Pereskiopsis grafting = pic heavy

[Driller64]

Guess you were right about the high humidity! Look at this pretty sight!

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So I regrafted with another seedling and for the fun of it grafted an Ariocarpus fissuratus seedling onto one of my Pereskiopsis "stumps" that had recently started growing:

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And here is the regrafted San Pedro seedling:

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Hope they take!

[paulzie32]

IF you can, Place the cover on the Ario graft off to one side so there is some air circulation. Still looks a bit humid. And the San Pedro... Is the bottom of that baggie open? I usually just place it over the top. I place a tall ChopStick or bamboo stick in the pot to hold the baggie off the graft. Usually after 3 days or so, it should be ok.

[Driller64]

IF you can, Place the cover on the Ario graft off to one side so there is some air circulation. Still looks a bit humid. And the San Pedro... Is the bottom of that baggie open? I usually just place it over the top. I place a tall ChopStick or bamboo stick in the pot to hold the baggie off the graft. Usually after 3 days or so, it should be ok.

The two containers are not airtight like the plastic bag was. The San Pedro container is a non ziplock bag with a twist tie securing it. I think it will be fine.

[Driller64]

Day 1, so far so good. The Ariocarpus graft looks surprisingly good as you see. The San Pedro graft is developing a rust color under it so not sure if that is normal or if I should be concerned.

[paulzie32]

Rust color is not a good sign. Try taking it off again and slice off a new piece from both the scion and Root stock. then, just take a Popsicle stick or something similar that you can place on something adjacent to your graft at about the same height. Rest it on the graft to provide a bit of weight So, it would look like a little bridge from your graft to the adjacent object... a Can of vegetables or soup works... or just a glass. Sometimes I add a coin or two on the popsicle stick to add a bit more weight.
Sometimes, I also just take a small piece of plastic wrap... just a small square, and place it over my index finger, Touch the top of the scion to hold it in place with the finger that has the plastic wrap on it, and then pull the plastic wrap down over the root stock and use an old twist tie from a loaf of bread to hold it in place. The plastic wrap provides that little bit of downward pressure and a bit of humidity. After a couple days I undo the twist tie but leave the plastic another day or two

[Driller64]

I would redo the graft but I am sick right now (I was sick the day I grafted these two, but it was tolerable then. Today it is quite bad) so not the best state of mind for grafting. Also do some cactus species graft easier than others? As scions, not as stocks?

[paulzie32]

I think it's more a matter of practice.
Feel better.

[Driller64]

Well it appears the Ariocarpus graft has fallen victim to the rust color as well. Fortunately I am feeling a little better on account of taking some ibuprofen so I might redo the grafts today.

[paulzie32]

That one looks fine. I'd leave it. Sometimes a bit of discoloration happens but the graft still does ok. Just don't cover it.
See how it is in a couple days.

[Driller64]

Alright, so I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I did the gentle sideways pressure test with the Ario graft. It did not budge one bit! In fact the not very well rooted stock began to wiggle a little and I had to set it again! So it is likely the Ario graft has taken. The bad news is that the San Pedro graft was not so lucky, and it came off when I applied the same amount of pressure. And I did not leave enough to regraft it, so decided to try again on a taller stock later. Still, I might have gotten a graft to take, finally!

[paulzie32]

Congrats! That's Great! It will only get easier and easier!

[Driller64]

With this newfound confidence, I did this to take the San Pedro's place:

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I think I touched the wound a little though while putting it on there, so it might not work EDIT: Oh yeah, the scion is Ariocarpus trigonus.

[paulzie32]

Looks Good! Did you find the plastic wrap easy? You can always lightly tap the scion to re-position it if you ever need to.

Oh yeah... And I've recently seen where someone cut the Rootstock on a 45 degree, downward sloping cut. This makes the center (cambium) ring longer and provides a larger area to attach the scion. I have not tried it yet my self, but you may want to give it a shot.

[Driller64]

In a few days I'm going to remove the little greenhouse lid on top of the Ario graft. Then to help it deal with the sudden humidity change it will be misted a few times a day for a few days more then it will be treated as a normal plant. Also the stock has basically no roots at all so how long should it be before it starts pumping?

[paulzie32]

Oh... Good question. I've never grafted on an unrooted root stock. The stick you grafted too now has to try to grow from both ends. May be slow growing for a while.