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Comment by Grant Meyer USDA zone 9 on Wednesday

Hah!  great pics, Freddy!  I love them.  Looks like a fun way to spend a sleepless night for sure.  Great job containing the mess too.  I need to get better at that, LOL.  I like your technique of using very dry soil, but then avoiding watering for awhile.  Smart.  These all look really nice--definitely keep us posted on how they do.  I like the container you're using for storing some of your soil too.  Keep us posted on how they do for you.  The order of the photos was great as I had to scroll from the bottom up anyway, to make sure I didn't miss any earlier posts,LOL.  Thanks for sharing your expertise with us.  Great late night project!! Happy gardening, and take good care!

Comment by Freddy J. Hill on Wednesday

Gotta remember to insert images in backwards order next time.  This may be a regular semi-blog, still formulating in my mind and at 3am it doesn't do well with formulas.

Comment by Freddy J. Hill on Wednesday

Results of  sleepness night.  Can't sleep, gotta be moving.  The following images show the evolution of a new crop. 

Fourth image:  Mammillaria rhodantha: original had lain down, was cut at base for a vertical restart.  These 8 pups grew from the base.

Third image: Dumped pot showing root base and degradation of soil.

Second image: Cuttings with root base and 4 pots w/ cloth screen.  Since this is an inhouse project and visitors may not appreciate my process, I planted new cuttings in very dry soil and will not water for a week or so.

First image:  Half repotted and topped with 3 different dressings:  all-purpose gravel(shades of brown), granite screenings, #4 sand blasting grit.  root base potted with 1/2" pup to generate another crop of cuttings.  Other cuttings will be potted, 1 for possible show, the others for sale or gifting.

Comment by Grant Meyer USDA zone 9 on Tuesday

That's really interesting, Freddy, thanks for sharing that technique.  You described it really well so I can totally visualize what you're saying.  I bet he gets some really impressive specimens!  I have a few friends that grow their adeniums really deep for a few years and then unpot them and expose the big caudex that formed under ground.  I do like 'em fat, LOL.  I've got a few that are quite a few years old that I really need to repot this spring.  I'm curious to see what's going on underground, LOL.  Thanks again for the fun tips and tricks!  :)

Comment by Freddy J. Hill on Monday

Grant, this would probably be better as a phone conversation but I wanted to share how a friend has great success creating winning adeniums with huge caudexes.  He starts with small plants grown from seed, approximately 3-4 inches tall.  With a razor sharp knife he slices off most of the very bottom of the plant, leaving enough for a fringe of roots on the plant.  He then coats the cut with ground cinnamon, for a fungicide.  He takes a small plastic cereal bowl with a rounded bottom, placing it bottom side up into a wider container.  He adds a 1/4inch layer of soil onto the inverted bowl, then plants the adenium securely on top of this hump, letting the roots spread out over the contours of the bowl.  He then tops off the soil, gives it a good top dressing.  It's amazing how fast a broad caudex will form on this type of planting.

Comment by Grant Meyer USDA zone 9 on Monday

Oops, yes, COT's and TC/CC love to be potbound.  Continued success with all of your plants, they're really fun to see! I just did a little blog entry here that talks about using kitchenware as tools and about the dangers, LOL, of moving a plant to a pot that's too large.  Great growing, thanks for the eye candy!

Comment by Beth Knight on Monday

thanks Grant...the plant I was asking about wanting to be pot bound is the COT...does the cactus also like to be pot bound? 

Comment by Beth Knight on Monday

totally Mary....I seem to have an african violet blooming quite often and they are so rich and inspiring...they give me a boost!!

Comment by Grant Meyer USDA zone 9 on Monday

Beautiful Schlumbergera, Beth!  I love it.  How nice you're getting an extra flush of blooms.  Nice!  They DO like to be very, very potbound before being moved up into a slightly larger pot.  I've actually let a couple of mine break their terracotta pots first, tsk tsk tsk, LOL.  Great pic of a beautiful plant, thanks again for sharing it!  :)

Comment by Mary Adams-zone 6a on Monday

Beth, really nice CC! Isn't it always nice to have flowers, when nothing else is blooming? ;-)

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