2665 replies to this topic

[HrVanker]

And we have germination! So far I see 3 seeds that have popped, and I think I see a few more starting to pop.

I know the photo isn't great. I think I need to have my phone replaced.

Edited by HrVanker, 24 July 2022 - 04:42 PM.

[Choices]

Haven’t posted in awhile. Life, personal issues yada yada yada. Anyway. I did some grooming on my SS02xSS01 and she threw some pups. Just wanted to get back in the mix. One love. And love you all.

[YoshiTrainer]

First few lychee fruits, unfortunately my small tree only made about 12 fruits this year. On the plus side, I'm the only one that eats them! :)

[LoneRanger]

Some summer shots from the garden:

 

I have two rooted scop columns, two Hulk x Scop seedlings and 9 or 10 scop grafts. Here are some:

 

 

My TPM terminated and then shot out 8 pups (one is at the base):

 

 

My last post mentioned "blue" plants but when I saw the post they didn't look very blue. Here are some better shots:

 

 

[HrVanker]

Just some updates on my little collection:

The two Psych0×Clydes I cut are pupping pretty well, but notably different considering they are clones. The older/parent plant was a single stalk that I cut last year, leaving ~12" above the soil, and it threw off 7 good sized pups. I cut 6 of the sections this year, and have 7 more pups.


The clone was a top-cut that took off this year (growing at least 24"), and I left about 5" above the soil when I cut it. So far it only has two pups coming up, but they do look quite healthy.

The difference in how they are pupping may be helpful in achieving some sort of aesthetic with the plant. Almost like topping cannabis.

These are two log cuttings, the fat one is from the 2-pupper above, while the skinny is one of the pups from the more prolific pepper above. Neither one has rooted yet and both have pups, but the skinny pup is on the underside. I treated both w/ IBA rooting hormone.


The Loph is doing well. I've been depriving it of water for a week or two, trying to let the soil dry out completely. I've heard that drought followed by monsoon can induce flowering, so I figured I'd give it a try before summer is out. This one has been spoiled anyway, so it could use some character building.


I've also been playing around w/ grafting. The double headed seedling has been a difficult one since day one. Under nearly identical care as its siblings, it's stunted and always trying to die. Recently, the shorter more stunted stem was dying off, so I cut off the tip, and attempted grafting it to one of its siblings. Ultimately it failed, but the scion was far from ideal. So I re-cut the top of the Ikaros seedling, grafted a smallish button from my loph cluster. The plastic was the best thing I could find to hold the button down, but I think it's working! I used the spines to hold tension on all 4 sides, so it's spread evenly over the top (and thus the graft site). I think I got the rings positioned well, but we'll see.


And finally, the Lophophora seedlings! Haven't lost any yet, w/ a total of 18. I think the germinate rate may be due to damage in shipping... When I got the seeds, there was some small black, pink, and whitish bits in the bag. Initially I assumed this was chaff from the pods/general dirt that might travel w/ the seeds. I did count out ~50 things that I thought were seeds (albeit some were tiny and misshapen), but I am guessing that many of them were somehow damaged.
It's no big deal though, these guys seem to be going strong and I'm happy to watch them grow!

[pharmer]

Recently up-potted most of my smaller specimens. Added well composted stuff and a sprinkle of mycorrhiza  to all upsized pots.  A mix of bridgessi, pachanoi, and peruvs btw. Trying to get them some new vigor before forcing dormancy in the basement this winter.

 

I'm babysitting a loph and doing almost nothing but watering it, it's doing so well all by itself.

Edited by pharmer, 18 August 2022 - 10:42 AM.

[rockyfungus]

Nice feet!

Grabbed some pads from a neighbor. They appreciated the rains, so did the weeds.

These did the thing. Been too lazy to get them outside. 

 

 

 

[Boebs]

Variegated bridgesii tig x tersheckii ss
Update on this seedling i grafted a while back

[HrVanker]

Update on my graft! Looks and feels like a solid bond between the scion and stock, also feels like the loph has plumped up a bit since grafting. I took the plastic wrap off just about 20min ago, and will keep an eye on it to see if there is any movement or further gapping taking place. The gaps do make me slightly concerned.

If you look on the right side below the corking, it appears that the Ikaros stock has raised up a bit. To me, it looks like the graft took, and the plumping caused a bit of the gap. But the stock is bonded well enough that it raised up a bit w/ the plumped loph. I used a safety razor (wide and flat) to make the cuts, so they were indeed perfectly flat when I grafted.

Any input is welcome!

Edited by HrVanker, 21 August 2022 - 03:50 PM.

[Skywatcher]

Looks good  !

Grafts that do not take continue to de-hydrate. This looks nicely plumped.

[Nichrome]

[HrVanker]

Any advice on how to deal w/ this awkward gangly phase of seedling growth? They're almost all doing pretty well, but they keep leaning. Sometimes they lean when they're thirsty and sometimes they lean after watering. And until they really start putting on girth, I'm sure it will be an issue.

They get nearly full sun and water 1-3×/wk. Since moving outside 8mo ago, they've grown exponentially. So I thought I was on the right track, but now I'm wondering...

The Ikaros seem more apt to fatten up than the OP×Kathleen. A few months ago I repotted 6 or 7 of the least stable seedlings, and in some cases had to bury nearly half of it below the soil to keep it steady. It's my understanding that cactus stems only fatten up at the new growth. So will I just have to keep repotting them deeper until they're nice and fat?

Jan 2021 when they were transitioned to outdoors:


Today:

[Boebs]

Yea, i was told to top them. I typically wait a little longer by just supporting them with a chop stick and a bread tie

[HrVanker]

Yea, i was told to top them. I typically wait a little longer by just supporting them with a chop stick and a bread tie

I'll wait as long as possible before cutting. The growing season is nearly over (felt a cool breeze last night for the first time in months!!), so Spring seems like a good target. Should leave me w/ some good graft stock too!

Also, those seedling pics are from Jan this year... which seems nearly impossible given the growth since then. But I did double-check just to be sure.

[HrVanker]

Little pic update on the loph seedlings. They are pretty much all doing well, some baby ribs are starting to show as well. One seems to be lagging a bit, and has a very slight yellow/brown tinge to it. Keeping my eye on that one.

I know that they are still young, so lids haven't come off completely. But I have left them slightly cracked the last few days monitoring closely, and misting a bit if RH seems low. I may leave the lids off for an hour or two today, just to see if they look worse for it.

Given what I've seen so far, they should be fine. The main reason is that some of the seedlings look like they may be etiolating a bit. Now that I think about it, some slightly loose plastic wrap might be a good intermediate...

[Skywatcher]

Those are looking pretty good Hr. They seem to be rounding out nicely.

[Sicshroom]

Is anyone else having an issue uploading photos? I want to share an update but when I choose the photo to upload the attach this doesn't respond. 

[Skywatcher]

Image test.................

 

Edited by Skywatcher, 12 September 2022 - 04:25 PM.

[Skywatcher]

Is anyone else having an issue uploading photos? I want to share an update but when I choose the photo to upload the attach this doesn't respond. 

It seems to be working fine... I do on occasion have a glitch, but not lately.

Try again?

[HrVanker]

I was going to post about keeping my grafted loph on my windowsill, how great it's looking, and share this beautiful photo:


But then that corked area caught my eye, and I decided to take a closer look. That reddish-brown area is a bit soft. We got some rain last week, and everything got wet. I specifically noticed that the area around the graft got wet, so that's my guess.


Other than that spot, everything is looking healthy and feeling plump. The scion is starting to get that grafted look already too.


Should I de-graft, trim the rootstock (45° cuts and whatnot)? Or try trimming the soft area from the scion?