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Fertilization of indoor cacti
Great article by James with some very personal interesting history.
Sixty or so years ago the conventional wisdom was to always water potted
cacti from below -- they were placed in a basin or sink containing water of
sufficient depth to insure that it would rise by capillary reaction to wet
the soil surface. If I remember correctly, the major premise was that stem
rot would be minimized if the plant body was kept dry. As an inexperienced
kid living in a constantly cool and damp region of England, that made good
sense to me. An additional benefit claimed for this methodology was the
thorough and uniform wetting of the plant root ball. Of course, the cacti
growing in my grandfather's greenhouse got doused via an overhead hose spray
along with the tomato plants and foliage house plants. Over the years I have
adopted overhead watering as my standard regimen. As with most cultivational
techniques, there is no one best way -- it comes down to what works best for
you under your personal growing conditions (after doing the usual research
and consultation with other growers whose opinions you respect and value).
And sixty years or so ago the conventional wisdom was that, as a general
rule, you shouldn't fertilize cacti unless you wanted to produce deformed and
unhealthy plants that were susceptible to the mildest insect attacks or
normally innocuous diseases. Well, it wasn't quite _that_ bad, but dire
consequences were predicted for injudicious use of fertilizers. Incorporation
of a small amount of bone meal into the soil mix -- or a light scattering on
the soil surface -- was the usual recommendation.
How times have changed! Over the years we have seen increased use of
fertilizers of varying composition and strengths and now chemical fertilizers
are generally accepted as a necessary component of successful cacti
cultivation. There seems to be a consensus among hobbyists and commercial
growers for water soluble chemical fertilizers with a low nitrogen, high
potash/potassium composition and additionally containing chelated
micro-nutrients. The same caveat regarding personal predilections regarding
use of fertilizers applies here as with watering.
I knew there was something to liberal fertilization of cacti early on in my
experience. The potted cacti I grew on my windowsill using bottom watering
and meager application of bonemeal grew reasonably well and looked healthy
enough but they were pallid midgets compared to the plants in my
grandfather's greenhouse -- and I knew why!
He maintained a "witches brew" in a sunken oak tub at the bottom of his
garden that contained a mixture of water, offal and blood from the local
animal slaughter house and horse manure -- he would stir it up (the smell
emanating from that tub when he removed the wooden cover would blanche the
strongest man) and ladle it on the plants in the greenhouse (including my
cacti) periodically (I have forgotten the frequency). There certainly was
plenty of horse manure readily available in small English towns during World
War II -- the shortage of petrol forced local mobile merchants (Milk Farmers,
Coal suppliers, Fishmongers, Rag & Bone men, et al.) to use horses and carts,
and those animals are indiscriminate in the distribution of their waste.
Every time my grandfather would see a horse and cart pass by in the street he
would grab his shovel and dash out of the house with enthusiastic expectation
of a providential deposit -- much to the consternation and embarrassment of
my Victorian grandmother!
My grandfather was not a botanist -- in fact he had no formal horticultural
training -- but he swore by his "brew". I do know that he did grow phenomenal
tomatoes and magnificent foliage plants. In those days there was a popular
and much loved Music Hall comediene/singer named Gracie Fields (she hailed
from my neck of the woods) whose signature song was "The biggest Aspidistra
in the world" -- I bet hers was a piker compared to the ones my grandfather
grew! And, you should have seen my cacti that were growing in his
greenhouse! They were enormous and robust with a waxy epidermis -- and they
were healthy too. It was cultivational overkill for my potted cacti I am sure
..... but, moderation is for monks!
My grandfather died in the middle of World War II and his greenhouse was
dismantled to make way for a "Victory Garden". I don't know what brave man
unearthed and disposed of his "Brew tub" but I bet that was an experience he
never forgot!
I will personally never forget the magnificent cacti my grandfather grew for
me in his greenhouse -- I have never grown any better since.
James Pickering
Tucson, Arizona
Brazilian Cacti in Cultivation:
http://www.brazilcacticult.org/
Please check out Jim's wonderful web site: http://www.brazilcacticult.org/ | | | |
