Beiträge von LeeAlan

Hello Erich,

Thank you for your advice. I was worried it may be my culture conditions.
It is good to hear from you also that it is a variety problem. I must look out more closely for this problem. My Charlemagne has not flowered yet!
Good luck with your plant breeding. It is good to be able to select stronger flowers.
Much appreciated.
Alan (inUK)

Zitat von Enrico

Hello Alan,

the problem is not the water or fertilizer, the selection was not enough rigid, that means it is in the genes that the flower is to weak to hold the weight. Also with Charlemagne you will have the same problem, it may happen that some flowers stand upright, others bend or even break.

You can also cross with other Echinops-hybrids, but choose one with strong flower! I have crossings with charlemagne and the flowers of the daughters are stable and never bend!

Hello Ernst,
Thank you for your advice.
It is interesting to know it is the mainly the genetics and that it is a common problem. Yes the problem flowers are on the side of the plant.
It is a good suggestion to breed with plants that have better shorter stems.
Much appreciated.
Alan (inUK)

[quote='muddyliz','http://www.hybridenforum.de/fw5/forum/index.php?thread/&postID=25338#post25338']Hello Alan,
I think, many of us have the same problem, especially with Echinopsis-hybrids.

Hello Group,
I am seeking advice.

I grow Echinopsis hybrids in UK in a greenhouse.

On some of my Echinopsis with large flowers, I have a problem.
Flower buds will form and start to open but then the flower base will break
My plants are well fed with water and fertiliser.

Other plants hold their flowers perfectly at 45 degrees.

It has just happened with Echinopsis Djinni (Schick).

Is this poor varieties with flowers too large!
Sometimes the flower falls to the horizontal or below!

Do I need to water the plant as it as the bud is forming for the last 12 hours
as the flower is swelling?

Your help and advice is much appreciated.
Alan(inUK)

Hello Mike,
Thank you for your help and advice.
I will follow your suggestions and I am now hopeful I will get some flowers
later this year.
With best regards
LeeAlan (In UK)

Zitat von Revenger

Winter : absolutly dry and cold ( 5-10°C )
Summer : Sun sun sun and Water + fertilizer

best wishes, Mike !

Hello Christian-Halbauer,
Thank you for your help and advice. It is good to know the best way to get flowers next year on my Harissia jusbertii. I will certainly go for the cold winter rest. My plant is already dry and so it will be easy to go for this method.
Then start watering slowly when it get warmer.
I understood all your instructions perfectly in English.
With best regards
LeeAlan.

Zitat von Christian-Halbauer

Most cacteae originating or adapted to the northern half of the globe(meens flowering period between March to October), you should be given a winterbreak at low temperatures (day/night differences wellcome) with no
watering from the end of October ´til the end of February/mid. of March.

A "coldhouse" is perfect in areas with no frost, otherwise keep the plants frostfree at a minimum of 5 deg.Celsius.

Your´s
Christian Halbauer

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Hello Group,

Please could some members advise the best method for producing flowers on Harissia jusbertii?
I have a plant 35 cms high and diameter across 4cms.

Do these plants always need a cool dry rest in winter to make flower buds?
Winter 5 degC.

I would like to keep my plant winter 10degC night with watering to make it grow bigger. Will this winter growing stop flower bud formation in a warm conservatory.

I can grow my plants dry in cold greenhouse without heat, or warm conservatory with some watering.
UK sunshine.

Your advice is much appreciated.
Best regards
LeeAlan (in UK)

Ernst,
Thank you for the advice and guidance.

With your methods you are growing with both inorganic and organic fertiliser. That is interesting.

With best regards
LeeAlan

Zitat von muddyliz

Hi LeeAlan,
bonemeal contains much phosphate, and this will induce the growing of flower-buds. Don't confuse bonemeal with hornmeal, wich contains only nitogene. Other growers use an extract of valerian flowers to induce flowering. High differences between night- and day-temperatures in spring also promote flowering.
Summary: In spring use phospate accentuated fertilizer, in Summer a mix of 1:1:1, half concentration as announced, in autumn use potassium accentuated fertilizer to harden the cell walls.

Hello Ernst,

Thank you for your help and advice.
I see you favour 1/2 strength fertiliser approach.

I was surprised to know you spray bonemeal in spring. Do you think this makes the pH go more alkaline for your plants?

Perhaps your water is already acid.

You grow much better plants than me, so perhaps I should follow your methods to get good results.

Than you for your assistance
LeeAlan

Zitat von muddyliz

Hi LeeAlan,
during summer, I use a fertilizer NPK 8-8-8 with additional trace elements Fe and Mg (so they become dark-green) maximum half the concentration as specified. In spring, I spray some bonemeal over the ground and water it into the ground. (Bonemeal is rich of P and induces flowering.) In autumn, I use a tea of horsetail (Equisetum). Put horsetail into water for 24 hours, then cook it and wait till it's cold, then mix it with water 1:9. Horsetail contails a lot of K and stabilizes the cells.
Generally: If you use too much fertilizer, your cacti will become week and prone to fungi-diseases, so better grow them slowly but solid.

Hello Group,

I grow my Echinopsis and Trichocerus hybrids in a green house in coir + grit + perlite mix in UK.

Is there a recommended ppm for liquid fertiliser strength?
I would like to know the maximum strength I can feed with no root burn?

I understand these cacti species in their natural habitat can come from nutrient rich soils. So I wonder are the roots adapted to high levels of salts?

At present I feed seedlings at Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 300ppm.
Adult plants TDS 600ppm.

I feed adult plants with a fertiliser NPK 2-2-6

I use an accurate Hanna meter.

My plants grow, but I think they are slow. I do not know if it is the cold wet weather with no sunshine or the lack of food?

Your advice is much appreciated.
With regards
LeeAlan

Hello Group,

It is standard technique to grow Echinopsis and Trichocerus hybrids at 2.0C - 7.0C in winter to make them flower.

This is usually the technique in European countries with a cool winter.

It there any information about the minimum number of cold days required for a good flowering?

Is there any research data available?

Better still, have any growers managed to reduce the number of days?

I am curious if I can give my plants 60-90 days cold...eg November-January, then bring plants into a warm glasshouse to make them flower in February?

Are these hybrids 'Long-Day-Plants' which require long hours of daylight for flowers or are they 'neutral'?

It it possible to easily advance the flowering season?

How early is the first flowering of the year?

Any help or guidance is much appreciated to my many questions.

With regards
LeeAlan

Hi Dave,

I think it would be very interesting for you to see the effect of various treatments you make, under a binocular microscope. A strong lens may be ok but a binocular microscope will reveal firstly how difficult the simple physical removal of this pest by tweezers is, then secondly how your pest is reacting to the chemical.

You could evaluate any 'non-conventional' treatments to see if they work.

I have been spending quite some time recently looking at the effect of different chemcials on mealy bug. Under a binocular microscope you can see the effect from single drop to light sprays.

Quite a few chemicals I use, I have been alarmed to observe do not kill them. You can determine how each mix and concentration works with your specific infestations. It can be specific to your 'greenhouse population'.

I have settled back on 9g/l thiocloprid (Provado Vine Weevil Killer2, Bayer)
at 30ml/l. I apply it as a spray, and not as a soil drench. I found at half strength concentrations, it did not kill my mealy bug. I was only looking at contact death, not possible long term systemic.

Binocular microscopes are widely available on auctions sites and from a range of school and laboratory suppliers.

They are also perfect for helping with removing glochids and echinopsis spines. They are a very good investment.

Hope this helps
LeeAlan

Sorry if the German translation needs correcting!

Hello Ernst,
Thank you for your help and advice.
I was interested to read your suggestion to keep coir to only 20% and use high mineral content. I think high mineral content is a good idea. Here in the UK it is difficult to get lava or pumice but I may be able to substitute with grit and perlite or other products.
Yes I would feed to keep plants growing.

It seems experienced growers do prefer traditional cacti potting soil.
Perhaps I am going in the wrong direction!

I understood commercial cacti growers use peat because they can very accurately control water content, and they grow plants warm for quick production. Soil is far too heavy for transport and lifting onto benches.
There may be many reasons!

Thank you for your information about seedling compost. It is complicated because I understand seedlings have different metabolism to adult cacti.
With adaptation for seedling to grow damp and adult plants to grow in dry conditons in natural habitats.

Thank you for your guidance and help.

[quote='muddyliz','http://www.hybridenforum.de/fw5/forum/index.php?thread/&postID=9729#post9729']Hi Lee Alan,
you might use about 20 percent of chopped coir in your mix, but the rest should be minerals as pumice and lava. Please note that coir dosn't contain digestible fertilisers, so an additional application of fertilisers is necessary from the beginning. So it's better to use normal potting-soil instead of coir in your cacti-substrate.

Hi Stephan,
Thank you for your answer and help. I can understand it is good to look at the orgins of EH and Trichos to get a good idea of what is best. I am looking for something that can be easy to duplicate every year for the future.

Zitat von stefan

Hi Lee Alan,
If you think about the origin of EHs and Trichos, i am would prefer soil witch is mineral based. Maybe you will have success with this coir, please let us know.

best regards, Stefan

Hello Group,

I would like to use coir compost + grit for potting Echinopsis hybrid. I also want to water my plant from below.

Can anyone advise if 2/3 coir + 1/3 grit would make a good compost.

Coir (Kokos) is very popular in USA for growing cactii. It is very easy to wet and rehydrate if dry.

Some commercial cactus nurseries use coir (100%) for potting different cactus to achieve quick growth and good roots.

I will wash coir with good quality water to remove salts before use.

Please can anyone advise if there will be problems for Echinopsis?
Are Echninopsis OK with high tannin content of coir? Will the pH be OK.

All help is much appreciated.
With regards
Lee Alan (UK)

[ quote = muddyliz ; 5295 ]
I think, Your problem is caused by normal glass, so the ultra violet light can pass through sunburn , causing.

Maybe Your problem may be caused by using the wrong fertilizer. If You use a nitro gene -based fertilizer , the cells become too week. . [ / quote ]

Hello muddyliz,

Thank you for your input.

It is interesting to hear about your conditions.

Yes I am rapidly thinking it is the high levels of UV sunshine that is causing my problems through glass
I also think I may be weakening my plants with nitrogen for quick growth.

It is strange...normally in the tropics or very sunny conditions with most plants you increase fertiliser to keep pace with fast growth.

Your Equisetum manure is very interesting information.

Maybe also the high evels of sunshine and water splashes, or misting are causing my problems.

With regards
LeeAlan

[ quote = hans georg , 5292 ] Hello ,

I normally use green shade net sun in spring , when sun becomes stronger , until the plants are accustomed to the. I completely remove the net latest mid of may . Even during the heat wave currently they get full sun , and water every 3 days. So far I did not find any sunburn yet.

But I think it depends also on the material of the panes . Acrylic double glass scatters light more than normal glass, which is a benefit , and so watering has an influence.

Cheers
Hans -Georg [ / quote ]

Hello Hans-Georg,

Thank you for your input.
It is very interesting to hear about your conditions.

I think your Acrylic double glass allows you to grow without too many sun burn worries. You can solve it with your spring care.

I have ordinary horticultural glass in aluminium greenhouse and think this is why I am having problems. Also my plants are subject to an intense window of sunhine during the middle of the day which is perhaps a shock for them!

With regards
LeeAlan

[ quote = Dave_S , 5284 ] Would be so interested to find out if anyone here is shading their greenhouses with shade cloth. Although I've never had any Echinopsis trichos or suffer with scorching , only a few Astrophytum .

regards

Dave [ / quote ]

Hello Dave,

Thanks for your input.

Here in the UK on south coast, I use shade aluminium shade cloth which offers 50% shade, and yet I still get burn. I also use Coolglass shade paint. Shade is applied in March.

I think my special problem is perhaps that the plants get shaded from East, then from an intense window of sun from the south most of the day, then shaded SW (by buildings) but in the evening they get more sun from the West. Perhaps they grow as though they were shaded for many hours then get blasted by the sun from 10am to 4pm.

It is causing me lots of problems.
With regards
LeeAlan

Hello Group,

I apologize if the words look strange in English translation to German .

I grow Echinopis hybrids in south facing green house on south coast , UK.
It receives many hours of sunshine.

In winter they are on benches , no shade. They are kept dry and cold.

In Spring ( March 2010) I put aluminum shade cloth on south side, and shade paint ( x2 layers ) on north side. Automatic ventilator to open
+ 30 degC . I water from below and then spray water onto plants on hot days.
I water in the morning (am)

I like to keep my greenhouse plants at 30degC for quick growth.

On some plants I have big problems with burn, ribs on top and crown of plants. Brown rib burn and then cell death in circles .
I also get brown death on some pups ( Kindel ) on top and bottom.

Now my plants are shaded, but will they become too soft for when I remove Shade in September? How can I make plants hard to take sunshine in the winter ?

The plants seem to burn when dry in the winter.

Can I grow my Echinopsis with lots of shade all the year? Will this make big soft plants but no flowers in spring? Is it best to be safe with lots of shade ?

Any help is much appreciated .
LeeAlan