CACTI in the SKY Home Tour + Growing Cacti in Apartment - Ep. 346

Nathan and Georgiana of Whisker and Spine do the nearly impossible: growing hundreds of cacti and succulents by seed in their NYC high rise apartment. Though impractical at the surface, they have optimized their space to create the best growing conditions and can show the results! Hard work and perseverance-even in a smaller space-really pays off.
They are also members of the New York Cactus and Succulent Society, which you can find more via FB Groups here: / newyorkcactusandsuccul...
Find Nathan and Georgiana on IG here: / whiskerandspine
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[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Thank you so much Summer for featuring us!! Really heartwarming to see all the supportive comments, we are inspired to keep going and share more and more of our growing journey. All are welcome to join the growing from seed club! 🎉😊❤

[@krissykriss328]

I'm in love with your cacti collection! Hello from beautiful Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where we have many lovely cacti species!🌵

[@Prickly-Brew]

He is so correct when saying you miss out when you don’t start seeds. . Being the “crazy” cacti guy to friends and family I have been given a 50 year old jade tree started by friends mother and a 125 year old Hawaiian umbrella plant given to me from the sister of my last boss. She said her grandmother started from seed. It is such an honor to be given these family heirlooms to join mine.

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Amazing!! ❤😊 thanks for watching and commenting! We have a friend in the NYC community who grows pachypodiums and other succulents from seed and we’ve gotten one from her as well.

[@pattin4015]

It seems from what they've done, that anything is possible when you have a passion for it. Who would think so many cacti can fit and be so well organized and healthy in this setting! Nursery in their future?

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Thank you so much! Nursery is definitely on our minds but first we’ll see how far we can take this apartment project 😂

[@lorirober2536]

❤ love this man's enthusiasm! I also love that he does not follow the rules. Excellent episode. ❤

[@CactusCaffeine]

Giorgiana! Congratulations on your success. I’m so happy for you. You inspire me more.

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Thank you so much Ana!!! I am camera shy so I made Nathan handle most of the talking :) let us know if you are ever in NYC and we’ll do the same for you. Keep up the great work with your videos ❤

[@thedustwhispered]

that apartment window bay is incredible! such a clear view of the empire state. the cacti are living a better life than i am haha. the passion and discipline this couple has for their cacti is so special.

[@chunmartinez5401]

You can definitely grow anything in any space. There's no excuse to not grow what you want wherever you are.

[@greatnorthernexotic]

Incredible collection, and I especially love the Astros. More cactus collection tours please!

[@brendanbang6636]

Those plants has the best view indeed!

[@Yoliplanting]

He is so in love with cactus it is a delight to see. ❤

[@NatTayHill]

I am blown away. The little ones have all stolen my heart. ❤🌵

[@gabigavrilescu5682]

I f*cked around and pollinized two of my cacti when they were blooming this summer and never got around to germinating them. i was going to wait until next spring to germinate them but you guys inspired me to try it sooner and see what happens. it's a corypantha crossed with a mammilaria

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Ooooh!!! Which was the mother? A lot of coryphanthas are self fertile, but the genera seem quite closely related. Excited to see the results!

[@gabigavrilescu5682]

​@@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881the mother is the mamillaria (im not so good with id-ing cacti but from a brief google it looks like a polythele) fertilised with a corypantha i can't id. im vvv excited! (btw i love astrophytum, i used to have one in my old collection but seeing your funky ones is a revelation!)

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

@@gabigavrilescu5682 😊 awesome! Yes the hybrids of astrophytum are definitely worth revisiting.

[@annaphrodytheschannel-rg7rm]

This is totally inspired for all people who live in the apartment. Especially when you put all cactus racks in glass windows. That's genius 😊🌵💖

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

We need to convince our neighbors on this line to do the same…. 😂

[@lorirushin5712]

Beautiful collection!

[@minniexx7394]

I’m not a fan of cacti generally but his love and enthusiasm for them is so beautiful to see! What a wonderful collection!

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

This is Nathan - thank you very much for watching and for your kind words. Indeed, while our wish is for more cacti lovers to emerge (😂), we just hope that our enthusiasm comes through and it can inspire others to pursue their own loves/hobbies or adapt a principle to suit their own needs.

[@lovefalcon1111]

I had a big smile on my face the whole time! The little cactus are adorable and they’re so happy growing them. I love it!! Now I want to grow one from seed. 💚

[@SunFlower44453]

He never ever makes eye contact !!

[@raselbx]

Thanks for this, Nathan and SRO

[@pattituringan6745]

Love home tours. Amazing cactus.

[@ahmed_Aposhady]

Brilliant collection ❤

[@timgarner1957]

I can't even imagine the cost of that apartment with a view in New York. The catus were amazing..hard to believe he's only been doing it for a short time

[@ekoed]

Love this video. Thank you for all the cacti content lately.

[@greatnorthernexotic]

Yes! Would love to see more cacti and succ content.

[@sandraseldon6734]

Such an interesting collection. Very enjoyable.

[@cacacuate505]

I love this tour! Good job all involved 😊

[@AUgrown]

A man of my own plant loving heart. What a view

[@aryajoshi4466]

a plant of my own loving heart, view what a.

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

Been there, done that. LOL It's fun to see how others get passionate about a certain type of plant.

[@theplantprinceph]

Yay. Another cactus video! Please keep them coming! 🫶🏻

[@Alwaysherethere]

That's gotta be the perfect setup!❤

[@AdelaVetr]

The window is a goal, but you really made day talking about Czech grower, hope Mrs. Pavlica will see the video.

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

I’m going to send Roman the link!!! He is truly one of our biggest inspirations :D we visited him in 2022 :)

[@AdelaVetr]

I already did yesterday 😅 , hes happy to watch it. :)@@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

@@AdelaVetr🎉❤😊 thank you!

[@SparkleInMoonlight]

This was really cool - so much enthusiasm for cacti that it´s contagious (even for a non-cacti person like me) 🙂 Very nice collection. Greetings from the Czech Republic :-) There are quite a few life-long cacti enthusiasts, which are very passionate and dedicated growers. Everytime I hear them and see their cacti at various events, it´s simply mind-blowing. Somehow growing cacti seems to have the longest tradition here (in comparision to growing any other "houseplant" here) - the love for cacti survived the communism and from the books I read, it seems to go at least to the pre-world war II era.

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

This is Nathan - glad to hear you enjoyed the video :D sending best wishes to you 🇨🇿 yes the knowledge of some of the Czech growers is truly amazing. The monk Gregor Mendel was in Brno so I guess it’s natural that so many great growers picked up the tradition :) we visited Roman pavlica in 2022 and hope to go again sometime soon!

[@janecurtis5726]

Awesome video!!

[@miketoulmin]

I love your videos especially the videos with copeipoa 🙂🙃🙂

[@shanedwood]

Please make more cactus content 🙏

[@jednoducha]

Beautiful baby cacti. This is proper growing from seed. But in one year in my garden outside, the baby cactus grew huge. I couldn't even lift it off the ground.

[@ping-indy]

The most challenging aspect of growing many indoor plants like this is watering them. You can't simply shower them all at once; instead, you must water each pot individually. This process can be quite time-consuming.

[@NathanMarchack]

Hi this is Nathan from the video. It is very time consuming but it helps instill discipline. At the end of the day there are no shortcuts... =)

[@Julizabatz9891]

This gonna be my first time to care for them,so wish me luck 😊

[@sandragoerlich7134]

Great collection, nice view of Manhattan, thanks for sharing!!!

[@valerieclark5695]

Wow! So great to look at - the little tiny plants and the amazing skyscrapers view. Those straw(?) mats would shield the glare from my own grow lights. The enthusiasm of the collectors was wonderful to watch.

[@brattent]

Fascinating

[@gasperkanoni8838]

Love your context❤❤❤

[@Mulberry792]

Obsessed

[@elephantdoodoo]

INCREDIBLE!!! I have to ask Nathan who makes that T shirt? 💛

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

Dorin negrau, I got it in Romania… maybe he has an online store? Thanks for watching and commenting :)

[@marleneprescod8494]

Love love these cacti he has such patience ❤

[@yaddahaysmarmalite4059]

its easy to keep a modest collection under a 4ft flourescent shoplight, use cool white bulbs. it has a nice aesthetic appeal particularly when you stage the plants nicely. and its easier to keep than an aquarium. instead of a shelf full of curios, you can have a diorama of cactus plants.

[@mrmet7]

Dang, how do they keep track!

[@whiskerspinecactusnursery9881]

We have a spreadsheet with every pollination, date, no of seeds and pictures of the seedlings… now we just have to make sure the containers are labeled 😂

[@loveandoneness.n.e.t]

Amazing!!

[@Dnn411]

I have those plexiglass shelves too.

[@aryajoshi4466]

i dont

[@renatakolcze4210]

Those window shelfs are awesome! Where did you buy them?

[@sdqsdq6274]

ha , was wondering that as well , to hold the weight , must be a good shelf

[@yildizyilmaz7142]

Love the view.

[@jessicabrey9776]

I didn't hear you talk about the amazing window shelves. Can we get a product recommendation? Because I need those for my small succulents.

[@tomevenjoh]

💚

[@mariagamboa6249]

😮!!! 💚💚💚!!!

[@themahir4055]

Love from India ❤

[@tonelee4515]

Best place to get seeds???

[@its.basically_steve]

❤🎉❤🎉❤

[@eman5830]

🔥🌵🔥

[@gomerzpyle6805]

Is that substrate or top dressing and what agricultural zone is this or is that irrelevant?

[@NathanMarchack]

Hi, akadama is only used as top dressing, the soil is ~75% Miracle Gro and 25% rock/bark (e.g. decomposed granite or bonsai mix). NYC is Zone 7b, I believe. It's relevant if you want to keep plants outdoors all year around, less so if you are mostly growing indoors. The sunlight per year is probably a bigger factor.

[@TheRipdub]

I've been trying to find seeds to grow😢

[@Northerncacti2021]

Nathan probably never used his A.C.

[@captainsparrow8524]

He is talking lick a Annabelle is controlling him.

[@aryajoshi4466]

too much nathan, mor gorigiana plks aksoi where is feetlink