Column cacti pot size.

Hi folks,
Seeking your 2 cents on the following.

I know as a standard rule cacti should be planted in a size appropriate pot, just big enough to allow for growth.
However I have been reading some info that suggests column cacti might be better planted in a larger pot than usual to allow for greater root growth and in turn greater overall growth?
The theory seems to make sense but I'd prefer to hear your thoughts.

I would really like to see my tricho pachanoii put on some good growth come growing season and so am toying with different ideas to promote the best growth.

The media mix that I use is a mix I have blended myself.

It consists of -

2 parts very corse sand (which has tiny pebbles in it)

2 parts very small scoria (not the chunky kind you usually find, more a screening size)

1 part fine sieved standard potting soil (I sift it with a fine sieve to remove all the chunky bits of bark and all that is left is a very fine powdery black soot of sorts)

I'm fairly confident with the media mix, it drains extremely fast and does not compact. The water retention level is also low.

Regards,

Walker87

walker pachanoi is not hard to grow at all.
in melbourne best results are had by chucking it in the ground up against an east facing wall or in full sun. the east facing wall is just my experiance. but throw him in the ground mate. pachanoi will grow all year in melbourne when in ground. slow down over cooler season but still put out growth. just dont fert while cold.
put him in the ground now mate and leave him there. the way it sounds with you you will be grafting stuff in no time and when grafting one can never have enough pachanoi!

Pachi's are one of the easiest columnar's to grow. I have mine huge pots mostly because I want huge plants. My mix for trich is usually:

2 parts cactus mix
1 part coarse sand
Plenty of blood n bone
plenty of dynamic lifter (one of the few cacti that I feed with high nitrogen ferts)
plenty of gypsum
gravel to aid drainage.

bit colder down south. go easy on nitro ferts they often make plants grow skinny through colder season.

yep. big pots. massive pots. bigger = better with tricho.

I find I can plant Trichos into clay and they will grow like a weed so don't worry too much about the soil mix, they will tolerate almost anything. The key to nice fat growth is good root development and to achieve this, as wert suggests, you need plenty of space for the roots to grow. Big pots are good but they can be very difficult to move once the plants are 3m+ tall and weigh over 50kg.

What has been said is true of that particular species (and related ones too) so it should be fine.

The general rule for column cacti needing larger pots than other cacti is well founded in the biology of the plants. The taller columns have much greater volume than a globular plant of similar diameter so need more root space to maintain that tissue. The plants in the wild generally grow roots that go out very far, for water gathering over a wide area and for anchorage for the tall stem(s). I overpot most of my younger columns including my saguaro and it seems to like it. This technique obviously fails when the plants get too big for standard pots to overpot them, but if given enough water and nutrient an underpotted plant can still grow a good amount.

Thanks for the replies,
Guess I'm a little protective of my tricho as it's the first cacti I bought.  
I repotted it yesterday so hopefully it will appreciate the extra room and grow into a monster.
Didn't want to plant it in the ground, I just prefer pots for my cacti plus I'd probable cop an earful if the cacti started to invade the garden considering they have already taken over the lounge room.
I have a few other column cacti but I think I'll wait until spring to pot them up.
The fert I have is osmocote, its the flower formula so I believe it has more P and K will find the breakdown of nutrients and post it. I have about 20kg of the stuff so hopefully it's ok to use.

Cheers,
Walker87

lol.
oh dear.

they have invaded your house... your yard... your camera... your internet... so on.

they will find there way into your ground!!!

eventually you will have an ear full and cacti in your ground. lol.

anyway this plant. tricho. 1st you bought is one you need not worry to much about. serriously these cacti are super tough and hard to kill.
2 things that will kill pach in melbourne...
1. putting in freezer for extended period of time.
2. cutting roots or plant and keeping exposed wounds submerged.

dont do that and pachys will make making made... easy.

dont be pedantic with your pachy. save your energys for the more delicate cacti you have comming along.
if there is one plant you want in the ground it is t. pachanoi. trust me.