Pereskiopsis on Opuntia subulata monstrose

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stanislas
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Pereskiopsis on Opuntia subulata monstrose

Post by stanislas »

As some small pieces Pereskiopsis remained after chopping day (with as goal to graft some seedlings), I decided to perform a less common grafting. To clearify: grafting the other way around: Pereskiopsis on Opuntia stock. After two weeks it looked like this:
Image

To be honest, I got my inspiration from this topic:
http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8235, in which Cactusbutt shows some weird effects that had arisen after grafting on a monstrose stock. I'm curious about what the Pereskiopsis will do...
Anyone else doing some experimental grafting? Or have you grafted Pereskiopsis on other cacti?
Tony
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Post by Tony »

Not yet.
But my opuntia subulata monstrose stocks are rooted well now so its only a matter of time.
I never considered using the peresks though, keep us posted.
Forget the dog...Beware of the plants!!!

Tony
Lewis_cacti
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Post by Lewis_cacti »

Unusual graft! :) lets see what it does!
stanislas
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Post by stanislas »

Lo and behold, the pereskiopsis scion started to develop some unusual phenotype (for their species that is). I'm used to pereskiopsis specimens to ever grow taller and have little tendency to branch off as long as their growth tip is intact. But this scion on top of a subulata monstrose stock, does start to form, albeit small, leave-like tips at the base of each leaf (there were it is attached to the trunk). I'm curious to see if these will actually form side-branches. I'll soon post a photograph.
Next I'm planning to do:
1. Exercise some patience and see how it will develop further. And in the meantime make some photographs.
2. Once it has grown considerably, I'll take off a branch and let that grow roots on its own. This to see if the way of growing reverts back to its former state. In that case, I think hormones are to blame the monstrose grow style. If not... well then thing get even more interestingly :) Pereskiopsis sp. monstrose, anyone?
Tony
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Post by Tony »

Interesting experiment...Pictures! :)
Forget the dog...Beware of the plants!!!

Tony
daiv
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Post by daiv »

When you got Opuntia in the mix, you never know what to expect!

I will be interested in the pics too!
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
Lewis_cacti
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Post by Lewis_cacti »

i echo the above :P
stanislas
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Post by stanislas »

As promised, pictures of Pereskiopsis grafted on Opuntia subulata monstrose.

The whole plant:
Image
Note the small, leaf-like tips at the base of each leaf. These are not spines, but thin green leaves. This can be seen in detail in the photo below:
Image
It looks like the plant is going to sprout new branches at each and every leaf. Quite unusual for this species if you ask me...
Lewis_cacti
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Post by Lewis_cacti »

Pereskiopsis monstrose! :) yep, that is unusual. i have never seen this happen with any of my pereskiopsis on their own roots. in fact it seems this species has such strong apical dominance that it rarely branches at all unless the growing tip is damaged.
Tony
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Post by Tony »

Looks like that may be a great way of makin alot of Grafting stocks quick. :wink:

I wonder if the cuttings will revert once removed and grown on they're own roots :-k
Forget the dog...Beware of the plants!!!

Tony
Lewis_cacti
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Post by Lewis_cacti »

Tony wrote:I wonder if the cuttings will revert once removed and grown on they're own roots :-k
yeah i was wondering that too.

heres another idea..i wonder what would happen if you grafted a seedling to the top of that pereskiopsis grafted on the opuntia subulata.
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Greener
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Post by Greener »

This is weird :lol:

Greener
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TimN
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Post by TimN »

[quote="Lewis_cacti
heres another idea..i wonder what would happen if you grafted a seedling to the top of that pereskiopsis grafted on the opuntia subulata.[/quote]

Why stop there? You could make a totem pole of all your favorite plants grafted one on top of another!

Tim
stanislas
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Post by stanislas »

And still it grows new side-branches. It really starts to look weird. I'll soon post a new picture of that.

Regarding grafting several species on top. Well, that gave me an idea. I've now grafted a small piece of Opuntia subulata monstrose on top of a fresh Pereskiopsis stock. Once that takes, I'll let it grow a bit and then I'll graft some yet_to_be_selected_seedling on the Opuntia. This way, it benefits from the enormous growth push given by the Pereskiopsis stock, and hopefully the intersecting Opuntia piece will induce some monstrose formation. I'm curious about what that will give. I hope the scion on top will pup or form side-branches all over. But that remains to be seen.

And that brings me to the next step: I'm planning to experiment with some UV-C radiation to induce mutations and create chloroplast-lacking specimen. The plan is as follows: I'll radiate the scion partially, but not the stock underneat. I speculate that the radiated scion has better change to survive on a vigerous stock, compared to one on its own roots. As UV-C damage in this scenario is only relevant for the growing parts of the plant, I like to have many growth tips. The more the better, thus increasing the change of some viable mutation taking place in one of them... So bring forth the monstrose effect. Et voila! There you have it.
But if this all works, I've no idea. I'll keep you updated...

And yes, I'll take of a branch of the Pereskiopsis on the Opuntia to see if the monstrose effect is permanent.
daiv
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Post by daiv »

Fun - this is pretty ground-breaking stuff! Glad you are letting us in on the experiments!
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
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