1 June 2008
Overnight weight gain
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti .
I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets nervous when watering Ariocarpus early in the season.
I tend to give them several moderate waterings to get them used to the idea of water and to give them time to reactivate their feeder roots before giving them a proper drenching.
Even so, that first drenching is a real "proof of the pudding" moment. They’ll either (a) take up water like it’s going out of fashion, (b) sit there uninterested, or, worse than that, (c) give up completely, rot, and collapse. I’ve an Ariocarpus lloydii which I fear may come into the last category as it’s looking a little peaky at the moment.
As yesterday was the first warm day in a while, with no really cold weather forecast, I gave them a real soaking yesterday.
My Ariocarpus retusus ‘furfuraceus’ shown above is obviously keep to get going. It’s still nowhere near full but having been sat in wet compost for 24 hours has had a real effect. It’s tubercles were almost completely flaccid before watering; now they’re about half-turgid.
This Ariocarpus scapharostris, obtained from John Miller of Living-Rocks.com last year, has also changed markedly in the last day since it was soaked - you can see that the tubercles are looking quite perky.
I find scapharostris one of the most interesting Ariocarpus species, despite (or maybe because of) its almost unnoticeable growth rate. It’s as good a mimic as many of the Aizoaceae.
By contrast, this Ariocarpus trigonus hasn’t responded at all yet; however, I know this one is OK, as I noticed the beginnings of healthy feeder roots when repotting it a couple of months ago.
I don’t add limestone chippings or anything else to the compost mix my Ariocarpus grow in; they’re in about 60% grit, 10% cat litter and 30% John Innes no. 2; it seems to work for them in my conditions.
While on the subject of plants finally waking up from the winter rest, this Notocactus leninghausii has really taken its time this year. It shrivelled heavily over the winter, and in retrospect probably could have done with a spray or two during its rest period; however despite having plenty of live roots when repotted, it still refused water for ages, until the last few days; it’s now reinflated slightly but still has a little way to go.