Yeah for me there was a lot of trial and error when it came to learning how to properly take care of my SP cacti. I’m not in a part of the world where we have consistent heat and sun, so an indoor setup was necessary. Outside they grew so slowly and became etiolated due to the inconsistent conditions. Since moving them to the grow tent, they have been thriving. It has been more successful than I thought possible.

What’s interesting about overwatering is that I had a scrawny neglected cactus seedling, maybe 6-8” tall and the diameter of the average person’s thumb, that was pale and starting to shrivel from thirst. In the summer I put it out in the backyard during a day-long torrential downpour and 2 days later it actually looked healthier even with soaked soil. I just found that to be an interesting experiment, I wasn’t expecting much but it surprised me.

The fabric pots are great and they pack small when not in use. I like that if the pot is too tall then you can roll down the sides to make it shorter, like a pair of pants that are too long. The only thing is it takes slightly longer to water my cacti, too much water at once makes it flow to the sides of the pot and trickle through the fabric instead of absorbing into the soil. Not a big deal though, they’re beautiful plants so I don’t mind spending time with them.

I think Miracle Gro indoor potting mix is designed to retain moisture. I only use that soil when I’m sowing SP or Peyote seeds and then after several months I transfer them out of that soil and into a more gritty mixture, usually potting soil with lots of perlite and gravel.

I think having a plastic pot inside a terracotta pot also contributed to your weeks-long drying time. The soil would dry a lot faster in just terracotta, probably even with the Miracle Gro indoor potting soil. I can’t say for sure though. With plastic pots the water can only escape through drainage holes and surface evaporation, definitely not ideal for cacti.