I procured a Pedro cutting a month ago and it has not rooted yet. Should I be concerned? It had just calloused over when it was given to me, and I was told to put it in a window with decent sun and not to water it until it roots. It looks healthy and all, the guy just made it sound like it would only be a week or two, not four or five. I have no delusion of a cacti's growth rate being slow--I want to just make sure there isn't more I should do. Does this timeframe sound right? Thanks!

It's getting to the time of year where you might try giving just a little moisture to the soil in hopes it will send out roots for it. They can take a while though.

Yeah, they can take a long time. It seems to me, in my limited experience, that the size of the cutting affects how long it might take. I bought four cuttings about a year ago, two of which were about 2 feet tall, the other two were about a foot tall. The Two-footers put out roots after about a month, and the one-footers took almost all summer. They still barely had any roots when they went back in to dormancy for the winter.

That is another thing to keep in mind, too. They won't "wake up" until the days are long enough and the temps are warm enough for them to start growing.

Don't worry too much. I had read that they can draw water out of the air. I was skeptical until I saw it with my own eyes. I bought some cuttings from California in the fall. They sat dormant all winter, and were fairly dehydrated when they arrived to me. Once spring rolled around they plumped up, big time! This wasn't even a "hmm, they might be bigger" it was more like a reverse raisin. They were wrinkly and soft and now they're firm and smooth.

So, don't worry about roots, those plants are well equipped, and roots will come when the plant is ready.

Stick it in some soil and give it alittle water. Check back in a few days to a week to check for roots and that there is no rot.

This has worked for me when my cutting wasnt rooting in dry soil after 2 weeks. It sprouted roots immediately a few days after watered. If some black rot forms you can just cut it off and let it calous over then try again.

Thanks for the replies, folks! It puts my mind at ease. This is sort of me testing the waters of starting a cacti collection and I want to take care of him/her. On that note, are cacti considered masculine or feminine? I know the aya spirit is referred to as Madre (fem), and am just curious as how to refer to this teacher. I don't want to offend any of my plants--especially ones with sharp spines. Thanks again.

I think traditionally it's considered masculine, but there is some debate on that. My understanding too that one type (I believe pachanoi) is typically referred to by a femenine name, where the Peruvian torch is "San Pedro Macho".

ime go very light on the moisture, its easier to add more than to deal with rot.

i lost my first cutting by watering.

my second one took a ridiculous amount of time (it even got a bit shriveled), but once it rooted i watered it, and it has been looking healthy ever since.


so just a bit of moisture.

i take well calloused cuttings bury the end 1-3" in very fluffy potting soil. leave plant outside in a mostly shady area (its hot here in CA) and water only when the mix is very dry- usually 1-3 weeks between light waterings- plants are well rooted by the end of summer

I've never tried this on cactus but maybe a little bit of b1 would be good in the water or just a 1/4 strength solution of a generic fert. to get the phosphrous levels up. The P in npk is responsible for root development so a flowering fert. Is better for rooting than a growth fert.

This technique works great for cannabis cuttings. I would agree that there needs to be a little moisture present.

I added just a bit of water the other day. Right now I have it in the container it came in which has a cactus soil/sand/pine chip mix. I don't think I should move it until it roots. Thanks for the tips.

Ya just be sure to check on it within a week to see if roots form and that there is no rot. Once roots form wait a week and then it can be watered every week thereafter.

Once again, thanks for the input. The folks who comprise this place are an invaluable resource.

Ive had mine for about a year or 2 now and when I got my cuttings I also was stressing often about them. I eventually found the nicest/easiest way to avoid rot and check for root buds is to not pot em and leave em dry at an angle in a windowsill with not too much light.

They will eventually start showing you root buds, although it can take a long time, and once you see a good few you can pot the cutting and water normally.

I read this tek this guy used on the shroomery about a guy who manages to get root buds after 3 weeks of taking the cutting. Pretty damn quickif you ask me!

http://www.shroomery.org/forums...flat.php/Number/18169804