Organic fertilizer?

I have a T.Pasacana whose growth rate seems a bit slow.  It's 12cm tall (less spines) and about 4 years old.  I do all the usual stuff - full summer sun, fresh soil with osmocote, well watered etc.  It looks to be in fine condition but hardly grows.

Being from a large growing species I was thinking an organic fertilizer might spur it on (?)  If so, what is a suitable commercial organic fertilizer and what amounts should I apply?  Thanks.

Hi Eck,
What size pot is it in?
I had a Trich pach that was a nub of a cutting, it sat there and did nothing then I massively over potted it and 12 months later it's well over 3ft tall with a big fat pup.
I don't have any pasacanas myself but from what I know trichs are thirsty all year round and like a bit of room to wiggle.
Don't think I even fertilised mine, will be giving it a good drink of tomato fertiliser in spring though.

Is it seed grown or a cutting? Because seed grown plants tend to grow very slow in comparison to cuttings.

I have some seed grown peruvianoids that are around 3 yrs old now and they are still only around the 8 inch mark. Yet, i have a peruvianoid cutting that has grown 2.5 meters in 18 months!!

Wonder if you cut the roots off and plant as a cutting would it grow faster sneaky?
Ha ha ...

Walker. I didn't think of that. It was in a smallish pot to minimize over watering. I have a couple E.Grusonii in small pots so I should repot those. Unlike the pasacana, their growth has been reasonable.

Sneaky. Yes it was seed grown. Repotted it the other day and noticed the rootball was still very small.

About the fertilizer. Should I be using something other than the osmocote for such plants?

Walker, that is actually a very interesting proposition. I think I might give it a try with a few of these peruvianoids. You might be on to something.

I have found that washing the roots with a strong jet of water before re-potting gives the best results. Perhaps blasting all the old dead roots off has a stimulating effect.

I think most ferts are good for trichs provided they are not too rich in nitrogen.

SneakyCuttlefish wrote:

I have found that washing the roots with a strong jet of water before re-potting gives the best results. Perhaps blasting all the old dead roots off has a stimulating effect.

Maybe for cacti.  I repotted a couple of small 'Dragons Blood' plants last year and a lot of the finer roots fell off in the process.  Foliage went from dark to light green and still hasn't recovered

Quote :

I think most ferts are good for trichs provided they are not too rich in nitrogen.

Can anyone throw in some recommendations. I'm still at the 'gardening for dummies' level.  I find the Osmocote stuff confusing (which to use and how much to apply).  Regarding bagged organic fertilizers, I gather plant-based are low nitrogen while animal-based are high nitrogen?

Dragons blood trees (dracena draco) if that's the plant your referring to, hate being repotted I've had mine over 12 years and only repotted it twice in that whole time.
As for fertz just check the NPK rating on the packet N is for nitrogen.
You can use a tomato fertilizer or if your wanting to use osmocote look for the one for flowers.
I like osmocote because its release is heat based not water so will only release when it's warm which is good for cacti.
I've got a massive bag of the commercial stuff, can send you some if you want?

Walker87 wrote:

Dragons blood trees (dracena draco) if that's the plant your referring to, hate being repotted I've had mine over 12 years and only repotted it twice in that whole time.  

I repotted because I noticed the Dracos got root-bound pretty quickly and someone suggested it would be ok to trim the roots every so often.

Quote :

As for fertz just check the NPK rating on the packet N is for nitrogen. I like osmocote because its release is heat based not water so will only release when it's warm which is good for cacti.
I've got a massive bag of the commercial stuff, can send you some if you want?  

There's a Bunnings in the area so access isn't a problem but thanks for the offer.  My problem is choosing between the myriad number of products on offer.

Yeah they'll fill a pot pretty quick but they'll stay happy like that for a long time.
Friend of mine had one that's at least 7ft tall and it's been in the same pot as long as he can remember.
It should bounce back and once it does just leave it in the same pot.

As for the osmocote just look for one that's designed for flowers they'll usually have less N and more P and K.