my cactus experience

Growing cactus is addicting due to their appearances and flowers.
the day you discover how many species & varieties a cactus family have,
its the day you will become addicted to those pricky plants and for sure,
I know you’ll want more! you will acquire more specimens on your own
garden. either by buying , exchanging or in my case, (asking for samples)
from friends, I started with just 2 cacti acquired during my first CNS
seminar 2 yrs ago by Lino Rom, now my collection has grown to about
30+  give or take.

Before, I'm led to believe that cacti  are low maintenance plants,  I've read that
they are not to be watered often and I took it literally. whenever it rains, I panic,
I  move all the pots  inside the shop to keep it away from the heavy rain, and I
move the pots out of the shop again once the rain has stopped. and I noticed
that my cactus changes appearance all of a sudden, then I panic once more,
I experiment with the cactus,  uproot it, cleaned and checked the roots, the soil
and potting mixture, and  replant the cactus again, not wattering for a few days,
blablabla until the plant dies on us. huhu.

hard lesson I learned?

Know your plant first before you purchase one! I didnt. thats why I keep on
experimenting  and killing them in the process in my first few months.
so, KNOW WHAT CACTUS YOU WANT and have the time to prepare
before the plant is actually in your hands.

My love for cacti started 2 yrs back when Rence invited me to join a cactus
seminar hosted by CSSP[CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS SOCIETY OF
THE PHILIPPINES] in Gancayco Hall QCMC (Jan 11, 2015)
the first friend I met there aside from Rence is Wystan and Ferdie Lao.
I receive my first cactus as an early bird price, there is an early bird price and I
got some more as a minor price, and then I got hooked. most of my cacti now
came from car show model friends, 'pasalubong' from lady friends, and
loots from my trips to Baguio.

What I learned from my first seminar?

Succulents are plants that store water in their specialized stems and leaves.
Cacti are succulents, too, except they store water only in their specialized
stems, and they have no leaves.

Now, your Cactus can be grown successfully in pots made of plastics or
ceramic provided should have a good drain hole, that one lesson I learned the
hard way. I love tea and coffee cups and I have tried using one on a cute
cactus with rather sad results. because there are no drain holes! what tools
do you use for making drain holes? drill drainage holes  using the correct
drill bit. These can be found right at your local hardware store,  however
PLS. be careful these are not designed to be used on other materials such as
wood or metal  so be sure to use them for their intended purposes only.

images courtesy of cactus lovers blog

Design of the pots are usually a matter of personal preference, Your cactus
should be re-potted every year so that we can provide them with fresh soil,
inspect problems with their root systems, or move your cactus to bigger pots
if necessary.

To re-pot, using a face towel, hold the cactus, and invert the pot, tap gently to
loosen  soil and roots from the pot. again, again, to repot, use newspapers or
towels to hold  your cactus &  remove soils around the roots. Beware however
of microscopic level  spines!!!  wish they do not get into your eyes! if you are not
lucky, some spines will remain lodged in the skin and will be painful!! others have
hooked spines which easily grab fast to skin and to your clothes!

here are some of my collections, sorry I havent got any nice pots for them..

If you are lucky enough to live in an area that has a local cactus club,

the more chance you have of being successful grower!
(in this case, if u are in QC) visit one of their meetings, bring your plant,
and be prepared to find out all kinds of things about it, like what its real
name is, where plants of its type grow in the wild, and what growing
conditions it likes. you can do just that a week after the Chinese new yr

at QCMC when Hortikultura 2017 officially starts, there will be a special
Hortikultura Walkinbg tour by Rence Chan on Saturday, February 4 at
8AM.  I sure missed his walking tours! specially his Royal  postal heritage
tour where  it all began. oh I remember, I missed the ANNI kapihan-talk
last wk bec I was at the Baliwag Heritage tour. juggling too many activities
on so little time.

So, don't forget ha... to attend the 41st annual horticulture show from
February 3 to 15, 2017 .with the theme: Global Trends in Horticulture.

Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to share that your CNS should be watered at
least once a week. Some people water more often than this, Rain water is
preferable to tap water, if you can manage to collect and store it.
better collect em because summer is just 2 months away.

ONE LOVE, til here, this is your LOVERBOY Dennis sigining out. see you at
HORTIKULTURA 2017.