a decent van, etc. If I had to choose in your situation I’d go for a ‘hairy’ species like oreocereus...more insulated from the cold & wont show up any cold damage as much. That being said unless your conservatory is massive I’m sure you can keep it above 5deg in winter with a simple fan heater attached to a thermostat. If you’re dead set on a euphorbia then perhaps go for a smaller one, it will get big quick if you give it root room & water/feed!! On another note I’d also shop around & I think you could do a lot better than the £239 price offered by The Palm Tree Company, although they do have a solid reputation for good plants. A quick search on eBay reveals you could buy the same size plant from Belgium for around £70 including postage - a lot less money to lose if it dies from cold! Attached some other examples of larger cacti from this seller...you could have all 4 & still have change from your £239! (Please note: I am in no way attached to this seller & have never ordered from them, but shown as an example only!).

Alex

Are you sure? Mind the palm tree company ones are knocking on 6ft tall.

[ralphrmartin]

There are also nurseries in the Canary Islands producing large specimens outdoors for export.