Pot size and shape for Echinopsis and trichocereus hybrids

[edds]

Slightly specific one this! To those of you growing Echinopsis and Trichocereus hybrids, what size and depth of pots do you keep them in?

More of mine are at or around flowering size this year and so far I have mainly planted them in shallow bowls such as 12cm octagonal bowls. However the plants in those are conspicuously not in bud this year compared to some in slightly bigger and/or deeper pots. More of the plants in deeper pots seem to be flowering, even when the plants and pots are smaller.

Obviously with my small sample size, this could just be coincidence or down to the timing of their replanting or a million and one other things. But it made me wonder, as I continue to build my collection, if there is a standard size of pot I could aim for them to be in? Or do you just keep potting them on each year?

Does anyone keep their hybrids in square pots? And, if so, what size?

[Pattock]

I don't grow them myself but I have heard from those who do that they are best planted in the ground as they like to stretch their roots. Though that was in southern Spain, where most were outdoors. So, the bigger the pot (or shared bed) the better.

Everything should be in square pots.

[el48tel]

I don't think there are answers to your question but there will be lots of opinion and much of it could be unfounded or at best based on hearsay.
I have Echinopsis hybrids as big as a hen's egg, e.g. some of the Bourne hybrids, through to some at 50 cm high e.g. a few of AbbeyBrook ones. A universal pot size might not be of much practical use. Some "experts" say "keep 'em tight in the pots" i.e. no more than 110% of the plant size. Certainly root size is important, but again there are opinions about too much compost remaining too wet and causing rot. I think a neglected issue is that of plain old fashioned engineering, i.e. a big plant in a tiny pot is going to topple because compost (and certainly pure mineral) will not be as heavy as the plant. In this case I put a large amount of gravel in the base of the pot as ballast.
As for hexagonal, round, square, oblong, elliptical, red, blue, terracotta, plastic, paper ...... each to their own choice. I'm not going to be so opinionated as to dictate.

[edds]

Thanks both. And I agree on the square pots Patrick - especially as I am hopefully growing on more of my seedling hybrids. It's this production-line idea/approach of trying to flower lots of seedlings that is also making me think about standardisation to a degree. Alongside keeping my parent stock in good, flowering condition.

[Cidermanrolls]

Once big enough, mine tend to go in octagonal pots. The smaller ones in square.
I’ve not noticed any correlation with flowering.( the image is not this year)

[SimonT]

I was also wondering about pot size for Echinopsis. Some growers seems to use big pots for these plants.

[el48tel]

I was also wondering about pot size for Echinopsis. Some growers seems to use big pots for these plants.

As I pointed out before .... they can get BIG and top heavy and it becomes an engineering problem

[edds]

Once big enough, mine tend to go in octagonal pots. The smaller ones in square.
I’ve not noticed any correlation with flowering.( the image is not this year)

Thanks. It might well be coincidence that mine in the 12cm bowls are the biggest ones not flowering.

I bit the bullet yesterday and decided to try some of my largest ones in slightly larger and deeper pots. I've put some Southfield hybrids from 12cm bowls into 11cm square standard plant pots (they fit despite the supposedly smaller dimensions!) and have put some Trichocereus hybrids into 2 and 4 litre container pots but left a lot of space at the top of the pot to keep the soil depth quite shallow. It'll be interesting to see how they do and easily undone if they don't seem to be thriving!

[edds]

I was also wondering about pot size for Echinopsis. Some growers seems to use big pots for these plants.

I've got 5 seedlings flowering in 7cm square pots so I know they can flower in smaller pots but, like you, I've seen them in larger ones and as my larger plants are doing bigger it's becoming a question of what to do for the best flowering.

[esp]

Not a hybrid, but T. arboricola in a 5cm cell. 25cm tall, sown Jan 2020, budding up for the first time
On the extremely long list of plants to repot "fairly soon".
I prefer square pots, they suit the square root systems plants like this invariably develop

Trichoceres arboricola ISI 89-32 (S Tarija, Bolivia) in bud