Beccabud's Cactus Garden of Spiny Delight: Peruvian Torch aka Trichocereus Peruvianus

[BeccaBuds]

Today I tilled a cup of Geoflora Veg into the topsoil of the 10-gallon pot of San Pedros and watered it in with a gallon of filtered water. Afterward sprinkled Mosquito Bits all over and watered it in some. Also watered the Peruvian Torches and other San Pedro cuttings.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Happy birthday, Peruvian Torches! They are 1 year old today and doing beautifully. Tallest is over 7" now.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Here's the latest photo of the San Pedro colony and for comparison, a shot from April just after the big cloth pot was populated. The tallest on the right is now 20 inches. They'll get much larger...

October31, 2022

April 2, 2022
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[Phytoplankton]

Wow, those look great! And yes they will get MUCH bigger, I've got some that are in the range of
15 -20 Ft. (they are about 35-40 years old). But up to about 6-8 feet they grow pretty quickly, mine are outdoors. The Peruvian torches are still chugging along, they really started to kick into the grow mode at the end of summer.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Yea, I think it may be a good idea to dial back the feeding schedule a bit (been giving them Geoflora Veg) before they take over my apartment.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when I cut the light back to 12 hour days so their cannabis neighbor can flower. They are probably too young yet, but they are very healthy, strong plants so who knows? I'd love to see some flowers!

 

[Phytoplankton]

Yea, I think it may be a good idea to dial back the feeding schedule a bit (been giving them Geoflora Veg) before they take over my apartment.

It will be very interesting to see what happens when I cut the light back to 12 hour days so their cannabis neighbor can flower. They are probably too young yet, but they are very healthy, strong plants so who knows? I'd love to see some flowers!

I’ve found that the San Pedro’s flower pretty much when they want to. Sometime four times a year, and certainly three times. Don’t know what the trigger is, but when one flowers, they all flower! My guess is that when you cut the lights back they’ll shrink up a little, and get less “plump”, at least that’s what happens outdoors as it gets cooler and the light period decreases. Please keep us up to date! You’ll know it’s going to flower a while before they do, they’ll get little fuzzy round growths on them, then a month or two later those will start to grow very quickly into flowers.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I'll get pictures if they flower or not, and post them here. They do seem to like a watering cycle similar to cannabis' preferences.

 

[BeccaBuds]

It's been almost a month, so I gave the 10 gallon Pedro's a cup of Geoflora Veg and watered it in with about 3/4 gallon of water that had a 1/2 teaspoon of mycorrhizae and 10mL of Terpinator in it. All the Peruvian Torches and San Pedro cuttings got watered also. Raised the light above the 10 gallon pot by 2 inches.

 

[BeccaBuds]

Just had a great idea to protect my hands when I transplant the Peruvian Torches. A cardboard tube from the middle of a roll of paper towels is just the right diameter and length and thick enough to protect my hands from the spines (and vice-versa). Just slip it over the cactus and transplant without skewering yourself. It will work great for these youngsters.

Speaking of transplanting, I've been meaning to for some time and it looks like a good time to do it is approaching according to the Farmers Almanac, if you are into planting/gardening by the Moon. Nov. 11 to Nov. 13 are said to be good days for transplanting, and for planting seedbeds, flowers and root crops as well, by the way. So next weekend it is!

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[Phytoplankton]

I can tell you from experience that leather welding gloves will NOT protect you from San Pedro spines, and compared to torches San Pedro’s spines are tiny. Hope it works, I’m dreading transplanting the torches I got from you. Luckily it will be at least spring before I need to move them.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The last PT I grew had 2" spines by the time it got 2 feet tall. These the longest is now about 3/8" but hella sharp. I was thinking about maybe a piece of pvc pipe to put over the cactus, but I have the cardboard tube so I'll give it a try.

Hmm, I could drain my bong and put that over 'em, lol!

 

[Phytoplankton]

I’ve got some small barrel cactus that also have spines that rival the torches, pretty sure they’re in their “forever” pots! Truly the worst I’ve ever dealt with was a type of palm tree, the edges of the stalk of the fronds were covered in sharp hooks, they tore my leather gloves (and me)!

 

[BeccaBuds]

Palm trees are nasty. I had one in my front yard a few years ago that had a sharp needle like spine at the end of every leaf. There must have been some kind of toxin on them, they hurt like hell if you poked yourself. Gimme an Oak or Pine any day, lol!

 

[BeccaBuds]

Mischief managed... Per the recommendation of the Farmers Almanac Planting by the Moon guide, all the Peruvian Torches are transplanted into gallon pots. They were very root bound. The cardboard tube from a roll of paper towel worked very well protecting my hands from the spines. It turned out the cacti were all too large diameter so I cut the cardboard tube so I could spread it open to put around the cactus and it worked like a charm after that. I didn't have quite enough cactus mix so I blended in some FFOF and perlite. Tomorrow I'll give them each a good watering with some mycorrhizae added to the water.

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[BeccaBuds]

Balanced the pH of a gallon of purified water to 6.3 and added a half teaspoon of Blue Planet Root Magic Mycorrhizae. Gave each Peruvian Torch 500mL and #3 cannabis got 100mL. The rest of the gallon went to the big San Pedro pot. The Peruvian Torches look like they are positively glowing after the transplant. The tips of the San Pedros got a little sunburn after I cranked the lamp up to 100 watts with it too close. Turned it back down to 75 watts and moved the lamp up to 10 inches above. The damage isn't real serious, just a few brownish areas. The 4 San Pedro cuttings that were in with the PTs went to new homes where they can get fat and happy. #2 cannabis was looking absolutely terrible so it got cut down. #3 is starting to flower and is female but totally Bonzai.

 

[BeccaBuds]

The PTs are really taking off. New growth is bright lime green and radiating vitality. They like their new digs! Little bonzai #2 has flowered and is covered with little bonzai buds.

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The SPs have added another inch to their height. Their ravenous, huge cannabis neighbor is flowering but no signs of anything on the cacti.

 

[BeccaBuds]

I got myself a quart of Purpinator to try out and it's supposed to work on all plants so the cacti are getting some! Added 20mL to a gallon of purified water and added 4mL pH Up to make it pH 6.4. The big pot of Pedros got around 7/10 of a gallon and the Peruvian Torches each got just over 200mL. Tallest Pedro is now 23", tallest Torch is 9".

 

[Phytoplankton]

I got myself a quart of Purpinator to try out and it's supposed to work on all plants so the cacti are getting some! Added 20mL to a gallon of purified water and added 4mL pH Up to make it pH 6.4. The big pot of Pedros got around 7/10 of a gallon and the Peruvian Torches each got just over 200mL. Tallest Pedro is now 23", tallest Torch is 9".

Purple Peruvians would be waaay cool!

 

[BeccaBuds]

Purple Pedros too!

 

[BeccaBuds]

Happy New Year! First watering and photos of the new year. I mixed a gallon of water with 20mL of Purpinator, 3/16tsp. of Ammonium Nitrate and 4mL of pH Up. Estimated 4-2-4 npk. The solution measured 1.19mS ec at pH 6.5. Each of the Torch cacti got 250mL and the big pot of Pedros got the rest (2285mL). All are doing beautifully.