38 replies to this topic

[waylitjim]

Here's a few pics of my new babies. These are the first cacti I've owned, I ordered them from Bouncing Bear. I plan on rooting them in 50/50 perlite and potting soil, then transfer to clay pots filled with a rich peatless mix of organic soil, black gold cactus soil (pumice, earthworm castings, forest humus) some perlite, cow manure and lime stone. I'm letting the cuts dry for another week, they're still somewhat soft.

They arrived as two tops and a middle section. I'm hoping the middle section will grow some pups, which I would remove and root later. This site has some great info.http://www.sacredcactus.com/index.htm

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[Hippie3]

is that rooting i see on one ?

[python]

nice waylit cant wait to see more.............

[Fungusaurus]

sweet veggies man :p
I'd take that middle section and cut it up in 2-3" pieces and root them - in time they would shoot a number of new pups wich could be cut off and rooted ; after that they would shoot again and again and could be used as a kind of mother cactus to create multiple spears. I do this all the time and get a lot of cuttings.
Here's a pic of one of my cactus mothers:

But anyway: enjoy your new plants, they look nice :)
:cacti: Cactusaurus

[waylitjim]

That's a good idea Cactusaurus :) I might give that a try.
Will the 'mother' keep producing or eventually stop growing new spears?

[Fungusaurus]

Them mothers will keep producing new spears, i actually still have the very first two bridgesii cactus i bought over 10 years ago and they are still popping new spears. They are the base of all my bridgesiis. I've rooted pieces as small as 1" but found that the smaller the pieces, the longer time it takes for them to root and shoot new spears.
I usually wait till the new spears are at least 3-4" before i cut them and then i leave a ½-1" of the new spear with fresh areoles on the base stem, cuz thats where the new spears seem to pop out fastest.
I hope this makes any sense...

edit: maybe easier to see on pics

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[Hippie3]

a bit like cutting cannabis, new growth shoots off what remains.

[python]

a slight variation of my peyote mix would be good for these........maybe a little less dolomite..........but everything else should work well for them

they will probably also work in a comm bagged cacti mix but the composted bark and peat moss could increase chances of acidification/rot

[xerimyco]

Nice looking cuts, Waylit. I believe that they are definitely bridgesii with the spines cut off. Those aren't roots though. They are portions of the woody inner skeleton sticking out. This ring of supportive tissue develops as the stem matures, it is very soft when the stem is young and becomes progressively more fibrous and woody. A large mature Tricho can have a core so tough that a pruning saw (or even a chainsaw) is needed to take a cut. The reason that the fibers are sticking out and not flush with the cut surface is that the flesh of the cactus shrinks away, leaving the core sticking out a little.

Another thing to be aware of is that you must make sure that you get the right end of the cut in the ground. This may sound obvious, and with tip cuts it is impossible to mess up (hopefully, anyway) but with middle cuts that don't have an obvious top end it is harder. Luckily it is easy on your particular cut. If tou look closely, you will notice a series of lines in the waxy outer coating of the cactus, they are "V" shaped. The point of the V is pointed towards the bottom of the cactus. If you ever have a cut that you can't identify the top, no worries though. A cut can be laid on its side on the soil (no need to stick it down in the soil, just lay on top) and it will root just fine. The cactus senses its position and sends roots out of the side of the stem. New stems will then burst forth from the side that is facing up. This is a favorite technique of professional cactus growers- it can take a little longer to root, but the larger surface area that is available for root growth it can be better in the long run. Fugusaurus has the right idea also. You can make small cuts (best to be no smaller than 3") and harvest the new stems that appear. He is also correct that you should leave a little of the new stem- make sure there are areoles on it-this is where new stems will come from.

Have fun! bridgesii is one of the best!

xerimyco

[python]

adventitious roots forming from a cacti placed on its side is simply gravitropism........

[xerimyco]

Yes, that is the correct term python. We used to call it "geotropism", which means "grows toward the Earth" but gravitropism is more accurate, as the roots grow towards the strongest source of gravity, which wouldn't necessarily be the Earth- if you were on the Moon for instance (lunatropism?)

xerimyco

[waylitjim]

Thanks for that excellent information xerimyco! Those pics were helpful Fungussaurus. Since these arrived, they've been kept indoors on a piece of cardboard at room temp so they can heal. When the mid section piece arrived it had a large tear on the bottom. I didn't think this was a problem since it seemed like to be drying up. Today on the same section I noticed a soft spot on the bottom. With some light pressure, it caved in and appears to be rotting internally. Here's some pics.


This is the tear >

This is the soft spot before applying pressure >


Same spot showing internal rotting. >

[mycobri]

i have had rot that has traveled up through the core and was not detectable from the outside, i think you need to cut off an inch or two (from the bottom) and see if the core is hollow, if you do not remove it it will spread very quickly IME

[waylitjim]

I removed an inch off of the end, fortunately the rot didn't travel very far. I took the advice of Fungussaurus and cut this middle section into two 6" pieces. I hope to make these two cuttings my future T. bridgesii mothers. All fresh cuts were dusted in sulfur powder which is a common procedure. The sulfur acts as a fungicide and speeds up the drying process. Thanks for the help everyone, I'll post more pics as the root and develop.

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[python]

Yes, that is the correct term python. We used to call it "geotropism", which means "grows toward the Earth" but gravitropism is more accurate, as the roots grow towards the strongest source of gravity, which wouldn't necessarily be the Earth- if you were on the Moon for instance (lunatropism?)

we usually call it positive-gravitropism

and ya did the right thing with the cuts waylit........

soil too moist or acidic can cause rot like that....make sure you have adequate drainage...........

[waylitjim]

soil too moist or acidic can cause rot like that....make sure you have adequate drainage...........

These cuts were never planted, they just arrived last week. They probably should have been left to dry and heal completely before they were mailed out.

[python]

i realize you have not planted them yet waylit, i was just saying for when you do plant them........

chances r the cacti had the rot before they were cut, or else
the moist end of the cacti deteriorated from oxygen/infection

[waylitjim]

Just some info I found relevant to this thread.

"When you receive your cutting, it may be freshly cut or it may have been been cut a while ago. If you don't know, then it is advisable to cure the ends by leaving the cutting in a moderately cool and dry location for 2-3 weeks until the cut surfaces have formed a callus. An electric fan can help dehydrate the end and speed up the process. Once the ends are cured they usually become quite hard and cave in a little. Planting a cutting which has not fully dried will usually lead to more problems down the road."

Freshly cut >

Healed (dry) >


When the cut is dry and "sucks in" it is ready to plant with little risk of infection.

[mycobri]

These cuts were never planted, they just arrived last week. They probably should have been left to dry and heal completely before they were mailed out.

Thats funny i got the same 3 cuts from BBB last week, and they were also not yet fully callused.

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[waylitjim]

Regarding mescaline content...

If it is mescaline you want then I suggest you try 15 dried grams of T. bridgesii (with the vascular core removed). It has been reported that with a 2.5% mescaline carrying L. williamsii there equaled 400mg mescaline in 16 dried grams. I am personally convinced that T. bridgesii has a higher and more consistent concentration of mescaline than almost any cultivated L. williamsii, and in fact is exceeding 400mg of mescaline in 15 grams (without vasuclar core or tissue within it). T. pachanoi has nothing on T. bridgesii. As for T. peruvianus, well the identification issue is still one that leaves much to be desired.

and a trip report...

My experience was with a bridgesii pup aprox 12" X 2.5". Despined and blended whole into aprox 20 oz of raw snot, consumed over a 20 minute period. It was not terrible and i did not purge however I did have some nausea on digesting that load of snot. Experience came on gently over a 2hr period and peaked at about the 4-5 hr mark at a solid +3 (I am hard headed to psychedelics so another may have gone further) The OEV's were like brilliant fractals and CEV's that were almost too much. Effects dwindled for 6hrs post peak and no hangover effects were experienced. Panchanoi for me is much more somaticly active with restlessness and tremor at high dose