My torch cacti is going on 2 years old and is only about half the size of my pinky and about as thick as a pencil--maybe a tad more. It is in mixed soil--a little miracle grow recently mixed in, sand, verm, a little local clay, and some other stuff. There are two of them in a container the size of a child's bowl. It is watered once a week and gets plenty of sun. The humidity is high here and the temps range from 75-85 in the summer. They are seed grown. How fast are they supposed to grow? is this a normal growth rate? Any tips?

Thanks

Orea

I had the same experience with my seedlings because I treated them like I do my desert cacti and succulents. I watered sparingly in fear of root rot.
Then I read somewhere that while they can tolerate dry conditions, they are really subtropical cacti and prefer more water. I water mine almost every day now in the summer and they are growing like crazy.

Danzick,

Shoulda guessed you'd have some tips there! Thanks. I will try watering more frequently. I have never had any plants that I could water THAT much! WEEE!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Just make sure whatever soil you use drains freely and that they are getting plenty of sun when you increase the water, otherwise the growth will be spindly. There are others here that grow lots of cacti (far more than I do) and maybe they can give you additional help.

Not TOO much water, though. Make sure the soil is draining well. I'd at least make sure the soil is reasonably dry between watering, although I don't necessarily mean bone dry.

I too was worried about the rot thing since I had heard so many warnings. Then, a few years ago we had rain every single day during the summer for about 2 months straight. I was sure my cactuses would all rot and die. There were too many to take in and they were big so I left them out. They did fine. Not a one rotted or split or any of the other things I was told would happen. They grew fast and seemed to like it. I have mostly pachanoi but also others.

shooot, I started watering almost daily (I forget sometimes) and they have already started growing faster! They have finally made it past the rim of the dish and are peeping out of the top...prolly 5mm since I posted this and they are wider too! If I dig down to the actuaul base they are almost as long as my pinky now!! WOW!

Congratulations there! I have had terrible failures growing from seed.
Well done you. Happy growing.

I have some Peru Torches grown from seeds. They are almost 4 years old now, and they are finally growing at a fair pace. However, during the first 2 years the growth rate was pretty slow. You just have to have patients with growing cacti from seed.

Provided they're not too young and light-sensitive (which by 2 years, they should be a bit passed that phase), their water/food/growth patterns should be proportional to the light and warmth that they receive.

A trichocereus in a bright and warm location can take water almost every few days, and food every other week. Alternatively, a cooler and/or darker location demands less watering and feeding. The former will give incredibly rapid robust growth, while the latter results in slow/spindly growth.

At a few inches they might not be ready for such an aggressive regimen, but if it's warm and bright their growth will be proportional to their food and water. Given their seemingly low width to height ratio, it seems like the lighting could be increased a notch or two as well.

Lots of good info here and cactus pinups http://www.sacredcactus.com/index.htm

once they are about 4 inches or so i put them in FULL sun outside. I am getting about 1.5 inches a month right now. pretty quick once they get moving.

i get approx 1 foot a year maybe more . Sometimes i forget to water them for months at a time which slows them down alot but if they get plenty of water when its hot and occasional fertalizer they grow like crazy even in a pot .

Fertilizer is very important to get base pupping, a sure means of increasing total plant growth. Osmocote or Peter's, matters not, but feed them a balanced diet.

And dso not put lime in the pot.
Lime and phosphate makes calcium phosphate, an insoluble clump of rock.
What, you want your cacti in concrete?!?

Oreandra,

Root space, fertilizer light, air, soil pH and salt buildup can all affect plant growth. Every now and then all plants should have the soil leached from salts built up from fertilizers. Study cactus growth as much as you can and listen to your plants. I put a glass piece over my cactus and succulents in the summer to allow sunlight, but not rain in - so they don't drown.

Enjoy-
Matthew