Tag: cactus plural

Sanicat Pink cat litter Low dust lightweight non clumping

How to use Sanicat / Sophisticat Cat litter made of Molar clay as a soil addition for Cacti and Succulent plants

Posted on by admin

Hi Guys 😀 

In this weeks Blog  I talk about how you can use a certain type of Cat Litter that is made from 100% Molar clay as a grit replacement and also as a top dressing for all of your Cacti and Succulent plants.

I have recently been using this cat litter as a grit and perlite substitute and as a wonderful component of cactus compost for my cacti and succulent plants, I have been using it as a top dressing too 😀  BUT Please note DO NOT use other types of cat litter ONLY ones made from 100% Molar Clay and non clumping, and I will ONLY be recommending the one I use in this Blog as I have been using it myself with great success.

Sanicat cat litter for cacti,
Sanicat Pink lightweight low dust and non clumping cat litter made from 100% molar clay used as a top dressing on my cactus plants.

I first heard about using cat litter as a grit and perlite replacement from my Cactus and Succulent Society friends here in Ireland.

My friends had been using a brand of cat litter from Tesco that is made only from 100% molar clay and sold as Tesco ‘Low Dust Lightweight Cat litter. Tesco is a common Supermarket chain here in UK and Ireland, but sadly Tesco have now discontinued this brand of cat litter and it is no longer available. 

Thanks to my wonderful friend Alex I have found a very good 100% molar clay cat litter replacement. Alex  recommended this product to me after using it on his own beautiful succulent plants and Alex has also had amazing success with growing his succulents using this cat litter as a 100% soil alternative and growing his plants in just this cat litter alone and he has noticed such a difference with the roots of his plants being nice and healthy.

The cat litter I am recommending is by Sanicat also sold as Sophisticat and it is the pink non clumping cat litter low dust and sold as 100% molar clay. BUT Please note DO NOT use other types of cat litter ONLY ones made from 100% Molar Clay and ones that are non clumping and non perfumed, and although this cat litter does have a very light perfume it is harmless to your plants and goes away after the first watering.

Sanicat Pink cat litter Low dust lightweight non clumping
Sanicat Pink cat litter low dust, lightweight, and non clumping.

It is so important that you only use the brand I am recommending or a cat litter that you know is definitely a non clumping 100% pure molar clay variety as any other types of cat litter are intended for cat litter trays and not cacti and succulents and all other types of cat litter are sold for cats and are not suitable for cactus soils, therefore any bag of cat litter will not do and can be very harmful to your plants if you use it.

HOW I USE IT AS A SOIL ADDITION

I love to make my own cactus an succulent soil and previously I have always used horticultural sand and grit or perlite and a loam based soil such as John innes number 1, 2 or 3 but for the past 3 months now I have been using this cat litter at a ratio of half and half of 50% cat litter to 50% loam based soil and I mix both of these ingredients equally, and so far I have been very impressed.

I will be busy repotting a lot of my cacti and succulents in the Spring of 2019 as this time of year most of my plants are resting for the Winter, but I am looking forward to seeing how this soil mix of 50% Sanicat pink low dust non clumping cat litter and 50% John innes loam based soil will work for me long term so watch this space guys <3 

HOW I USE IT AS A TOP DRESSING

Top dressing your plants is not a necessity but I always think it adds a nice touch to your plants, and also it does help to keep bugs like Fungus flies and Root mealy bug away, but grit can sometimes stay a bit damp for too long on the top of the soil, and because Sanicat cat litter dries very fast once it has been wetted it makes it ideal for cacti and succulents as it does not hold damp for long because it is so fast drying 😀 

The natural pink colour of the molar clay adds a wonderful touch for top dressing your plants too 😀 

Here is a link to a video I have made for my Cactus and Succulent You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How I use this cat litter as a grit replacement and also as a top dressing and I explain in a more detail how I use this product 😀 

Thanks so much for reading guys and let me know your views by dropping me a comment below <3 Sending you all lots of love and PLANT POWER from across the Emerald Isle and wishing you all lots of HAPPY GROWING 😀 

 

 

 

The Weather

Welcome to my first Blog and lets talk about overwintering your plants

Posted on by admin

Hi Guys 😀 

Welcome to my first Blog on this website 😀 

Winter is very nearly upon us and we have already had a few chilly nights here in Belfast in N.Ireland, Luckily I have just finished bringing in the last of the Cacti and Succulents that are not cold hardy from the Polytunnel into the house to overwinter them.

If you are like me and live in the Northern hemisphere and you grow cacti and succulents either outdoors or in a  greenhouse or polytunnel then you will need to protect any of your plants that can not tolerate the cold temperatures we get here on this side of the planet.

During the Autumn and Winter months I heat my polytunnel at a minimum Winter temperature of 5 Celsius / 31 Fahrenheit and I have a thermostat control that switches on if the temperature drops below 5 c / 41f inside the polytunnel, this allows us to keep a large proportion of our cacti and succulents safe over the Winter to overwinter them during their Winter rest period, but also still warm enough for the Winter growing Cacti and Succulents such as the South African Succulents and the Schlumbergera cacti commonly known as the Thanksgiving and Christmas Cacti that still continue to grow and flower during the Winter.

cacti, cactus plants, desert plants of avalon, Succulents, succulent plants,
The Cacti and Succulent Plants that are all going to be left overwintering in the Polytunnel, these plants will be kept at a minimum temperature of 5 Celsius / 41 Fahrenheit, I have a thermostatic heater that switches on if the temperature in the polytunnel drops below that.
Christmas cactus, thanksgiving cactus, schlumbergera truncata, pink flowering schlumbergera,
Some Cacti still continue to grow and flower during the Winter for example Schlumbergera commonly known as ‘The Christmas Cactus’ and the Thanksgiving cactus’

 

There are so many different cacti and succulents and they all vary so much in their minimum Winter temperatures and also the minimum temperatures vary so much depending on where they are growing, for example cacti that are being overwintered cool and dry in a dry arid climate with low humidity can survive much lower temperatures, and some of the desert cacti like Opuntia and Rebutia can even survive temperatures that are below freezing compared to the same types of cacti that are being overwintered cool and dry but are in a humidity high country such as where I live here in Ireland and UK.

 

Most of the Cacti and Succulents like to be overwintered cool and dry and bright ideally at a temperature between 5 – 10 Celsius /  41 -50 Fahrenheit, this encourages them to stop growing and they get to rest over the winter and also encourages blooming in the Spring and Summer of the following year.

If you want to learn more about Overwintering Cacti and Succulents then you can read the Article I have wrote for the growing tips on this website HERE

I have made a couple of videos on my You Tube Channel Desert Plants of Avalon on How to Overwinter your cacti and Succulents and also How to Overwinter your Cacti and Succulent seedlings during their first year and both of these videos are below : 

 

I filmed a series of fun video vlogs for my You Tube channel Desert Plants of Avalon when I was bringing in the Cacti and Succulents to overwinter from the polytunnel into the house, and in these video vlogs I share lots of information about each cactus and succulent and about their individual minimum winter temperatures, check the video below if you want to see the first part of my Overwintering video Vlog

I hope you enjoyed my first Blog on this website and stay tuned for many more to come 😀

Sending you all lots of LOVE and PLANT POWER from across the Emerald Isle 😀