Strange E.micromeris seedlings. Are they cristate?

[Armen Tsirunyan]

Hi there, dear fellow cactus enthusiasts!
Below is photo of my 2 year old E.micromeris seedlings. If you look at the far right pot, you'll notice that all four seedlings in it are monstrous in one way or another. At 1 year of age, all the seedlings were normal (no double heads, etc).

2017.04.23.18.23.25PHOTO_ID1438TAGS.seedlings.IDS.100.END.JPG (121.74 KiB) Viewed 523 times

What could cause 25 percent of my seedlings to develop double-triple heads and what appears to be cristate-like appearance? A friend of mine hinted it could be because of too acidic environment/lack of limestone in the soil. Any ideas?

A double headed seedling:

2017.04.24.17.05.55PHOTO_ID1462TAGS.seedlings.problems.IDS.100.END.JPG (95.83 KiB) Viewed 523 times

A triple headed seedling:

2017.04.24.17.06.11PHOTO_ID1463TAGS.seedlings.problems.IDS.100.END.JPG (98.34 KiB) Viewed 523 times

Two weird seedlings:

2017.04.24.17.05.46PHOTO_ID1461TAGS.problems.IDS.100.END.JPG (89.86 KiB) Viewed 523 times

2017.04.24.17.06.21PHOTO_ID1464TAGS.seedlings.problems.IDS.100.END.JPG (83.28 KiB) Viewed 523 times

What could be causing this? No other species I sew had any problems like these. And one last but important question. Are the seedlings on the last two photos cristate? Or is it too soon to tell. If they are indeed cristate, do I absolutely HAVE to graft them or is it possible for them to survive on their roots?

Thank you for any insights!

[Aiko]

Probably like just a few that got multiple heads. I have one of those between my seedlings. Nothing too special, or needing special care.

[hegar]

I agree, all of these plants will do fine on their own roots. There is no need for grafting any of them onto another rootstock.
I am not sure, what caused the formation of multiple heads. However, I do have one big cactus, which had its crown injured. This resulted in the plant producing several smaller heads. Perhaps a few of your plants got damaged also. Some other kinds do produce many pups higher up on the plant without having been subjected to injury. If nothing else, those plants that are different, are interesting.

Harald