Author: MK

Addicted?!? 500+ succulents and cacti :)
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How to propagate gasteraloe, gasterias (and other species from aloe family)

Hello my lovely fellow succ lovers!

This time I would like to show you my method of propagation which works for gasterias, gasteraloe and other species from aloe family (unfortunately aloe is hardest specie to propagate from leaves… but yes – it is possible).

This method works great also for Kalanchoe and Cotyledon species.

During the last few years I tested few methods, and as for echeverias, sedeverias, sedums, graptoverias etc. the best option seems to be just laying the leaves on the dirt or wet cotton, for aloe family better method is to stick leaves into the soil. In case of aloe family – you must remember to let the leaves callus for longer – at least one week.

Gasteraloe Flow leaves

Then you can stick them into regular cactus soil (must be dry), and forget about them

Potted!

If it’s very dry, you can spray them sometimes.

For all species from aloe family you must be very patient – it can take a good few months for them to grow the roots and even longer to grow the leaves but it works!

Babies!
A lot of babies…
…and even more babies

I hope it helps some of you

Happy growing!

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Should I fertilize a succulent/cactus???

Yes, I suggest to use fertilizer during growing season, especially if the plants have not been repotted for some time as they already used all the nutrients from their soil. 

It can be the same fertilizer as for the other plants, but you must remember that cacti/succies need low nitrogen (unlike others plants), but they like high level of phosphorus. So any of cacti/succie designed fertilizer will be better. Use it diluted in half.

As you already know, cacti/succies don’t need lots of water, the same situation is with fertilizer. Overfeeding them will be just as dangerous as overwatering. So 1 or 2 feedings during the growing season is enough to make your plant happy.

I hope you will find my post useful 

Happy growing!

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Guide to repotting (from my experience)

I already wrote a post about caring for cacti and succulents, in which I talked (among others) about choosing a soil and pots for your plant http://mediterraneangarden.online/2019/01/23/few-tips-for-young-growers-from-my-experience/

As I can see, many of young growers are confused about repotting (I was confused too), so I decided to show you some very important secrets to successful repotting of course all from my experience and all tested on my plants (as some of you already know – I have more than 500, and still growing).

1. If you are going to repot succulent or cactus, let the soil dry out completely before you start.

2. If you recently bought your plant from the nursery, remove your plant out of the pot and remove as much nursery soil as possible. 99% of the nursery soils nurseries use is not correct for succulents nor cacti, so you will always be scared of overwatering. Check the roots, cut off all the rotted roots, check for pests.

– tip 1 from my experience – repotting is the first thing I do after bringing home a new plant.

– tip 2 – if your plant’s soil is soggy wet when you bought it – move it out of the pot, place it on a paper towel to help him dry as soon as possible – it can save his life. (remember to not leave him in a full sun – it will burn him!)

3. If your plant is already in cactus/succulent soil, you don’t need to remove the old soil.

4. Place your plant in the pot, fill up with soil, and you are done!

– tip 3 – I always put rocks at the bottom of the pot, there are two reasons why:

• as the cactus soil is (should be) very light – it will stop the soil from falling out from the draining whole during watering 

• most of the succulents love to attach their roots to rocks in case of hurricanes or other natural disasters 

– tip 4 – never water your plants right after repotting. Let them settle in a new pot for a week or so, then you can start your normal watering routine.

I hope this post will help some of you and your plants.

Let me know in comments if you’re still confused I will try to help. Thanks for reading, happy growing!

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Few tips for young growers (from my experience)

1. Soil.

It’s always a hard time to get perfect soil.

For sure, soil must be well draining.

But if you mix with perlite/pumice which is very good but super light, the soil became very light too, so heavier succies/cactis tend to get wobbly. I usually put a thick layer of rocks at the bottom of the pot to help succies lach on to the pot and rocks so that they don’t go swimming out of their pots. Currently I’m mixing cacti soil with perlite and small amount of local soil which is very rocky, and it looks like they like it.

2. Pot.

It is good to know the name of your plant, so you can check from what country/region your succie/cacti originate, and you can choose the proper pot. Some of them like deep pots, some better like shallow.

From my experience I’m sure that clay pots are much better than plastic and it makes a big difference.

For guide to repotting read this post: http://mediterraneangarden.online/2019/01/24/guide-to-repotting-from-my-experience/

3. Watering

Another big problem for all growers.

Golden rule: it is always better to dry your plant out a little than rot it!

Most important – water only if the soil is absolutely dry.

Don’t spray with water using spray bottle, (unless during propagation), because the roots will grow up to the surface, and your plant will never root properly. The best technic is to put them in a bowl, give them a lot of water, let them soak for about 5 minutes and take them out. Of course this method works well if you have well draining soil.

And never listen when someone tells you to water once a month, or once a week or something, because all depend on where do you live, what humidity is in your area, what soil do you use and even if your plant is in a plastic or in a clay pot.

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