Beginner Gardening: potting a pachypodium, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Pot it up now. I would recommend a clay pot since they dry out quicker than plastic. A standard pot should be deep enough but make it twice as big as the diameter of the pachypodium so you have room to pick up the pot without getting stuck by the thorns. Water it good to begin with so the roots start growing and then water every few weeks after that. They can go weeks without water in winter but you want it to stay happy too.

I don't know why you would use so much rock though. I'm pretty sure I have mine in pure potting mix but then I did it several years ago so I might have some sand and aquarium gravel mixed in as well.

This one is a survivor. I let it outside one winter (west of Atlanta) along with all the other cacti and succulents (maybe a couple hundred). It and another pachypodium or two plus an agave or two were the only survivors.

The cactus is winter hardy too but I bring this pot indoors. The ones in the ground made it through last winter.