(Part 3) Top products from r/cactus

If you have a drill, you can buy a diamond drill bit and drill holes in the bottom of your pot pretty easily. I just ordered these on Amazon and got them yesterday:

FireKingdom 5pcs 12mm 1/2" Inch Diamond Drill Bit Hole Saw for Tile Glass Marble Granite Fiberglass Ceramic Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O1SAY58

I cut holes in 5 or 6 pots last night and it worked great. And now I can go to thrift stores and find cute containers to use :)

I tried this before. I had an Echeveria Solstice that ended up pretty etiolated. They're highly dependent on sunshine, so this was no surprise. It wouldn't even keep over winter.

However, I found that some of my cactuses were OK, only over the winter, if I supplemented a window with about three of these, two of which were closer to 6400 K (color temperature).

Again, that was 3 really high powered lights all shining on the same area, and this was just to keep them happy while relatively dormant over winter. Definitely no permanent substitute for natural light, sorry.

I bought it 6 yrs ago...only have given it water sparingly. It's gone from time-to-time w/o sunlight, and has sat mainly on a windowsill in a coldish climate (Wash., DC). It's a resilient little fucker!

I've read that I should cut it with a sterile knife above the rot line (needles are soft but not brittle down there), let the wound heal (shouldn't take more than a few days, given how small it is), then set it on top of the new soil and let it take root for a week or two before spinkling water. I just bought some of this soil for it -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Y0CFNY

Does that sound like a solid plan? Or maybe I should delicately remove it from the current soil and see if it's really rot/mold, or just lack of nutrients/water? I really rarely give it any water (it's gone months and months, and then only a little bit). I'd like to start taking better care of it though...

Yeah if you really want him to be happy I’ve heard great things from lots of people about these lights

Not the OP but the cactus is probably Acanthocereus tetragonus, and here's a dude selling on amazon. Hope it helps!

You could try I guess! I have no idea how warm they get.

This is the sort of thing I use. Not this specific make/model but they probably all come from the same factory with different branding printed on. If you’re doing any appreciable volume of cactus seeds it’s very helpful. It’s good for rooting cuttings and degrafted plants too.

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Seedling-Digital-Thermostat-Standard/dp/B016MKY7C8/ref=zg_bs_14252891_8/132-1848626-0927011

I use bleach and H202 as well depending on the use case. I use copper for when I'm spraying soils and keep the others for hydroponic use normally. No specific reason except that the copper stuff is just amazing. I've tried using bleach and water mixed on soil to manage fungus and its okay but a shot with the copper spray and most things just dissolve immediately.

This is what I use but the price on amazon is kinda... ouch, lol.

If you decide to try some it is probably more economical if buying online to shop elsewhere or get the concentrate and mix yourself.

Yeah, no problem. This is the one I got:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MT10006--19-1-2-Inch-Seedling/dp/B0001WV010/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462474751&sr=8-1&keywords=heat+mat

This one is much cheaper but seems pretty good too. It was not available when I got mine about 2 years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Durable-Waterproof-Seedling-Hydroponic/dp/B00P7U259C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1462474751&sr=8-3&keywords=heat+mat

I bought this book a few months ago and I actually reference it ALL the time! It has a lot of information not only with identification but it has tips for arrangements and propagation as well.

Practical Cactus and Succulent Book: The Definitive Guide to Choosing, Displaying, and Caring for more than 200 Cacti https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465480358/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qLlwDbZMB18F7

I would highly recommend getting some light for them. I currently use this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003DRBOJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?qid=1463862366&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=desk+grow+lamp&dpPl=1&dpID=31ENzt9EP7L&ref=plSrch

If you just do a search it looks like there are a lot more on the market now than when I bought mine. Go to Amazon and search for desk grow lamp. They'll range from $30-50. I can't recommend it enough though.

Would something like this be ok?

mats

temp controller

These things are a must for proper seedling germination also, for many species, not only cacti. Well, they are here in zone 4 anyhow, lol.

I use grow lights now because my non-cactus succulents are in front of an east facing window. I got this T5 fluorescent somebody recommended in r/succulents for my succulents. I bought the reflector later but they have a model with reflector included. I think it's generally recommended that the light temperature be daylight, 5,000K-6,500K, and as high lumens as you can get, but most lights don't usually specify lumens. I just got into cactus a few weeks ago, and so I just bought this T5 for my expanding cactus collection.

What would you say about these two?

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-JSV2-2-Foot-Start-System/dp/B0006856EQ/

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-LKIT60-Dayspot-60-Watt/dp/B000053F9J/

http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics%C2%AE-TT-GL20-Lights-Plants-Greenhouse/dp/B00GNWK2XO/

The first looks better, but the other two look more convenient and they're a lot cheaper. I'm not sure how much I need, the most important plants are two in 4" pots and three in 2.5". It doesn't seem like I would need a vey big setup.

Thank you :). After a fair bit of research and struggling to find any options I went with this.

2 Gal. Coarse Sand For Succulent, Bonsai Tree & Carnivorous Plant Soil Mix https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CEQW254/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_2I9IDbQWTAD3A

A little goes a long way, it's very uniform, and the packaging it arrived in was very well sealed to prevent any loss.

I'm using an LED light meant for low-light aquarium plants. I've successfully used this in the past for other cacti/succulent seedlings, but never saw this color before

This is the light I'm using

I have these LEDs

Maybe I will get some fluorescent or halide if that doesn't cut it.

Right here: https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Start-72cell-Dome-Tray/dp/B004NSD3CC

I actually have one of those. I'm using it for vegetable fruit and seeds at the minute but will most likely use it for this after, now that you mention it.

Edit - it is this one, so not controllable.