Any remarks on my San Pedro cultivation plan?

[BlueBull]

Hey everyone,

after a trip to Amsterdam last weekend I brought back a San Pedro cactus from a smartshop. The woman there told me these San Pedros are especially bred for their high alkaloid content.

The cutting is about a foot long and about 2.5-3 inches wide so it's already quite big. This should contain enough mescaline for a light to medium trip for a single person according to the vendor. My plan is to cultivate it until it's big enough for a heavy trip for two persons. So it should be about two feet long and about 4 inches wide, correct? Perhaps best to make another cutting from the first one and plant that out too, to speed up the growth process?

In any case I read a lot about cultivation the last few days and though some information is contraindicated by other sources I came up with a cultivation plan and was wondering if you guys could provide some corrections or additions if needed? It would be much appreciated.

The plan:

-Let the cutting dry for a few days so it forms a skin over the cutting wound. The woman at the smartshop told me to do this.
-I'm going to plant it in cactus soil with some pumice added to keep the soil airy and let it form roots. I will make sure the cactus soil contains as few nitrates as possible. Is this enough? Because some people seem to layer 2-3 soil types and add additional components like pumice and nutrients
-I will be turning the plant every once in a while to provide equal exposure to sun
-In the winter I will be watering every two months (is this correct? Seems like too much time between watering but what do I know) and in the summer I will be watering about once a week to once every two weeks.
-I live in a moderate climate so I'm going to put it in the living room behind a window. The living room is at the south side of the house. In the summer temperatures can get up to about 30°C (80°F) in this room and it will get lots of sun, in the winter the temperature will still be at least 20°C (68°F)
-I'm not sure I need to be adding nutrients, some say it's needed, some say it isn't. Couldn't find a definitive answer about this
-A week or two before harvesting I will put the plants in an airtight bag in the dark to promote alkaloid production

A few more questions:
-Is it possible to leave behind the roots and a small section of the cactus when I harvest and start breeding a new cactus out of this? Or is it considered a better practice to take a cutting from the body of the plant?
-If I have a cactus that grows at a normal rate, so not the fastest one but not the slowest one either, how long would it take on average to grow a foot in length? I've read info that said it grows about a foot a year and other info stating it grows about a 2-3 feet each year

That's about it. It's the first time I'm growing a cactus so it could be that there are lots of mistakes in this plan, I'd be happy to hear what can be improved!

Thanks in advance for any replies bluelight!

 

[headfuck123]

I would let the cut heal for a couple weeks at least before planting it. The bigger the cactus the longer it will take to produce new roots as the cactus uses up what energy it still has then sends out roots in search of water so keep it as dry as possible until roots appear then begin giving it small amounts of water.

your soil mix sounds fine, they usually do ok in most free draining soil. I would rarely add nutrients, only once every couple of months in the summer and i wouldn't use much.

When you make a cutting from your plant, in theory you can leave the base with the roots and once the cut has healed it should produce a new pup I find that they grow about half their height in the summer growing season. In the winter i dont water them, maybe just a very small amount of water every few months but they could risk rotting so its best avoided, they will survive long periods of drought!

 

[BlueBull]

Thanks for the reply! The cut already had a nice callus when I bought it so it wasn't a fresh cutting. The formed callus was already bone dry with the consistency of a cork. So I just went ahead and planted it. I got cactus soil with pumice in it and I added extra pumice in the form of little balls. I put a layer of these on the bottom of the pot and mixed them in with the soil as well. I've given it just a tiny bit of water, just enough to make the soil very slightly damp, and I'm going to refrain from watering it for at least a month or even two months now, since it's winter and I want it to form roots

It's in a room where it's always at least 21°C (70°F) as I read that temperature is the most important factor when forming roots and I put it in the shade in indirect, faint sunlight to promote root growth and avoid it growing in height too much. I put it on top of a snake terrarium so every time I turn on the lamp to provide heat for the snake it's going to heat the soil as well, which is a good thing I read

This is what it looks like at the moment. I read somewhere a layer of pumice on top of the soil is best but other sources said otherwise so I just left it with the soil exposed. It's about 2cm (0.8-1 inch) in the ground. Thanks again for the informative reply and if anyone has any other remarks, I'll be glad to hear them!

 

[Ismene]

Have you ever tried eating cactus snot? Before you spend too much time and money on it perhaps having a taste of it would be an idea. A lot of people take one sip, gip it back into the glass and say "Fuck that".

 

[BlueBull]

Have you ever tried eating cactus snot? Before you spend too much time and money on it perhaps having a taste of it would be an idea. A lot of people take one sip, gip it back into the glass and say "Fuck that".

Yup, I've already tried peyote mescaline once, though I didn't take enough for a full blown trip. When mixed with lemon juice, which also promotes cell destruction and release of more mescaline, it was still awful but it was doable. San Pedro is supposed to taste less vile than peyote so I'll manage I think

 

[perpetualdawn]

Disclaimer: I'm no expert in growing these, but I do have some experience and have read a bit about it.

It looks like you've already put it in, but definitely don't need to rush putting it in the ground. I usually wait until the callus is actually sprouting roots before potting it.

These cacti can go for ages without water, it's really surprising. I don't water mine at all between about mid october to mid february. Maybe if a smaller one is getting really shrivelled I'll give it a small drink, but you really don't want to water them in the winter, for two reasons: root rot will kill them if they stay moist and aren't drinking it, and you don't want them to grown in the winter because it will be leggy thin growth and you'll end up with cacti with skinny sections (from winter growth) going to fat sections (from summer growth) and the whole thing will be weak and tip over.

Anyways, whatever you do it will probably be fine, Trichocereus are really hardy and easy. Have fun and happy growing!

 

[BlueBull]

Hmmmm perhaps it would have been better to let it sprout roots first then. I wonder why the information I've read doesn't mention this as a possibility. In any case if what I've read is correct it takes a long time, like a few weeks, for the callus to dry out completely and this one was already bone dry when I bought it, so it was cut a good while before I bought it. Hopefully it'll take hold all the same. This one is far from shriveled so I'm going to wait even longer than first planned to water it, perhaps all through winter would be best judging from your reply. Thanks for the information!

 

[perpetualdawn]

Yeah don't worry about it at all, I'm sure it will be fine.

I've learned that these cacti are insanely hardy. For example, I had one fall down a drop of about 9ft and the top broke off. I put the pinky sized bit that broke off on my shelf and forgot about it for something like 6 months, maybe more. By the time I found it, it was completely shrivelled like a long green raisin, with roots sticking out everywhere out the side of its column trying to find water. I stuck it in some moist cactus mix on it's side, and within days is completely plumped up, and now it's growing up like crazy, one of my best ones.

I let them begin their roots in the air just sitting on a shelf or something, then pot them into moist soil once the roots have begun to form. I feel that going into moist soil helps the roots know they've got the right idea, so they keep growing once they get a taste of that.. just conjecture really. Just my method, I don't have evidence to believe it's any better than what you're doing.

 

[St3ve]

I've had 5 little 2-3 inch cuttings in soil since march or april this year. They've doubled in size during the summer and seem to be having their winter sleep now. My friend's been growing a lot of cuttings for the past few years and his largest one probably grew a good 30-40 cm this summer. It must be at least 150cm tall now. If you've got the patience it's probably best to let it grow for a few years, they seem to grow faster the bigger they get. Make sure that in the summer you've got them in the sun as much as possible (south facing window is ideal for this).