Lophophora Williamsii Cactus Care

Peyote like bright and warm environment but no direct sunlight, they will sunburn and can die if exposed to strong sun for long period of time. In its natural habitat, lophophora is mainly found under a bush, near other cactus. They really like shady areas ,hot daily temperatures and cold nights. Peyote also enjoy the company of their fellow relatives, so it is usually found in clusters. Lophohoras grow well in greenhouse well ventilated, with mild to high temperature. Indoor, inside your house, a southern facing window is great, and they can do very well under a lamp.

A good soil for lophophora needs good drainage and aeration. You can use those ingredients to make a good soil: sharp sand, pumice, perlite, vermiculite, zeolite, rocks and thin ground. Just adapt the best ingredients for your climate. If you are on a budget, pumice stones and sand is enough. It works great in our environment, with a ration of 3:1. 3 parts of pumice stones and 1 part of sand. It is recommended to change your soil every year or so. It is possible to add some worm castings or natural compost but take care to not use too much organic content in your soil. Usually 70-30 ration mineral/organic is required. But just adapt to your climate, as humidity and temperature differ from place to places. Here is a step by step instruction video on how to proceed: https://bit.ly/3mMkY7e

Watering is really important for your peyote, and the most common mistake is to overwater them. Therefore, in that case, less is more. Wait that your soil is totally dry before you give them water. The best way to check your soil is to put a toothstick inside, if the stick is not humid when you put it out of the soil, then you can water your cactus.

You have to adapt what is in your soil according to your climate, humidity, air… Always check how your lophophora adapt to any change, if it doesn’t like it you will notice soon that its shape, color, skin will change. So be careful and act before it is too late. Best way is to go back to the last settings which was succesful.

Cacti are used to dry conditions and therefore should never be given too much
water. The best time to water the Peyote cactus is in spring, and you can keep
watering them until autumn. When it is really hot, you should water them more
often, but always check and be sure that the soil is dry in between 2 waterings.

In winter you shouldn’t water your peyote much, especially if you keep your cactus outdoor, because the cold combined with the water can damage the Peyote. Only give little water in the winter to prevent the cactus from completely drying out.

Those recommendations are valid if your climate has a winter. In tropical area things are different. For us, for example we adapt our soil and watering to our conditions. Lophophoras are doing really well in humid climate. You just need to be careful, check them everyday. You can even speak to them or let them enjoy some music. In my experience they love it.

Peyote cacti are growing actively in the period from spring to fall, when temperature raises. In this period
they need the water and nutrients, if you want to. For nutrients use special cactus nutrients and always be very careful no give them too much. They can break due to overfeeding. Good cactus nutrition is always low in nitrogen and high in potassium and Phosphor. They will have a nice color and some slow growth. These are indicated
by numbers at the label of the bottle in a NPK value. A good NPK value for adult peyote cactus
would be 4-7-7 or even 2-7-7. Younger can accept more N value, but be careful and always use less then recommended on the package.

An excellent way to water the Peyote is to “bottom” water them. Just put them in the sink
with a small amount of water for a few minutes. The “bottom” watering method
will assure strong roots because the roots have to reach out for the water.
Although this is a good way to water them, it’s also possible to occasionally water
them from above. Water them when they are soft and be really careful to not give them too much water.