How of plant Astraphytum asterias?

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vitrsna Colima, Mexico(Zone 11) Sep 23, 2014

Egads, i just received a gift in the mail of 2 of these small Astraphytum a. cacti. I have never grown cactus. I live mostly at the Butterfly gardening forum. I know nothing! They came by mail wrapped in paper towels with their heads sticking out. The paper towels are dry. I also received a small bag of small dark brown rocks? and a small bag of sandy colored...looks like sand and small pebbles. What should i do with all of this? Should i give them water? I really want to give them a good start in life. Should i plant them together or in separate containers? For now, please just tell me what to do with this so the tiny tots are not harmed and i'll look up the rest later. Thank you. and thank you once more.

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Baja_Costero Baja California, Mexico(Zone 11) Sep 23, 2014

Don't be in a hurry to water them. They are cacti and can handle being dry a little while longer. I would pot them separately for now. Use a relatively small pot, not a whole lot wider than the body of the plant (or the size of the root ball). The soil should be fast draining, ie. rocky, with a good amount of pumice (or perlite or lava rock or whatever). Maybe 50%.

Pot the plants up in this mix and let them sit in bright shade for a couple of days, or indoors by a sunny window. Remember they've just spent some time in a dark box so give them some time getting used to daylight again. After a couple of days you can water. Wait until the soil is dry before you water again, and gradually ramp up the light over the course of a few weeks.

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vitrsna Colima, Mexico(Zone 11) Sep 23, 2014

Thank you Baja. This is much appreciated. So i will mix the contents of the two bags together. I thought perhaps one bag was for the substratum and the other on top of the substratum. But i'll mix them. I hope you were not bothered much by "Odile" last week, Saludos calidos, Beverly

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Baja_Costero Baja California, Mexico(Zone 11) Sep 23, 2014

Odile blew through south of here, but we were fortunately out of the way. Saludos frescos de la Baja. Enjoy your new plants!

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