Piante grasse cactus spine

Category: Experiments

This section contains the articles in which I describe in detail the cultivation experiments I carry out on cacti and succulent plants and the results I obtain over time. Experiments can cover all elements of cultivation: from substrates to exposure, watering and fertilization.

Severely dehydrated Astrophytum asterias: here’s a rescue attempt with… hydroculture!

Hydroculture and succulent plants sound, in some ways, like a conceptual oxymoron. Plants that have naturally evolved to cope with drought, rainfall concentrated in short periods of the year; plants that grow in extremely dry soils, in short, how can they get along with hydroculture? In other words, how can they be grown with a technique that requires the roots to be in constant contact with water? The answer is simple: they can’t. However … however in certain cases and following precise precautions, the constant contact of the roots of a succulent plant with water can be used to save that plant. Even if that plant is a succulent. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do these days to save two Astrophytum asterias of my sowing in conditions of extreme dehydration, on the verge of dying of thirst (which would be very strange for a cacti!). But let’s go step by step and see exactly what happened to these two plants and how (and why) I’m trying to save them through a kind of “temporary hydroculture”.

I explain everything with lots of photos in the following article, which I consider – in fact – the description of an experiment that is perhaps risky and certainly unorthodox but at the same time not devoid of logic. (…)

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Identical cacti in different substrates: extraordinary results of my test and the surprise of natural gypsum

To those wondering to what extent the substrate affects the growth of cacti; for those wondering if natural gypsum (also called agricultural gypsum) can be useful in the formation of robust thorns, this article will certainly be useful. Article which is nothing but the update of a small experiment – one of the many I do with my plants – which I started in July 2020 and which gave surprising results, amazing me first. Yes, because although the test sample is limited (six plants in all) and the results are therefore to be considered indicative and far from absolute, I must confess that I did not expect such a response just over two and a half years after the start of this test. It is known that substrates can literally make the difference in the growth of cacti and that natural gypsum (at least with some species of cacti) is an exceptional element, but it is with direct evidence, with the experimental method that we can really appreciate the impact of the soil in the growth of our succulents.

In this article, therefore, we go into the details of the experiment and see, after more than two and a half years, the results I obtained, which in my opinion are remarkable. (…)

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After one year of cultivation, the first test results on six Mammillaria in three different potting soils

The real unknown factor is represented by the two Mammillaria in the unedited soil, very rich from an organic point of view. We will see over time how their growth will be affected by this substrate. With this consideration, exactly one year ago, I concluded my article on one of the experiments that I do from time to time on cacti and succulents. In the specific case it was a test with three different substrates, in fact three types of “soil”, in which I repotted six Mammillaria hahniana obtained from a single sowing.

After the first year of cultivation, here’s how the experiment is going and here are some initial considerations. (…)

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How a cactus changes depending on the type of cultivation: the difference made by soil and exposure

When they say that a picture is better than words. In this case, there are three photos, but the concept doesn’t change, and the difference between a cactus grown in a “natural” (or “wild”) way and one with a “garden-style”, based on basic notions and beliefs is quite evident. The plants I’m writing about are Ferocactus latispinus obtained from a 2012 sowing of mine. From that same planting, I’ve got at least forty plants. Over the years, I have given away some of them, but most are still with me and are growing beautifully. It’s important to point out that these are plants born from seeds contained in a single fruit (gift of a dear friend), sown the same day and grown over the years in the same conditions, i.e. in my greenhouse, in standard soil (pumice, lapilli and peat in equal parts), watered and fertilized with the same frequency. This is to say that the starting conditions, including the genetics and the grower’s hand, are the same. And yet, as you can see from the photo above, where the three plants (three at random of the twenty-five or so that I have kept for myself) are side by side, they show remarkable differences, at least to the discerning eye and the grower with a minimum of experience.

So let’s see, in this article, how and why different cultivation regimens, assumed as a whole and not just limited to the soil, affect so much the final result and really make the difference between a cactus grown and cultivated in any garden or generic nursery and a cactus grown by an enthusiast or an expert. (…)

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Six identical cacti in three different soils: a cultivation test with Mammillaria hahniana

Here is another test of mine. In the cultivation of cacti, a bit like with many other passions in life, there are two different approaches: a “static” approach, let’s say “contemplative” and “collecting”, and a “dynamic” one, experimental and inspired by an ever greater understanding of these plants. In this second approach (which is the one that has inspired my passion for years) the study of reliable texts, the comparison with other growers and, above all, the experimentation in the field, for example, working on potting media, exposure, cultivation techniques and more, are fundamental. Just growing plants – succulent or not – for years and years, in the same way, never changing the type of soil, exposure or method of cultivation is fine, mind you. Clearly, it’s perfect for those who only appreciate plants from an aesthetic or collecting point of view and have no particular demands. In short, it’s valid for those who are not interested in learning more and are not willing to take risks to improve and better understand the plants themselves.

Instead, the aim of “wild” cultivation is to obtain specimens as robust as possible, and with the same look to those that grow in the habitat (I write about this cultivation’s philosophy here). In addition to the documentation and possibly travel to observe the plants in nature, it is essential to engage in some experiments and be willing to question continuously, even if it could lose some specimens (not the valuable ones, of course). (…)

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