Baby Cactus

[roseycheeks]

My hubby got me a baby cactus which as you can see is very tiny, I was just wondering how to water it, it is in such a small pot, I have no idea what to use. Can someone tell me what exactly how to water it.

[spacegirl]

Thats a lovely cacti you've got there okay so with cacti as they are used to dry habitats such as deserts the key is to not over water. Most cacti thrive on a little water once a month. Adjust this to suit your needs and the weather. So for instance in winter you should water less often whereas the summer if it gets pretty hot a bit more water would be good.
Cacti are pretty hardy little plants so a little neglect when it comes to watering won't kill it. (just think of how much it rains in deserts for example). Also you should pot it in a potting mix with lots of drainage either a specific cacti one or one with sand or something that says it has good drainage because cacti don't like soggy roots.
As for pots cacti do fine in small pots because they develop shallow roots to absorb water from the surface rather than below. That being said if your lil cactus outgrows his pot then just plop it in a bigger one (but not too big) and use the same good drainage potting mix.

Hope I helped

[roseycheeks]

Yes, but what kind is it? The tag said rainbow mix and I would like to know how big it will get and what kind of flowers will it have?

[Happy Days]

I take it the flower shown is an artificial one that's glued to the plant?

[roseycheeks]

yes, I very carefully took it off, but left the glue for fear it would harm the plant.

[Happy Days]

Yes, it could mar the plant.

Your baby cactus may be a Notocactus but I need to search a little more. If so, the flowers will either be yellow or pink.

[roseycheeks]

thank you Happy Days, I was thinking the same thing about the glue, it just might grow around it or push it off when it grows more, thanks again.

[roseycheeks]

The glue came off, I had to help a little bit but I checked the cactus and it is already growing over the scab. I will repot the cactus this weekend since I don't have to work, I have some sand that my neighbor gave me when they gave me the cactus that is outside. I am going to mix that with the potting soil that I have and not water it for awhile. That little pot gives me a claustrophic feeling, I can just imagine what the little cactus is going thru, hopefully when I repot it it will grow but not too tall, I would like to keep it inside.

[roseycheeks]

I had some potting soil and sand, the sand is not fine it has some chunks of stuff in it, I don't know what it is, I repotted my little cactus, it was bigger than I thought. I mixed some potting soil and sand together really well and put it in a pot. It was a adventure getting the cactus in the bigger pot without getting stuck. I used a dish towel to hold it and a plastic spoon to get it out of the little pot. Here is a picture of its new home, I don't think I should water it for awhile, what do you think?

[imafan26]

I think your pot is too big and too deep. It should only go into a pot one size bigger. They do not grow very fast in pots. you need less than one inch all around for space, otherwise you run the risk of the media being too wet.
I think it is one of the coryphanta since the spines are on turbucules and not on ridges. The general used to be called mammilaria.
I use newspaper or tongs with a wash cloth or piece of sponge tied with a rubber band on the tips. The tongs are good if the plant is not that big or heavy. For the larger plants, leather gloves and the sports section of the newspaper folded length wise until it is about 2 -3 inches wide. you would use it like a strap around the cactus. It is soft enough not to damage the cactus and strong enough to pick up a fairly heavy cactus. You may still get stuck, but if you are careful and especially if you can get a second person with another strap on it it helps.

Here is a link for different catus mix recipes
https://cactiguide.com/article/?article=article8.php

For myself since I tend to over water and my succulents are outside in the rain. I keep them away from my sprinkler system so they have to be hand watered. I use the smallest and shallowest pots I can fit them in. I prefer cement and clay because cacti are top heavy so they make a better counter weight than plastic pots. Clay and cement pots also breathe so they dry out faster. For the bigger and taller plants I do use plastic pots but I make sure they have a lot of holes. I use number 3 rocks ( I get that at a building supply) and cinder ( I prefer large or medium, not crushed) Sometimes The cinder is still too fine so I add large perlite to the cinder. And I feed it with a slow release fertilizer as rocks do not supply much NPK. No compost and definitely no peat moss as they both would hold too much water. If it rains hard every day, I have to bring them inside my patio or I may lose them.
https://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Coryphantha

[roseycheeks]

I think you are right, the closest I can come to is the Notocactus, I have not watered it since I repotted it but the pot it is in is the smallest I have except for some seed started pots. But I did not think I could use them, I thought they were just to be used for seeds. Let me know if I could use them for cactus plants and I will repot.