BirdCam on Cheltenham: January 2025

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Cactus Repotting Tip!

Here's a cactus that I've had for about fifteen to twenty years. I repotted it mostly because it was getting top heavy and it recently blew over. It was in a smaller plastic pot, so the larger terracotta pot will make it more stable. It's 24 inches tall from the soil to the top of the plant and although it looks to have soft non-threating spines, it has a mixture of soft and stiff spines.

The stiff ominous spines are white and disappear among the soft spines. They make this cactus a real challenge when it's time to repot. So I used a piece of carboard to support the cactus as I repotted it!

Monday, January 20, 2025

Assignment - Repot Cactus!

I enjoy growing my cactus plants, but I never look forward to repotting them. It's a surefire way to get a bunch spines on my hands! I have two cactus that I just repotted.

Repotted Rebutia Cactus January 2025

The first one is a Rebutia. As you can see in the photo below, It had overgrown it's pot. I've had it for more than a decade and have repotted it several times. It's a great bloomer and I look forward to more bright blooms this year. The repotting went well, with just a couple of pokes and spines in my hand!

Rebutia Cactus October 2024

The picture below was taken in September 2014. You can see how much it has grown since then.

Rebutia cactus - September 2014

The other cactus I repotted is a Cleistocactus Colademononis, AKA Monkey Tail Cactus. It only had one stem when I bought it in the spring of 2022. Here is a picture of it in July of 2023 with it's first blooms.

Hildewintera Colademononis (AKA Monkey Tail Cactus) July 2023

Here it is in August 2024, with the stem much longer and hanging over the edge of the bench.

Hildewintera Colademononis (AKA Monkey Tail Cactus) August 2024

It's time to get this in a hanging basket! The spines on this cactus are very soft and it's easy to handle when repotting. The tip of the stem is 17 inches from the rim of the pot.