My First Graft

On the 12/07/09 I tried my hand at a tissue graft for the first time.
I grafted as small Lophophora var. Caespitosa pup as the scion (top) and used a small T. Bridgesii as the root stock (bottom).

I used several Very helpful resources to inform the process. The links for these are:

http://www.kadasgarden.com/grafting2.html

http://www.divinecactus.com/advice_g1.php

I also read the Peyote and other Psychoactive Cacti by Adam Gottlieb (I highly recommend this book).

Overall the graft went well, however I was very sceptical whether it would work in the beginning.
I accidentally forgot to bevel the edges of the root stock down (this stops the edges from curling up and pushing the scion off), so I had to remove the scion to do this, and in the time it took to do so the xylem & phloem tubes of the food stock will have closed up on both the stock and scion (this will have prevented the graft from taking).
So I had to re-cut both surfaces. In the end there wasn't much peyote left! (VERY STRESSFUL)

To my amazement the peyote didn't die, or even dehydrate too much. It became very soft which worried me, but it soon plumped up and it is already showing signs of active growth!
These are some picture of the cacti just after the tissue graft:







Here are some photos of the same cactus after about 20 days after the graft:




As you can see the scion has bloated and much new growth can be seen (paler green tissue).


Notice the small bulges around the cut, these are the new pups emerging!

I am very proud of my little graft, and will be doing many more in the future!

Lophophora Williamsii var. Caespitosa

On the 4/12/09 I received my Lophophora Williamsii var. Caespitosa from the UK. It was another Divine cactus purchase. It is by far the most impressive peyote I have. The main head is roughly 5.5cm and the clump measures 7cm. there are over ten 'pups' of various sizes.
I planted it in a round bowl shaped pot to accommodate the large tap root.

I will be using the pups to graft with in the future.
Here are a few pics from when it was first planted:

Lophophora Williamsii Seedlings

I planted 50 Lophophora Williamsii seeds on the 14/11/09. These seeds were brought from Divine Cactus. They have been on a windowsill with the exact same setup I had for my previous Trichocerus seeds. However I have had a much lower germination rate so far. Only 12:50 have come through!

I know that Lophophora generally need a higher temperature to germinate (25°). I also have read that it is beneficial to have fluctuating night/day temperatures, and recently the weather hasn't been doing this! :<
Hopefully more will come up over the next few weeks.
Ideally I would have them on a heat-mat with some florescent lighting, but I cannot afford that setup right now. So I am stuck with the El Natural method!

The soil mix is slightly different this time. I added corse river sand at about 1:1 ratio with a commercial cactus mix, I also threw in a few limestone chips. The top 5mm is just corse sand, which the seeds were gently pushed into (very shallow). I head that this would prevent damping off (joke) and help support the seedlings (it also makes it look more like a desert :>).

Today I noticed a whitish mould growing over the gravel, to combat this I sprayed the seed tray with a dilute sulphur solution. I hope this won't have an adverse affect on future germination or on my precious little lophos!!

Here are a few pictures of the germinated seedlings, the largest being about 8mm.

Lophophora Williamsii

Lophophora Williamsii, True Peyote









On the 14/11/09 I received three little 3cm lophos in the post!
I ordered them from Divine Cactus in the UK, and was Very sceptical whether they would make it through NZ customs. But luckily they did! (I was Ecstatic)!

They are planted a terracotta pot to increase air exchange and to increase drainage.
The soil is roughly 1/2 cactus soil mix, 1/2 corse river sand, and a handful of limestone chips.
Here are a few pictures of them.

San Pedro Cutting

Closeup of Apical Meristem showing New Growth, Echinopsis pachanoi, syn. Trichocereus pachanoi.


Echinopsis pachanoi, syn. Trichocereus pachanoi


I picked this short spined San Pedro up on a site called Trade Me (New Zealand's answer to Ebay). When I brought it it was roughly 26cm tall, and a lush dark green colour.
I left it to dry out on a windowsill for a days, and while it was there it began to through out some little roots!
So I planted him up in a glazed pot about 10x15cm.
I later found through extended reading that this pot was far too small, and that Unglazed pots suit cactus better. (I was also eager to check on the roots growth).
So I RE-potted him and found Extraordinary root growth (he'd already almost filled the pot!).
I chose a much larger pot (and improved on the soil) this time, and I will be sure to give him a break from my interruptions.

But I still cannot get over how quickly these roots grow! They certainly make the most of their time when the conditions are good!

T. Bridgesii & T Peruvianus

On the 4/11/09 I planted 16 Echinopsis lageniformis (Trichocereus bridgesii) seeds & 50 Echinopsis peruviana syn. Trichocereus peruvianus seeds. Both brought from the same Ebay seller from Bolivia?

They are planted in a small lidded seed tray I picked up from a local garden centre. I've been misting them every other day to keep the humidity up. The soil is a standard commercial cactus mix with a little corse sand added on top after they had germinated. I heard this will help prevent the seedlings from damping off and diseases (it also makes them look slightly desert like :>)

They have been grown on a windowsill with little direct sunlight, and with no heating (i'm poor).
I taped a few sheets of kitchen roll onto the lid to filter some of the light, this seems to work great.

I've had a pretty high germination rate which I think is down to the warm weather I am having at the moment. Most germinated in the first two weeks!
They are growing nicely,and allot of them are producing their first little Areoles!

Trichocereus Bridgesii

Echinopsis lageniformis, syn Trichocereus Bridgesii


I found this little guy at a local garden centre, the name was misspelled but it had relatively long spines for a cactus of its size so I am pretty confident it is a true Bridgesii (Echinopsis lageniformis).

The flesh is much paler than other pics of Bridgesii I have seen, but I think that might be down to a slight sunburn.
I repotted it on 4/11/09, and hope to use it as a grafting stock when it gets growing again!

The First Seedling

Last month I ordered 20 Echinopsis lageniformis (Previously Trichocereus bridgesii) seeds from an Ebay vendor. I am pretty sure they are the correct genus but I guess only time will tell!

I was so eager to plant them when they came, that four went straight into a tiny terracotta pot I had. A water bottle with the bottom cut off provided the humidity needed to germinate.

A few days later one of the tiny seedlings began to emerge! (it was greeted with a worrying amount of excitement).

An accident a few days after caused the pot to fall off the windowsill and spill soil everywhere (devastated :<) but I managed to save and replant the fragile seedling.

It kept on growing wonderfully and is now about 50mm (1/2 cm) tall!

Here are a few pics, as you can see it has formed its first four Areoles!

Beginnings

Right, I will be taking a few pictures of how far I have gotten with my Cacti so far.
This will probably happen tomorrow.