San Pedro Cactus – Echinopsis Pachanoi 190mm

Where to buy a San Pedro Cactus plants in Australia?

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis pachanoi - Introduction

Native to the Andes’ mountain ranges of North America, it has a 3000 year old plus history with the Andean culture. The San Pedro Cactus enjoys elite status as a traditional medicine, with its psychoactive compound mescaline. The blue-green, multi-stemmed, columnar San Pedro is a fast growing variety, attaining heights of about 3-6 meters. Soft and rounded ribs of Echinopsis pachanoi bears 6 yellow spines per areole or none at all, making it a convenient houseplant (less prick!). The bright creamy-yellow flowers of San Pedro Cactus are quite large and showy, around 19-24 cm with a hairy base. With new branches (pups) arising near to the soil, Echinopsis pachanoi spots a crowded appearance similar to a small branching tree.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Planting

The fewer or spineless attribute of San Pedro Cactus makes it an ideal candidate for any household garden. The neat and well-behaving habit can be easily maintained and can also be grown indoors in a pot. Grown as a specimen plant, the profuse branching and showy flowers of Echinopsis pachanoi adds exotic value to your garden. Being a cactus variety, Echinopsis pachanoi does well in rockeries, xeric gardens and sandy landscapes.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Lighting and Position

A well established Echinopsis pachanoi loves to be under bright sunlight. While the young growing ones should be saved from scorching sun for a year. During hot Summer months reposition your San Pedro to a place under partial shade. As indoor grown Echinopsis pachanoi needs lots of bright light, window sills or home entrances would be ideal.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis pachanoi Soil and Fertilisation

Sandy soils or any well-draining soil with high porosity will do for Echinopsis pachanoi. Being a great addition for rock gardens, San Pedro Cactus survives in rocky soils too. You can increase the soil porosity by adding elements like pumice, garden gypsum, perlite or gravel for your Echinopsis pachanoi.

Go with any liquid fertiliser to feed the San Pedro Cactus once a month during the growing months only. It’s a good habit to add slow release fertiliser to the potting soil when repotting the cactus. It’s good to have the feed diluted in water for young, developing Echinopsis pachanoi.

We recommend using our Plant Food available here. 

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Watering

Water your San Pedro Cactus once a week to keep it fresh and healthy. Even sprinkling allows the water to seep through the soil rather than getting logged on the surface. A sprouting Echinopsis pachanoi seed needs regular drizzle to push its way out of the soil. Avoid showering your San Pedro during cold Winter months as the plant enters dormancy. Water-logged soils create optimum condition for the root rotting fungi to thrive near to the fleshy stems of the Echinopsis pachanoi, thus keep your cactus soil dry and clean.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Propagation

Propagation of Echinopsis pachanoi is quite easy from stem cuttings or seeds. Each cutting can be cut off from the parent plant. Allow the cutting to dry for a day, so that the sap oozing out from the cut stops and forms a brown colored dry callus. Once the callus is formed plant your San Pedro cutting in a cacti potting mix or common sand mixed with some gravel. Always place your cactus cutting away from damp conditions under bright light to avoid any mould growth. It is advised to wear protective hand gloves while handling your cactus.

2-3 weeks is enough for the Echinopsis pachanoi seeds to germinate. Place them on a tray filled with regular cacti potting mix, mist daily and keep them under bright sunlight.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Pruning and Maintenance

Prune your Echinopsis pachanoi when it gets out of your desired proportions. Use a sharp pruning scissor to get the job done and make sure the cuttings you trim off are quite long as San Pedro Cactus is a really fast grower. Pups that arise from the base of the main stem can be readily cut off and used as a plant propagule. Think about repotting your Echinopsis pachanoi every two years.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis Pachanoi Common Pests and Diseases

Mealybugs and spider mites are rare visitors to Echinopsis pachanoi. They appear alongside a diseased or unhealthy cactus. Insecticidal soap solutions and neem oil sprays control these pests effectively. Inappropriate growing conditions are the main reason for an unhealthy and diseased Echinopsis pachanoi.

Overwatering increases the chance of fungal infections on the root and portion near the soil. This is when your San Pedro Cactus becomes swollen, with cracking at places and can start drooping off.

Though cacti need minimal water for their growth, prolonged dry spells can cause them to desiccate and shrivel up.

Pale-looking curved growths that appear on the cactus are known as etiolation, which results from inadequate lighting. Reposition the plant to a brighter location to overcome this problem.

San Pedro Cactus - Echinopsis pachanoi Design Tips

San Pedro Cacti with their classic form look terrific in front of plain walls, especially light pinks, oranges or whites where their blueish green colouring contrasting best. With time they can shoot out numerous pups and become bushy, we think they look best less busy so would recommend splitting off the pups and creating new plants. They also look great in pots and their colouring works well with terracotta pots.

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