I think therefore I am.

Both.....I think that I am hearing the word "water" too many times. I use water to get the peat off the roots , but then I let the plant dry a couple of days and then I pot and I wait a couple of days before I water.

OK, I guess I answered my own question, lol. Thanks for the confirmation.

Yes , we learn from mistakes. I just rotted one of my favorite plants by NOT repotting it when it arrived in my house. I am so pissed at myself . I KNOW BETTER. I was just lazy.

Just curious Mara...may I ask which plant it was? Sorry to hear!

Greta

Luckhofia beukmanii.. This is an old picture. It was much larger.

{{gwi:564558}}

Awwwwww, Mara!

What an astounding-looking plant!

I cannot get over the things I am seeing here and learning about!

I am going to try to get to a Cactus and Succulent show in Massachusetts this year!

Lee

Wow that is awesome looking.

The third Saturday and Sunday of Aug. Tower Hill Botanical Gardens Boylston Mass.

Message for OP Fast draining soils are used to handle your mentioned re-potting watering Yeah it would have some or little effect on a cacti Of more concern should be that you may want to get the plant sun adjusted from the big box store to your outside sun.

It's rare but not uncommon for it to rain in cacti growing lands in down pours, a few million gallons of FAST MOVING water is the same in the arid lands as it is with a gallon or two passing though a 4 inch pot with fast draining soil.

I am unsure what you are saying. I live in cactus country that gets downpours. Our geography which has canyons and valleys, and fast draining soils allows the cactus to survive the occasional 15" down pour and the occassiona 50" year. We really USUALLY getdownpours. So far I have had 3 rains at 2.5 - 3" rains in the last month. You will not find Echinocerious, Echinocactus or Coryphantha growing in the redclay but you will find them in the limestone rubble and sandy soils. I found my coryphantha clump during a rescue growing ontop of a boulder. Very fast draining and impervious. Prickly pears could car less. Further west the dry clays repel those quick downpours. their is no time for the fast moving water to soak into the brick-like clay .
. Our sands get the water into the ground where they sink to the top of the limestone and then travel along till it pops up as a spring. The clay in the front of my land has 4" deep cracks. The sandy soils in some priveledged valleys, are the last grasses to turn brown and the first to green up. The grass roots are much deeper in the sand soil than in the clay soils.

I guess we got a bit off topic.

All I know , there is a cactus grower in Arizona who delivers his beaUTIFUL Santa Ritas in solid red clay. I get them out of it as SOON as I get home. Man they wiill die quick if I don't.