#HOWTO

I teamed up with legendary Southern California succulent grower Peter Walkowiak (@Peterwplants) to go over how he approaches watering his massive collection of plants in the winter time, to soil science and a few other useful tips. He has been growing for 40 years and shares some of his mistakes as well. A truly great dude who is willing to share his time and what's he's learned thus far. I hope you enjoy it!
CACTUSQUEST on IG: / cactusquest
CACTUS ONLINE SHOP: www.bonfire.co...
PETERS INFO:
Instagram: / peterwplants
WESBITE: peterwplants.com
Music by: CACTUS QUEST

[@marclaw4511]

Peter gave the best explanation of how to water cacti ever.His advice is pure genius.

[@CactusQuest]

agree I always learn a lot from him

[@CactusCaffeine]

Peter is an idol. Those very old plants are unbelievable. Would love to meet him some day. Thanks for sharing this.

[@CactusQuest]

Cactus Caffeine pretty grateful to be able to connect w him for sure. Yeah his collection is wild and you should def reach out and go meet him!

[@WilyTuber]

I've never seen ANYTHING like this. This is a reference collection like Hammer's, just amazing. So glad I live in California, this is the center eye of the succulent and cactus cyclone.

[@Xt4209]

this guys advice has saved me so much money on the learning curve of raising cacti great advice 250 cacti and succulents and no losses yet

[@longestofhair931]

i love this content! I'm 16 and feel motivated an inspired learning and watching on your channel! keep up the great work!!

[@CactusQuest]

right on! we need more young people starting to grow from seed! its important conservation work. happy to motivate!

[@Xt4209]

hey can you recommend some good resources books mostly... you go to when you have a horticultural question you cant find the answer too online ?

[@Nhoj31neirbo47]

So wonderful of Peter to take the time to share some of his vast wealth of knowledge. I’ve learned a lot from him during club presentations and some brief chats. He is a friendly, generous and enthusiastic shining light in the C & S community. So cool to see him settled in Ramona and expanding his terrific nursery. His plants are of the highest quality. The ones that I’ve purchased have all done well, largely based on their great start in life under his care. The expert spritzing demonstration was an example that each horticultural task is usually quite simple but needs to be done correctly in order to achieve the desired results. I also liked how he repeatedly gave examples of the importance of the power of observation in attaining the skill sets needed to grow plants well. ~ Thank you so much for posting this. There is so much knowledge in the C & S community that isn’t often being shared on this platform and I think that’s a terrible omission. - John

[@davidschmidt270]

What's C and S community?

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

@@davidschmidt270 Cactus and succulents

[@davidschmidt270]

@@GreenCanvasInteriorscape duh sorry 😬😬

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

@@davidschmidt270 now you know!

[@davidschmidt270]

@@GreenCanvasInteriorscape right? LOL

[@iggypower2672]

great timing with this video. winter time watering always has me stressed and hearing peter explain everything really put me at ease.

[@CactusQuest]

for sure haha I felt the same way. learning from the older cats who have been doing it is the best way

[@josecruzsosa1928]

@@CactusQuest "c

[@ryanbruneau306]

This guy make me happy as a cactus owner

[@K.Mar.]

Thank you so much ❤ for this very very helpful Video Peter❤

[@Hardworkandrealestateprofits]

His older desert roses are amazing. What a collection of specimen plants 👍

[@maureenswallow3054]

I do so much love a caudiciform,nice tour, Bill.

[@missesraisin]

WOW ,cool collection.

[@eliffiorodriguez3573]

Peter is a LEGEND! Great video, thanks!

[@hiltont9631]

Pure gold video amigo!! It would be amazing if more guests on the show could comment on how they water their plants and their views on different substrate 🙏🌞🌵

[@tobiasolausson8085]

This was an awesome video! Thanks for being the conduit, asking great questions, and having the knowledge you have. 🙏

[@EmilyTienne]

You two guys are awesome! Have loved succulents all my life, even before they were appreciated by large numbers of people. You are getting people interested, educating them and just providing ongoing inspiration. Thank you!

[@carpy1252]

Considering you look quite young... realize the succulent hobby was way big even before you were born and appreciated by large numbers of people. These days we can just better easily communicate with each other through social media.

[@jhowardsupporter]

@@carpy1252 Around here it started around the late 1800's but I take it that it was only a hobby for the wealthy then who had their team of gardeners tend to these plants.

[@angelathompsonmack3583]

Wow such AWESOME info!! And those BEAUTIFUL Cacti mind blowin🤯😍

[@sivs_]

We need to protect this man at all costs, what a treat of a video. Life goals.

[@harry2010987654]

You deserve a million subscribers.

[@latentheinz]

Yes! Peter is an idol My jaw just dropping all over

[@nardginarenas9927]

one of those reasons ive subscribed... sir peter, im ur huge fan... hoping to see all those cactus of his greenhouse in detail!? i think thats a kind quest.. plz cactus quest.. give as detail tour of his greenhouse

[@robbycalycium]

Going to have to tell this to my father-in-law! The tips on watering are pure genius!

[@idlando]

Amazing guy and collection, thanks for sharing!

[@MsCGarnica]

I am so jealous what a beautiful nursery you have. It's spectacular!

[@newmanmansell760]

What a home😱💢💖The volume of cacti and succulents blows me away! I really enjoyed the tour of Peter's nursery and collection😌🙏I give it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!

[@slashfeint]

I'm so glad I have found this video...I am following Peter for a long time on social media but never got a chance to listen him. Thank you for sharing this amazing video with us! I really appreciate it.

[@marcelocava6506]

Loved the tour and the conversation. Please make some more of it for us! The only thing that annoyed me is the music. It doesn't match to what I was seeing and I would prefer to hear a clear conversation only...anyway, great vid and information. Subscribed!

[@ian11hendri03]

Thank you cactusquest. Thank you peterwplants filor the tips on watering cactus. Very useful!

[@mcactus6210]

I didn't understand this video up until I build my own greenhouse. I could observe that under greenhouse conditions (temperatures inside in December could rise here in Madrid up to 30C / 86F) it is required to give some water now and then in the cold months.

[@65cquintero]

Love you guys. Thanks for all the info

[@terriejohnston8801]

Ive always wet the soil before repotting a / cactus or sucvulent. Then leave it alone for awhile. WHAT an impressive Collection of Customized..lol. @ rare cactus. Thank you...

[@coolgirl614]

Excellent video!!

[@pamlittle5600]

Absolutely gorgeous! Thx for the video!

[@crazzzysean800]

stunnnning garden... welll done, so envious :)

[@laurathorn5117]

I just tried the moist not wet soil for replanting succulents. We will see how it goes!

[@pennylane9155]

Very informative! Thank you for sharing!

[@rataplan6398]

What a wonderfully wise and gentle man, and what great cooperation between you two in the video. keep up the good work!

[@maggielanganparsad487]

Hello Peter you are so good with your Cactus, I grow them on a small level in my garden, I have learnt so much from you today take care I will keeping watching

[@nguyenpham-uh1qu]

thank you for sharing super cool video with us, 🙏🙏

[@TurboLoveTrain]

Crazy beautiful collection

[@Edmund_Squid]

Well no wonder my golden barrel cactus looks like a sand pedro. Im not watering it nearly enough. I was thinking it was 'reaching" for light like. So much good information. Im going to have to watch this a few times.

[@rebeccateichman3864]

Love Love Love this! Can’t wait for the next quest!

[@succulentlivingbymarija8872]

Just at the end of minute 2 and turning to minute 3 there is tephrocactus in blooms. It’s not round it’s more oval. Is that different kind or it’s just little etiolatef

[@Carlosdelasplantas]

Peter is the best

[@donnaclark1300]

Excellent video. Enjoyed this tour, so many mature and healthy plants. Saw many of my favs. For a hot minute, I saw a 'top shelf' Euphorbia abdelkuri. WOW (also a fav). Excellent work Peter. Knowledge is power, I learned a few things from this video. Cactus Quest....keep them coming and thanks for sharing.

[@thecactushouse9722]

That was very informative. Thanks a lot for sharing. would love to see more of the beautiful plants that sir Perter has in his collection.

[@CactusQuest]

I did an earlier video showing some plants ableit this one is better tbh. thanks for watching

[@TrustTheThorn]

Thanks Peter!

[@jjg4450]

Very informative video. Keep the great videos coming Hunter! Love ‘em.

[@its.basically_steve]

Love his collection 😍

[@JM-mz7wx]

I love your channel man keep it up

[@crazy4cactus731]

Epic! Thanks for the great video, lots of key knowledge!

[@CactusQuest]

Crazy4Cactus thanks bro! Glad you like it. Your up next!!

[@solarwinds-]

I love the information on your show but bonus, I love love love the music. Nice job!!

[@malo8631]

Excellent informative video. I bought one of his hybrid euphorbias from him a few years ago at a show in Sacramento. I hadn't seen him since and I'm glad I stumbled upon your video.

[@bobidos123]

Amazing specimens!

[@anttikuusmetso]

Many thanks for beautiful video! 👍

[@shakirabells6955]

Wow a massive collection of succulent I have no of this plant because it's expensive for me wow amazing

[@chell8510]

Very beautiful plants 🪴 😍

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

Your plants look amazing

[@ghostpants861]

Awesome Video. Your videos are what got me into Cactus!

[@CactusQuest]

Ghost Pants right on. Thanks for letting me know that’s awesome.

[@risenfromyoutubesashesagai6302]

Man, there aint nothing worse than having a prized cactus, and watching it catch rot!!! Im super strict on my watering, as when i first started, i lost many special plants 😔, especially monstrose and crested forms, as they seem more susceptible to rot than regular versions of the same plant. Im to the point i dont have any crests or monstrose anymore, simply cuz they seem to rot easily and i dont wanna deal with it. I make my own soil, with a bag of soil, a bag of perlite, and a bag of sand. I then mix the 3, being heavy with the perlite and sand, making a very sandy, airy, fast draining soil mix. I live on the east, where we have all 4 seasons, with a very hefty version of each. So my cacti live in pots, and MUST STAY DRY all winter long and come indoors so they dont rot!! Its almost September now, so i may water them 1 more time, but after that, they wont get water again until the end of April, early May, depending how next spring comes back.

[@anschn7166]

Great and informative video! I would love to visit his nursery one day, and also it makes me want to move to a warm and arid area :) One thing that could be added is that those winter watering tips apply for that type of climate. I live in Northern Europe and here winter watering means certain death for a lot of cacti (because the water never evaporates)

[@HOODBOSS5000]

Love it!

[@CactusQuest]

HOOD BOSS5000 love you!

[@andrein7160]

Thank you very much for the amazing video! Both educative and beautiful to watch. There are some real cultivation goals there/ And my two cents: very good balance between talking ang showing plants.

[@CactusQuest]

thank you so much, I am trying to make the videos entertaining as well as informative, I had no prior video experience prior to making these so I really appreciate that

[@gemmaquinn1048]

Great God I finally know how to water cacti properly!!!

[@LepiantediTere]

Beautiful😍😍😍

[@eddiefniii]

It snows in the desert during the winter! Of course cacti need moisture during the winter! Some people are crazy! LOL

[@CactusQuest]

Eddie Novak I was told when I got my first Copiapoa to never water it. Only to mist it 3 times a year. I was totally freaked out initially.

[@TheHelton05]

Boas dicas de quem entende são sempre bem vindas. Valeu, sr. Peter! Parabéns, belas plantas!

[@วิมลพลทะอินทร์]

My idol 😻😻😻

[@michaelcherman5937]

Learned alot here

[@CactusQuest]

Fuck yeah dude. More to come.

[@claudinejonas4117]

This is GREAT 💕💕💕🙏🏿🙍🏿‍♀️

[@forrestsnow580]

Awesome 👏 video. I got the part about watering before transplanting and use moist soil. But, what if you are planting a bare root cactus? Just use moist soil and wait until watering? Any help would be appreciated

[@billyjack3580]

That’s what I do. Also, my idea of ‘moist’ soil is just wet enough to make it clingy, so that it doesn’t settle out into its separate components as you handle it. New roots don’t really need water as they form, just plenty of humidity so they don’t desiccate.

[@veeraldogra5684]

Hello! thank you for such amazing videos! I was wondering if you have any tips for growing soft succulents like echeveria / Crasulla in extreme heat conditions. We have relentless summers with average temperatures of 110-115 degrees for months and then it gets humid and hot. Almost all Cacti and succulents just die, even when kept in shade and protected from elements.

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

There are chillers for greenhouses, they use evaporation to cool

[@helpihaveanohiolicense]

thank you!!!

[@CactusQuest]

Dustin Gehringer ah shucks! You’re welcome!

[@nancyfahey7518]

Very impressive.

[@tambracoons9506]

Great video!!

[@CactusQuest]

Thank you!!!

[@treebeard7140]

Shout out for the pachypodiums yeaaaah

[@mrswills03]

I try to use mostly rainwater, but when I don't have it, I use filtered water from my tap 😢 is that going to be okay?

[@angelathompsonmack3583]

What you said about plant soil being like a cork, what should be done to keep plant alive?

[@messeduphina566]

Legend

[@ewarydzowska8093]

Skory I don’t know English so much. Let me say some Polish. Podziwiam piękne kaktusy Pana Peter Walkowiak. Kaktusy są długowieczne rośliny, bardzo je podziwiam. Czy można kupić kilka kaktusów ze szklarni Pana Peter Walkowiak?. Pozdrawiam i dziękuję za pokazanie tej pięknej szklarni.

[@jpongoco1728]

The best

[@BusinessPhilosopher]

So many things that I like about this video: 1) YOU CAN"T HEAR IT even when you're wearing earphones; 2) IF you watch it on a bigger device YOU CAN HEAR THE 80's soundtrack in the background like a student film movie; 3) all the years of experience & knowledge from a formal education went down the drain because of reasons 1 & 2.

[@KayPenn1]

I always struggle with the substrate for Cacti. Big Box store bagged soil labeled for Cactus is junk. Even when adding amendments I never seem to get it right

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

At 14 minutes I thought Peter was speaking a bit more frankly than previously, took me several re listens to get it right, I'm surprised that the economics of vinegar make more sense than buying phosphoric or the other acids that are commonly used

[@ewarydzowska8093]

But, what vinegar, regular or apple vinegar?.

[@CallmeADI143]

Thanks a lot sir....

[@dannyf8-nv668]

Being relatively new to collecting cacti and succulents, this channel has been so beneficial and binge worthy. Constantly in awe of these collections. 😮 🤯 Thank you

[@javsoul]

fucking amazing! thank you for this video!

[@michellechapman6839]

Do you water in December through February months? My mammillaria is blooming..in December!!

[@fresquez]

@cactusquest - thanks for a great video! I got to meet @peterwplants this weekend at the #intercityshow. I bought my first Euphorbia Medusa! So happy to start this journey with this quality plant from Peter. Also got to see the Euphorbia Bamama Hybrid that Peter talks about. T=16:45 It took 1st place! So great to connect my experience this weekend with your video from 1 year ago. Great production quality, super informative, good stuff. Looking forward to watching more. Thanks!

[@terriejohnston8801]

How MUCH water @ how often do the. 30 - 40.yr. old classics take? I always wonderd HOW you watered your INSANE COLLECTION.

[@williamkallenbach7461]

With my houseplants I fill gallon water pitchers with warm tap water and let it set for days till I need to water. I do the same with rain barrel outside when I fill it with the hose. Is that helpful or a waste of time ?

[@TheKatahar]

Great video. The slow motion when he was showing us how to water looks cool but defeats the purpose. It should have been done in real time so that we can have an accurate idea of how much water he used.

[@BobbyJpure]

So if I’m hearing right, you want to transplant cacti into substrate that is moist instead of bone dry? To help regrow the roots. Then you don’t water until a few weeks. Just making sure. This will apply to Lophophora as well?

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

It seems quite counterintuitive to me, I'll keep doing what I've been doing living where I live knowing what can potentially go wrong when I don't do what I always did

[@cactushouse6183]

super💓💓💓

[@ronhobbs8038]

How do you test the dryness at the bottom without removing plant?

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

Green wood plant stakes, use them as a probe, when wet the wood darkens

[@ronhobbs8038]

@@GreenCanvasInteriorscape ah! Never heard of them. Thx

[@KarmaKaryaCraft]

I'm a newbie for cactus.. and I'm confuse about water n cacti.. I live in tropical climate. My cactus is in a teracota pot with not too grainy soil, decompose granite, soil, manure, burnt rice husk and compost And the location is windy and hot 32C. Direct sun. I water everyday all my cactus. And their skinny stem become bigger and plump and they changed colors from lime green to torquise green (some kind) what happened? Are they loving being water everyday??

[@glitter2glaze21]

Will I just found out I killed my new succulent arrangement FROM THIS VIDEO!! I brought individuals today and made an arrangement then watered them in! OMG!

[@anicajanekovic5359]

beautiful

[@theoldaccount1891]

14:39 amazing peyote, 40 years old.

[@chadjiansinlapadamrong]

Why the heck did you slow motion Peter spritzing the Faucea? Geesh Made it hard for me to gauge how fast he move the sprayer.