Question

iPod file   I purchased my hubby one for Fathers Day, so we've had it for 5 days. We live in Indiana. It came in about a 3" plastic pot inside a ceramic pot. My hubby is a plant person, & this plant is him were he a plant. If you make it past the slightly prickly surface, you have a beautiful specimen! Lol. My problem is that it came with a generic info plastic card that has info on a cactus garden!? "Kori" (my 6yo granddaughter named it) is very wavy with what looks like dead brown plant running around all the waves. The card it came with said it will bloom in season. When is that!? It also says to water 2-3 times a week until "established". What does that mean? And all the pics I've seen of them have rocks on top of the soil. Ours has rocks that are glued together! How does one check moisture with these rocks? Hubby wants to replant, & we'd like to know what size pot to go to & do we need the rocks on top? We read it likes a sandy soil. Is a 50/50 mix best? Also, will Kori grow to her pot size & keep "waving"? How often do you recommend repotting? Thank You soo much for your expertise! Diana

Answer
Diana,

Your husband needs to take a screwdriver and pry the glued together stones off the top of the soil. They were put there to make it easy to ship. It is a cactus. It should not be watered until it is dry. It has a shallow root system. It does not need to be repotted and if you do it will be hard to get it to be stable in the pot again. I would pry off the stones and if you want you can replace them with loose river rock that you can get at craft stores. If your husband does not like the pot it is in he should move it to a new one the same size without disturbing the roots.

It should not be watered until it is very dry. Watering 1 or twice a week is the most you should water it. Insert a bamboo skewer into the soil all the way to the bottom and leave it for at least an hour. If it is moist half way up the skewer it is not time to water it. Never allow it to sit in a drain tray full of water. Always empty it an hour after watering. If you have more questions write again. I am also in Indiana just north of Fort Wayne. Good luck!

Darlene