Steve's 2015 stuff

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Onzuka
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Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

Hi Forum Members.

Firstly please allow me to wish you all, your friends and families, a happy, healthy and hopefully prosperous New Year.

Okay, so I'm a day early with my 2015 postings. I was not posting as actively in 2014 as I should have been, so I intend to correct that in 2015.

So, for today, does anyone use this Opuntia as a grafting stock?

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It is very quick growing, offsets profusely and roots easily. It is thick in cross section, very juicy and grafted scions grow with a reasonably natural shape. It's also hardy in an unheated greenhouse in northern England. That is a lot of desirable traits!

I've had it for years but never had a satisfactory identification for it. I've seen it named Opuntia elata and also Opuntia bergerensis but doubt if either is correct. It has never flowered for me, but that's probably because I don't allow them to get to maturity. The main reason I grow it is for food for my Mediterranean Tortoises, with grafting stock being a secondary use.

Does anyone know what it is or even use it for grafting?

Steve
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Robb
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Robb »

Great graft! Did you use anything to secure the sicon to begin with? Also, what size was the seedling when you grafted it? I'm hoping to try grafting on Opuntia humifusa (that is, if I can get a seedling graft to take this year :roll: ) It will be interesting to see how it compares to Pereskiopsis.
Buying a cactus a day will keep the madness away.
KittieKAT
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by KittieKAT »

So with opuntia grafts u don't have to match up the inner plants growing system with the grafted plant's? Just asking purely outta curiosity, I've never tried grafting but I'll have ti regraft a lactea soon Cause it's grafting stock was horribly burned and its not looking so good unfortunately :(
I just noticed your graft was slightly off to the side and thought I'd as :)
Happy New year!
Onzuka
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:32 pm
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

Robb wrote:Great graft! Did you use anything to secure the sicon to begin with? Also, what size was the seedling when you grafted it? I'm hoping to try grafting on Opuntia humifusa (that is, if I can get a seedling graft to take this year :roll: ) It will be interesting to see how it compares to Pereskiopsis.
Hi Robb

That graft was done as a tiny seedling and nothing was used to secure it but gravity. I have lots of O. humifusa (compressa). It's totally hardy in the uk. I have had very little luck with grafting to it, I find it too thin. Stick with the grafting, you'll get there!

Steve
Onzuka
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

KittieKAT wrote:So with opuntia grafts u don't have to match up the inner plants growing system with the grafted plant's? Just asking purely outta curiosity, I've never tried grafting but I'll have ti regraft a lactea soon Cause it's grafting stock was horribly burned and its not looking so good unfortunately :(
I just noticed your graft was slightly off to the side and thought I'd as :)
Happy New year!
Hi KittieKat

You certainly do have to align the vascular rings whatever type of stock and scion you use. Here is a pic of this Opuntia that was a failed graft. It's intended to show you where the vascular ring is. It only 2 or 3 mm from the outside skin.

Image

The brown circle is where the scion was sitting and I recon that I got the alignment wrong, it needed to be nearer to the edge.

Here is another A. myrio graft, this time on Pereskiopsis. You can see the mega difference in growth style. This Opuntia does not cause that to happen. When the summer arrives, I'll probably remove these offsets and graft them onto this Opuntia or Harrisia.

Image

Can anyone help me with the ID of the mystery Opuntia?

Steve
KittieKAT
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by KittieKAT »

Wow that's so weird I've never actually cut an opuntia to see where the vascular rings where, that's really something! And good to know.
Onzuka
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

So its New Year's Day and I was in my greenhouse, just for a change! I noticed these two pots of babies and thought I'd share them with you. These are the results of just two flowers, hand pollenated and are the reverse crosses. Which pot you prefer depends upon whether you like Onzukas or pink tinged (Koh-yo?) ones. The foreigner in there was a graft scion that did not take but produced roots so I stuck it in to see what happend.

Image

Image

Sorry about the blurriness, the light was low and I was hand holding the camera. They have also not been transplanted yet, the neatish rows are a result of placing individual seeds with tweezers (forceps?) and a very good germination rate. You can do that with Astrophytums, but just try with Strombocactus or Aztekiums!!

I have just taken another look at the two photos and realised that there are well over 100 babies there. Maybe I need to moderate my seed sowing a bit.

Steve
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Robb
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Robb »

Great seedlings! I must include c.v Onzuka in my next MG order. Do I see a stray asterias in the last pot :wink: ?
Buying a cactus a day will keep the madness away.
KittieKAT
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by KittieKAT »

Lol can't wait to see the repot photos of all these babies! Lol! Better prepare 100 or so pots soon!
rgiesecke
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by rgiesecke »

Looks a bit like some clones of O anacantha kiska-loro, from what I can see. Working well, whatever it is. Do you have a picture of it with a couple pads on it?

I like to use Opuntia sp for rootstocks, but have been going with O cacanapa lately.
"Horticulture, after all, is a mode of articulating and feeling time."
Onzuka
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:32 pm
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

This Epyphylum, allegedly cooperi, has been very reluctant to give me flowers. If you convince a plant that it's going to die, it can sometimes make it have an emergency shot at reproducing and it worked on this one. The flowers are a beautiful shade of pink. I'm the world's worst photographer of flowers. I tried to get a decent shot with my Olympus C8080 and was totally unhappy with the result. These pics are from my Daughter in Law's iPhone!

Image

Image

Image
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Brunãozinho
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Brunãozinho »

=D> Good work on "threatening" the plant to get some flowers!
Bruno
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Arjen
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Arjen »

nice epi!!
With apologies to the late Professor C. D. Darlington the following misquotation springs to
mind ‘cactus taxonomy is the pursuit of the impossible by the incompetent’ - Fearn & Pearcy, Rebutia (1981)
Mark
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Mark »

Nice trick with the Epi!

Mark
Onzuka
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Re: Steve's 2015 stuff

Post by Onzuka »

12 years ago, I needed many Harrisia jusbertii for grafting, so I decided, as I didn't need them right away, to grow them from seeds. The seeds were obtained from Doug & Vivi Roland's, now there are two names from the past! Germination was good and I had the stock plants that I needed. Since then, using cuttings and discarded tops from grafting, I have a good stock of plants, with a surplus to sell on Ebay.

Last year I started wondering what would happen if I let a couple of them develop so I gave them bigger pots and let them grow. Now, one has given me this.

Image

Its by far the biggest cactus bud that I've ever had, and may grow some more yet before it opens. There is also a 2nd bud developing. I'll try to get pics of the open flower and post them on here.

My questions to the Forum are,

1. Is H. jusbertii self fertile? I only have the one plant with buds at the moment, although I am growing 3 in total to maturity.

2. All of my plants were grown from the same seeds so I guess there is a good chance that they all come from the same parents. Will the plants be too similar, genetically, to pollenate and give me seeds? Depending on the answer to this question, I may need to find a Forum member who has this plant with a different gene pool and maybe do a swap or buy one.

One other observation regarding this plant is, considering how short and stubby the spines are, they are incredibly sharp!

Steve
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