San Pedro Cactus

[TorturedSoul]

Anyone here ever grow San Pedro cacti hydroponically? I picked one up (disclaimer: for ornamental purposes only) recently from Companion Plants - the best "exotic and "world" nursery I've ever come across - and am thinking about setting it up in some form of simple hydro grow.

If you've never heard of them, CP carries aromatics, butterfly-attractants, culinary plants, ones used for making dyes, "everlasting" plants (such as those used for making wreaths), honey plants (for bees), traditional ceremonial plants, medicinal plants, ornamentals, and plants that are repellent to insects, moles, and other animals from the Eastern United States, the rest of the country, and all over the world. They are internationally-recognized and ship worldwide (they have a website that lists, IDK, 400 or more of their plants, but it's worth a five-hour drive if you are into this sort of thing, lol). Pretty much a unique place and if they don't have it, they probably have (or almost certainly have access to) the seeds.

 

[ItsChrome]

umm. You only water them once a month and its not very much water as it. I dont think they would like hydro at all..

 

[Odin]

Yeah, I am thinking just tossing it in a pot with a sandy/loam kind of soil mix and watering here and there outdoors is the best bet. Not sure a cactus can really be done hydroponically just based on the nature of the plant itself and its "limited" needs.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Yeah, but don't they like to send roots down deep in soil? I'm going to be bringing it in during the colder months and am planning on growing it in a container. So I was only thinking that I might be able to reign in their root growth by giving them all of the nutrients (and what little water) that they need hydroponically.

My intentions at this point are to have this cactus as an ornamental, rather than a ceremonial/spiritualistic one and so I am not worried about giving them a "low-stress" environment instead of purposely stressing them.

But I have since found a large pot so if I put it in there I don't guess I'll have to worry about digging it up (from the ground) this fall or having to transplant it into another pot for a long time.

I have been told that the fruit that a cactus of this type produces is quite tasty, but I have never seen it. I'm guessing that it might take a long time before I ever see any (if I ever do) and want to allow for much more growth than the average potted plant evidences.

Since the fruit do not, AfaIK, contain m*scaline, I assume that they would be completely legal to grow, possess, and eat.

 

[THsea]

Some cactus are very very pretty! There is a joke by a comedian named Demetri Martin about cactus...
"I bought a cactus. A week later it died. And I got depressed, because I thought, Damn. I am less nurturing than a desert."

I mainly wanted to post and say thank you for the Companion Plants, I'm on their site now, what a great resource!

 

[Odin]

Some cactus are very very pretty! There is a joke by a comedian named Demetri Martin about cactus...
"I bought a cactus. A week later it died. And I got depressed, because I thought, Damn. I am less nurturing than a desert."

I mainly wanted to post and say thank you for the Companion Plants, I'm on their site now, what a great resource!

Likewise, I just checked it out, definitely going to be ordering some plants from them.

 

[dtabbler]

hey hey, good topic for me if its not rooted (just a cutting) which is typically how you get cacti like san pedros or peruvian torchs put about 3" of it in soil, and leave it in the dark for 30-60days, this will give it time to root in. after that put it outside in a sunny place, pedros and torchs both like LOTS of sunlight and unlike most cacti can tolerate lots of water (but hydro would prolly not work.. dunno)

in full sun expect nearly a foot of growth per year!

you can clone cacti like this SUPER easy, just cut off 6" or longer chunks and let them heal for a month or so, then to speed up the process dip one end in some rooting hormone (not needed, but helpful) and put 3" in the dirt, dark place for 1-2 months and now you've got another cactus!

enjoy the beauty of another wonderful magical plant friend!

 

[Odin]

hey hey, good topic for me if its not rooted (just a cutting) which is typically how you get cacti like san pedros or peruvian torchs put about 3" of it in soil, and leave it in the dark for 30-60days, this will give it time to root in. after that put it outside in a sunny place, pedros and torchs both like LOTS of sunlight and unlike most cacti can tolerate lots of water (but hydro would prolly not work.. dunno)

in full sun expect nearly a foot of growth per year!

you can clone cacti like this SUPER easy, just cut off 6" or longer chunks and let them heal for a month or so, then to speed up the process dip one end in some rooting hormone (not needed, but helpful) and put 3" in the dirt, dark place for 1-2 months and now you've got another cactus!

enjoy the beauty of another wonderful magical plant friend!

You can also graft different types of cacti together to create pretty wild looking ones. They need to be in the same family though for it to work.

 

[N.W.Green]

also by grafting, you can produce larger yields faster and more easily this works by using a cacti that is known for its fast growth and tolerance and putting a slow growing fickle one on it.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

San Pedro reportedly prefers to send out lateral roots, so a wide clay pot (clay pots dry quick) should be better than a deep one.

 

[Ascended Master Kief]

Met someone with a San Pedro (who uses it like I sometimes do) cactus, he propagates it by taking a large cutting, and simply laying it on some moist dirt/soil, without burying any of it. Just presses it into the dirt a little bit, with the column laying down. Should note, if ya take frequent cuttings off the plant, ya might get suspicious eyes on ya.

 

[FS420]

how well would this plant handle the cold? or snow?