Autumn is coming soon and already the nights are getting cooler here in New York. Spring or late winter are usually better times for propagation but with the hurricane leaking water into my windows a few weeks ago, I already have some Mammalia cuttings that I've tried to rescue off the water logged mother plant. Cactus and succulent cuttings usually fail from root related problems. If you don't let them heal over before watering, or if you water too much (or too little) the plants are prone to disease and dessication.
Cell Packs Galore!
Apartment living is always a hassle when it comes to keeping plants. If you have a sunny window, cacti and succulents are some of the most forgiving plants. They don't require as much care and diligence as many other plants. They'll allow you to escape the city for a week without dropping dead in mid summer too, something that most other plants won't tolerate. However winter can sometimes be an issue. Many of these plants are sensitive to cold and the severity of their cold sensitivity can be made worse by improper watering.
Remember that every plant is an individual and most have their own specific needs. One should research a plant before acquiring one to insure against disappointment when you realize that you cannot provide the conditions needed to keep the plant from looking like its half dead. Generally, when growing cacti and succulents, I try to keep them all in clay pots. Clay is very porous, it allows for both air and water flow which makes it less likely for plants to rot out in the winter. Which for tribes like Stapeliae, rot is always something to keep an eye out for during the winter. I give most of mine the smallest bit of water in the winter to keep the roots from dying and I make sure they're in small pots. Small pots keep the moist media to root ratio in check.
During the summer, many of my plants tend to put on alot of growth or offsets. While I'm always happy to see my plants doing well, sometimes the pots become over crowded and it becomes difficult to water without added attention. It seemed like most of my unidentified plants were subject to rapid growth this year. I got a Gasteria from a friend two years ago, it was just a few plantlets last year but this year the plants crowded in the pot so tightly that I could only water from bellow. I guess that's really the proper way to water, but I generally don't spend enough time watering that way. I have to assume that the plant I have is Gasteria gracilis. A few of the plants have the gold striping typical of 'Variegata' so that's my best guess. My one 4 inch pot filled four 2 inch pots. Hopefully I can pawn them off on some friends.
I also have what I assume is some sort of Echinopsis. I haven't been taking good care of it either. The mother plant was dropped when we moved, it hasn't been getting enough sun and it was just potted up too soon. So I have an irregularly shaped, offset loaded, dented, lime green, golden barrel cactus. Repotting cacti is always a daunting task. I just never look forward to the prospect of messing up and having a hand full of cactus spines. I moved the cactus down to a smaller pot, removed the offsets and put it in a brighter window. Hopefully the plant will be happy for the windows.
Why do I care? I have no idea. I will have waay too many barrel cacti in 5 years or so. This is another case where I better hope that some of them die off. (Considering I'm also growing two from seed.)
Ooo Dicots...
Lastly, I had some Agaves to work on. My Agave 'Kissho Kan' did something like this, all around the pot and all of the pups were causing all the water to run off every time I tried watering.
I also have a plant that was labeled as Agave americana (it definitely is mislabeled) and most of the pups on that have died since I couldn't water around them. For that plant I took off all the dead pups and now the mother plant looks fairly nice.
Well, maybe there will be a plant trade soon. =]
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