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Anyone do a Pereskiopsis "speed demon" graft?

There is a strange, ancient cacti called Pereskiopsis (not Pereskia though they look quite similar) which is a fast growing single stem tropical type plant with 4" lancolate leaves. Grafting onto this is said to be the fastest way to go from seedling to flowering adult in even the slowest growing cacti (ariocarpus, astrophytum, etc) in about a year as Pereskiopsis needs to be treated like a tropical houseplant not a cactus, lots of water, warmth and food.

On the cacti forum people said they didn't like Pereskiopsis grafts because it sometimes had a habit of causing the plants to become a clump instead of one big single head. I rather like the various sized clump look with the "matron" in the middle and all the pups around it. But each "offset" or whatever could be snapped off and made to root as a separate plant couldn't it if someone liked the single head look? To me, Pereskiopsis seems like a dream plant that might let me have some real neat, large plants quickly.

I was wondering if any of you have used this for grafting and if so what are your experiences with using it? After it outgrew the Pereskiopsis stem did you regraft to a Trichocereus stock or something to grow even larger or simply root it? I have 4 Pereskiopsis cuttings on the way to play with and will still have 4 once I do my first grafts! lol! :D

I've even seen some pics where people did a number of grafts up the stem instead of as a terminal graft to get the most of their growing space... Wild!
 
It depends what species of Pereskiopsis you are looking to use as grafting stock, also if you are going to try and remove the graft to replant and thus re-establish on its own root stock. There are some Hylocereus species which are just as good. I have done some tests, and found them to be either or, not without splitting hairs. Hylocereus are more readily available and you will have less trouble if removing the graft to establish back upon its roots, as you would do for Will... never mind.
 
Yes, I want to only use the graft as a "pump" to go from seedling to a small Onzuku (sp?) and other weird white Astrophytums then put them back on their own roots. The "stick people" (grafts) don't look too cool but I'm getting rather bored with seedlings (those who sprouted).

Would it be possible to graft something like a Dorstenia onto a Pereskiopsis or are they too different?
 
Dorstenia are frigging cool. I have a fair few species. However, to be honest, I have only every tried grafting it a couple of times and each time I have failed miserably. I'm of the mind that it is far too removed from other species such as those commonly used for speed grafting. However, if something similar could be found, then perhaps it would be possible, but who knows.

Take a note of this though, if you are going to do something that is a globe shaped grower, be very careful if using Pereskiopsis as I have had them snap on me. I use to use it a lot for growing on my lom... but since then, have switched to using Hylocereus which is commonly seen for the more 'showy' grafted cactus. At the end of the day, it's up to you and what you're aiming to do. A word though, careful with the nitrogen content of most fertilzers when using Pereskiopsis as it doesn't seem to give a ****, but when the graft is put back on its own roots, you will see the results... all green growth, but not a root in site. :(
 
I got the Pereskiopsis cuttings today (rootless). One packet seems to have been frozen all my mesembs and cacti have come willy-nilly for the past month with no problems but I think these are toast. The stems are still turgid so maybe new stock can be grown from these somehow? Perhaps these stems could be laid horizontally and each node along the stem will activate? After they grow a while the small node-stems could be cut apart and grown on to individual Pereskiopsis plants?

Should I use seedling mix and perlite 50/50 for Pereskiopsis or my desert cacti/mesemb mix: "aquatic plant soil" (baked clay bits), pumice/perlite, crushed limestone and a small bit of coir?

The Dorstenia are like a plant from an HP Lovecraft story with those star pods and fat bodies! I'd like to have a huge D. gigas - especially if their seeds and star pods were correspondingly huge... "Yes ma'am killed by a seed. You see they ripen and launch a softball sized seed up to 300 yards at speeds of 50 miles an hour..." :D

I wasn't able to get Hylocereus to root. I was sent two cuttings and after ? months nothing had happened no roots but no withering. If I didn't know better I'd have swore the guy sent me plastic cast replicas! lol! Is there a key to getting them to root? They would seem sturdier. Are they as fast of a grower as large Trichocereus are supposed to be? I've got 3 dif species about 18" tall and 6" in diameter which could be used as graft stocks later on when they've rooted in their new homes.

When you do a graft does only the grafted plant grow or does the stock also grow?

Can you cut the graft off a store cacti and use the bottom pre-rooted stock?
 
Hey, if the stems are still good and you see no signs of rot (check really carefully) then you should be able to get new stock from them, so long as it's not getting to cold where you are. If there are any soft bits, cut them out, or chuck the stem. If one goes rotten, chances are, it will spread. Air laying with Pereskiopsis will work pretty well actually. When I've done it in the past, I have just made up my own cacti mix which is normally any generic potting mix with a dump load of grit. I use crushed granite, clay would be good to and I normally add a very fine layer of propagating sand on top. If you want, you can nick the stem at each node, allow to callas up and then lay. In the past, I've always found this to give me better results, especially when using things with larger spaces between each node. Just make sure you leave it to callas up long enough. During winter, I leave my cacti bits to callas, normally for two months, if not more, depending on species and size. If it's still warm where you are, you should see results pretty quickly... leaves within two weeks, I mean lets face it, the species were talking about is pretty much a weed... but then again, that's the idea of it.

In regards to the H.P story, are you talking about ''beyond the mountains of madness?" Damn I love Lovecraft. I'm actually doing my dissertation on his identification of cosmic horror in the essay 'supernatural horror in literature.' Those plants your talking about sound damn cool. I really want to get my hands on some.

Yeah, you can cut a graft off and use the rooting stock, if you like. Some species, however, cannot grow without a host. I'm sure you know the ones I mean, those little fat colourful blobs of yellow, pink and bright red. Essentially, these are parasites and cannot grow there own roots if left on soil. They will simply rot and die. Some stock will grow with the graft, but it depends on the stock and the graft. In some cases, the host will use up everything the host needs to grow, and thus allowing it only enough nutrient to survive. In other cases, they will grow together. Pereskiopsis and Hylocereus are both very rapid growers and so long as the host in not too taking on their supply and store of NPK and sugars, they will grow at the same rate, unless what you are using is a very slow growing plant such as Loms or Aris, in which case, the host will grow at twice the rate, of the attachment. With Pereskiopsis, this can sometimes be a problem, as the stem becomes too long and snaps under the weight of the parasite. If this happens, simply try and root both host and stock together. Don't remove the host, as the shock might end up killing both plants. If you want some more depth to what I've said, I'll ask one of the Bot guys at Uni to send you some info, if you like, or you could join one of the Ethno cacti forums. Those guys are pros when it comes to grafting. I'm sure you know why ;)

Next time you see some of those grafted cacti in a store, knock off a tiny bit of the graft, take it home and practice grafting with it. Pereskiopsis can be a pain in the arse though, because they are normally too thin to have lacky bands put around them. Wedge grafting, or a modified form of node grafting works best in cases such as these. But, then again, I have seen people jab tooth picks straight through the graft and down into the top of the host and have both plants growing well, with no damage. It's pretty funny, watching a plant slowly absorb a toothpick.
 
I have several pereskopsis a wild weed in my greenhouse but I have never bloomed them. I you want to trade some succulents in about 1 month I can make it worthwhile.
Phil
 
Lovecraft made fiction accessible to me. I had never liked fiction of any kind, until I found Lovecraft's writing. No other writer I'd read could pull me in like he did and often in so few pages. That's the kind of writing I like, where stuff happens. Then we have William Burroughs where too much is happening and your imagination is threatened with a takeover. That's a style I really dig but most people say it's simply unreadable. lol!

I was just being silly about Dorstenia gigas having huge deadly seeds and pods. The plant gets 8 feet tall or so but I have no idea how big the seeds and pods are. It just would seem a let down if they were the same size as the small species who have large pods compared to their overall size.

Where do the roots emerge from on Pereskiopsis? Do they come out of nodes or only from a cut and callused end tip? Just curious how deep the rootless stem should be planted. 1-2" deep or just the tip in the soil with rocks holding it up?

I like those bizzarely colored Gymnocalyciums it's unforunate they have to be grown as a "parasite" (I love that!). I do have a G. mihanovichii that is on it's own roots and is dark purple with pink highlights and dark green/black stipes. But it isn't neon. What is it they do to them at the shops to make the grafts those bizzare colors? Are they mutated with chemicals or ?
 
I have wondered about that myself. I was thinking they might alter the pigmentation somehow. That, or its a virus like variegation, but I doubt it. Hey, can you post a pick of that G.sp on it's own roots, I would love to have a look. Sad to hear about the non-deadly seed pods though, that would have been so cool :(

Pereskiopsis being a succulent, yet not like other succulents - if that makes any sense - will grow from both cuts and nodes. I had one I was going to do a wedge graft with, so I cut into it, but something interrupted me. Anyway, long story short, it began to lean to one side, probably because of the wind, and the cut made contact with another plant and before I knew it, roots were on there way out. I tried to make it climb once before, but it didn't work :( I wish Gymo could be grown on their own roots. A little terrarium of them would be so cool, especially, set off against that red sand... maybe a little sand-swimmer or something like that running about in there.

Naked lunch was a great book... makes your head feel like mash-potatoes, but great, nonetheless. I think Lovecraft was the one who have me that extra boot in the arse to write in the way I wanted to, but it was Poe, his American literary counterpart, who got me into fiction to begin with.

*sigh* I wish I could grow carnivorous like I grow cacti and succulents. I just don't know what I do wrong. Sars, Dio, Dros, all fine... Neps, on the other hand, not a bloody chance. Even the real beginner ones like N. Ventri...

All well... I'll get there one day, I suppose. Oh, if you want to see some good demo videos on grafting, look up the grafting of Lomp... Willim... on youtube... and use that as your foundation. Most grafts can be done in that way.
 
  • #10
This is what my plant looks, like minus the bloom. I potted it (it came bare root) so I know it's not grafted on anything (currently anyway):

I was mistaken on the name it's Gymnocalycium fredrichii not G. mihanovichii as the name the seller sold it to me under. Though I've also seen it sold as G. mihanovichii v. fredrichii :-O !!!
Gymnocalycium_Fredrichi_V4.JPG


I enjoy writing short weird fiction and routines as well now after finding authors I actually enjoy. I carry pocket notebooks around incase something strikes (a story or sketch out an image that I need to draw later) I find it's best to get these things down right then or they get lost to the rest of the day.

Neps were easy for me so long as the species and the temps jived up. Make sure lowlanders are never below 20*C at night and 30*C days with 80%+ RH. Highlanders 5-10*C at night and 25*C OR LESS days and 80% RH with air circulation. the coolest parts of the year (Fall winter and spring) made my highland tank shine! Summer killed off a lot of pretty pitchers (not plants just older pitchers which will last six months or more in cool weather) even though I had the tank plugged into an Air conditioner unit mid june - mid sept was hard on the older pitchers and some plants like N. aristolochioides wouldn't pitcher at all with 30*C days. Very important for the cool species is wet wind. Lowlanders can just sit and steam under lights over a false bottom resivor with an inch of water in it as long as excess steam can vent off through a gap in the lid but highlanders gotta have the flowing moist breeze to keep them hard and fungus free in a cool, wet environment. I also like to use net pots in highland conditions (mainly used by orchid people) because they allow the soil to breathe and drain very fast and then I can water again a few days later. Highlanders like this constant flushing of their pots. I only use ground up long fiber sphagnum and small grade orchid bark/perlite/aquatic soil clay to make a light, quick draining and airy mix. I avoid using any peat for Neps (root rot) LFS only.
 
  • #11
That cacti rocks. I have some little dumpy yellow, blue and red balls I got the other day which I haven't had the chance to identify. The fell of root stock at a local nursery, so they just gave them to me. I'm going to let them recover for a little while and then graft them on to some Hylocereus which seems to be growing like a weed lately. It's a shame the stuff never bloody fruits, not that it tastes very good, anyway. But, it still looks cool.

I write too much. I write for Uni, I write for my dissertation, I write for freelance jobs and I write for the fun of it. I've written a fair few short stories, a couple of which are in circulation and a novel which will hopefully by published later this year. I know what you mean about forgetting things. If I wake up after a dream and it was good, I'll write it down, but other than that, I don't bother. Yeah, I've got one of 'those' kind of memories. It gives a lot of people the *****. However, I can't draw, nor could I, even if my life depended on it. It's a shame really, but I guess you can't have everything, right? Can I ask, what do you do in terms of occupation?

I'm of the same mind as you when it comes to HL neps. I use the net baskets too. The only two low-landers I have are inside in a terrarium. My problem is the temperatures here (here, being Western Australia). Summer day time temps get over 100 and seldom drop below 50 - 60 at night. Winter on the other hand hovers around 50 in the day, sometimes lower, and will often drop to 0 in the night. I think hybrids might be my best choice, though as luck would have it, I seem to be having some manner of good will with this latest N. venti... it hasn't formed any new pitchers, but it is growing like a weed. I was thinking maybe I should attempt to feed it.

You mentioned fungus. Have you ever had this grow in a terrarium before (hundreds of little white heads forming on the spag moss)? If so, how did you treat it, or what do you think would be good to treat it?
 
  • #12
I have a very uninteresting job, I operate a machine that inserts things like 401K savings plans and hospital bills into envelopes and stamps postage on them as they exit the far end of the machine. I've been doing it for 10-12 years but I only have to work 2 nights then I have two nights off, work 2 nights, 2 nights off so I feel like I'm hardly ever at work. Our company is really only busy every 3rd month when the business quarters end (January, April, July & October) the rest of the time I spend most of my day writing, drawing or reading in my favorite chair at my machines table cos most of the time out of 12 hour shift there's on 3-6 hours worth of work to do between six people running 3 machines. I can stay at work and get paid to read, write, etc. or go home without pay and do it. If I ever got a job at a fast paced mailing company like when I started I'd be screwed I've gotten so lazy at this place. I used to be sore all over and sweaty everyday when I first got a job at a mailing company back in 1995 but this place is great, super easy!

Outside that I occasionally sculpt action figures or statues, write lots of apocalyptic or weird short stories and routines that will eventually be coddled together into my own psychedelic novel (or series of them). I've just opened an online skateboard shop to put out some designs I've always wanted to see on decks: old school skate line art (ala Pushead/Jim Phillips/etc), not some photoshop collage and repeating fancy font logos that is so common today. I also edit/layout Battle Helm online metal magazine, used to be sold all over (the Metal Haven shop in Australia and any Tower Records/Shinjuku Superstores if you had them before they folded) but record labels didn't wanna pay more for ads as our circulation increased. How they expected to get a full page ad in a mag with 20,000 circ for $300 is beyond me... We were even offered a German language edition through MPK sold at railway and bus depots all over Germany but Labels either thought we were lying or whatever cos they gave us run around on ads for our 10th issue which would have been the worldwide breakout issue after we finally achieved a good size circulation after working at it for years and years. So we said F--- it all and went online exclusively in 2001 or so. Now there's no stress about print bill or anything else - it's total freedom. Now other newspapers and mags are doing the same thing - it is more ecologically sound not to use paper but a magazine in your hand just feels more "real"... Anyway, I like to keep busy so I add in plants as another hobby! lol!

As far as soil fungus I would just repot into fresh new long fibered sphagnum and perlite/some drainage material. If you have an infection in the soil, setting the plant back a month or so by repotting is better than trying to fight it with a toxin which could react badly with the Nep. In time the soil fungus will start to bother the Nep too by souring the soil. Sometimes the fungus is just in the outer soil and you don't have to disturb the actual root ball at all but do what you must to excise the virus! lol! High heat and stagnant, moist air will definitely encourage rapid fungal growth. If you can get a small fan 2-4" to hang inside your terrarium / growing area it will mix the air up and help avoid fungus taking root. But get rid of the fungusy soil before adding the fan. You don't wanna end up blowing the fungal spores all over into all the other plants. You won't know they've spread until you see them growing but then it's already too late.
 
  • #13
Hey here my Pereskiopsis eye candy. A Variegata Pereskiopsis Sp. Maybe the only one in the world! :0o:

Ale003.jpg
 
  • #14
Cool! I just picked up a variegated Euphrobia mammillaris on Sunday. The thing is nearly completely white with jade green shading. It's my first variegated plant.

My Pereskiopsis cutting that came with no leaves is making some and it looks like the ones who arrived frozen will live but they're slow at re-establishing. After two or three weeks none of my Ariocarpus fizzuratus seeds have germinated anyway so the Pereskiopsis can take their sweet time - I guess there's no rush.
 
  • #15
yea it take time for Ariocarpus seeds to germinate cause mine didn't germinated till 2 months. Also do you got a pic of the variegated Euphrobia mammillaris
 
  • #16
hey swords if you need any large Pereskiopsis, just hit me up cause I got a lot and these guys are huge!

Btw this is a old pic. I got a Pereskiopsis forest now


Greenhouse007.jpg
 
  • #17
Would it be possible to graft something like a Dorstenia onto a Pereskiopsis or are they too different?

Dorstenia onto a Pereskiopsis can't be graft together as they are to different. Dorstenia is a succulents and Pereskiopsis is Cacti.
 
  • #18
Wow, those Pereskiopsis are huge! What is the diameter of the base of those trunks 2" or more? They always use Pereskiopsis for seedlings but with a stock like that an overgrown seedling on a small stock could be transferred to a huge stock like that couldn't it? How long does it take for a Pereskiopsis to reach those sizes? Mine seemed to rocket into life overnight, sending out leaves from the dormant nodes on the frozen plants right after I said they seemed to be taking forever yesterday...

I will do a cactus photo post and show that Euphorbia.

Thanks for the info on the Ariocarpus seeds, do you keep the soil moist the whole time?
 
  • #19
yea, there about 2", it should take about 1 year and use fertilizer. They grow like crazy! Also yes you can re graft them.
 
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