The Super Glue Method is easier than any other...

All about grafting. How-to information, progress reports, show of your results.
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C And D
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The Super Glue Method is easier than any other...

Post by C And D »

Up date- 10/2022
See later pages using Super Glue

THE ORIGINAL POSTS ARE BELOW
After years of grafting failure, I finally came up with a method that works so much better, that its almost easy Now!!

I call it the Twisty Tie Method

Rather than rubber bands, parafilm or gravity, you use twisty ties to gently hold down the graft with any pressure or alignment you want.

You must use a certain kind of twisty ties, some of the plastic types will not work, since they are not malleable enough.
I use green paper twisty tie, it comes in a spool and you can find it at most nurseries.

I will start at the middle of the process...

After you graft, you put a baggy over it, I mist the inside of the baggy to hold in extra moisture
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I put in extra sticks, to hold the baggie away from the graft

Under the bag, 3 grafts of Astrophytum caput-medusae
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Some close ups of how the twisty tie can be used to keep the scoin on the stock
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For Bigger Stock, you can use the twisty ties different ways, as shown
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Last edited by C And D on Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:22 am, edited 3 times in total.
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C And D
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Post by C And D »

The Twisty Tie Method works great for seedling grafting on Pereskiopsis

Once again, lets look at the bag
The sticks are more inportant for this style of grafting, since you don't want the bag to touch the sticks on the inside holding the scoins on.
Image

On the inside, you can see all the sticks.
One stick holds the stock steady with a twisty tie at the base, and another twisty tie holds the scoin down

Image

This is a cute Astrophytum hybrid of unknown parentage
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The method again works great for fragile or funky shaped seedlings, like this Ariocarpus.
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I do three at a time, all in one pot.
Image
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Post by Christer Johansson »

This is a brilliant method :thumbright:
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C And D
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Post by C And D »

More tips for successful grafting

Use only growing stock, "this season's" fresh growth, is the part of the stock you should graft onto.
The older growth lower down is not as good to rejoin with the scion. Its more fibrous. It may work, but just not as good.
Water heavily before grafting, pump up it up.


Use only strong growing plants as scions.
You may be able to save a rotting plant by grafting, but success is not as assured as with a strong plant.

In other words, only graft your best seedlings, not the weak.


Sterilize everything before use.
I spray the stock and the soil of the pot with fungicide/insecticide before grafting and let dry, You don't want little bugs crawling up into your fresh graft.

I spray the scions with Chinosol and then let dry before grafting.

Sterilize your knife with Isopropyl Alcohol before each cut.

I cut the stock just short of chopping it off, then leave the cut section on for a couple minutes, while I prepare the scion.
I didn't do this before, and had more failure, I think the cut lodes up with juice while they are together, and makes the graft more sticky. Then when you are ready, you just flip off the top flap, and stick the scion on the top, align, and position the twisty tie to hold it down.

Do the grafting as quickly as possible, to avoid any contamination. If you drop the scion or touch the cut stock, you will have to make a new sterile cut.
Do the grafting in a clean, wind free environment.

Put the graft in a warm shady place, and put a bag over it to keep the moisture in. I mist the inside of the bag, to add humidity. Make sure no water drops touch the grafted area, keep completely dry.

Leave the bag on for 1 to 2 weeks.
You can usually remove the twisty tie after a week or 2. About 4 days for seedlings, they will look stronger if they took, or dying if they didn't.

Keep the seedlings grafts out of direct sun for at least 2 weeks.

As said before on all Grafting instructions, try and align the vascular bundles of the stock and scion, you may need to have the scion slightly askew of centered on the stock.

This is the most difficult part of grafting, since you cannot see if they are aligned or not, you usually have to put the scion on slightly askew, and just hope that they are aligned.
Last edited by C And D on Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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MississippiAl
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Post by MississippiAl »

very helpful information. thanks!
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Dmyerswny
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Post by Dmyerswny »

How soon can seedling grafts be put into the sun? I don't get how they take sun on a graft but not on their own roots. :?:
Thirsty for knowledge. Please water me more than your cactus!
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Arjen
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Post by Arjen »

very good method!
especially seedling grafting can be very tricky.
if the seedlings are very small compared to the stock I'm having difficulty with the clingfilm method, superglue doesn't work on seedlings either.
this is a good alternative!
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)
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Post by C And D »

Some more grafts

I really like the "Super Purple" form of Sulcorebutia raushii, so I grafted a head on two different types of stock, to see which one does better.
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I like Myrtillocactus eichlamii for grafting, at least that's what I think it is?
Here is a Turbinicarpus psuedopectinatus inermis graft on it.
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Mammillaria albiflora, still no flowers
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For Opuntiodes, I have been using Austrocylindropuntia subulata for stock.
Here is last years Tephrocactus molinensis
with copper glochids. For production of sales plants.
Image
Here is another form that I just grafted, with brown glochids.
Image
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Post by C And D »

More seedling grafts
I have doing some for production of sales plants, since seedlings take too long, and are so hard to get over that awkward stage of life at about 6 months age, where they die unexpectedly.
At least these types of seedlings, which are extra hard to grow, which is the same as extra easy to to kill.

Discocactus horstii, 3 months
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1 year
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Turbinicarpus rioverdensis
1 year
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2 years, this one is big enough to cut off, but I will leave it on longer to see if it will cluster
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Pelecyphora strobiliformis
2 good ones, one on its side, that is still growing

and one that didn't make it, rear right
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This one is also on its side, yet still growing, this happens the first night after grafting, when the water pressure of the stock pushes the seedling off to the side, or off the stock completely.
The scion wasn't held in place with enough pressure.
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Coryphantha longicornis, 2 headed!
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Ariocarpus fiss. v. lloydii major and a T. psuedo.
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T. pseudopectinatus inermis
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Neolloydia matehualensis and Pelecyphora aselliformis
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Yavia
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Heres the Yavia that split earlier this year, it has healed, and is doing fine
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Astrophytum caput-medusae
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2 year old
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Here is tough seedling to grow
Turbinicarpus subterraneus, they are easy for a couple months, then die. This one is 2 years old, and still is showing juvenile growth.
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The plan is, grow the grafted plants to a decent size, then cut them off the stock in mid summer, reroot, then sell for for a price that is way too low for all the effort envolved.

To degraft, I spray with chinosol to sterlize the area to be cut, then cut it clean off, removing all stock, dip in dry rooting powder, let dry in the shade for about 2 weeks, then stick in rooting tray (pure pumice) until roots appear. Misting twice a week.
Image
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Arjen
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Post by Arjen »

I've grafted one this way myself yesterday, so far so good.
lophophora williamsii on pereskiopsis, I'll let you know if and how it works out!
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)
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Post by C And D »

Dmyerswny
How soon can seedling grafts be put into the sun? I don't get how they take sun on a graft but not on their own roots
I meant to say, direct filtered sun, like in Green House.

They shouldn't be put in the real direct sun (like summer in So. Cal.) for 6 months or so, unless its mild out
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Post by Styx&Bones »

Craig,

I like this idea. I'll try it out next season. Couple of questions, though.

Do you water/fertilize the Pereskiopsis less in order to offset its tendency to bloat scions?

In regards to de-grafting: if I'm getting you right, you simply make a straight cut through the scion a bit above the graft union?
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Post by C And D »

I water and fertilize just like a regular plant
They will bloat, but hopefully not split

You will have to remove the constantly appearing shoots on the Pereskiopsis stock. It takes regular maintenance.

To de graft, yes cut above the just above the stock, you do not want to leave any stock tissue on the scion.

See the other De Grafting Thread by Christer Johansson
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Post by Arjen »

my first attempt at this method, so far so good

Image
Image
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)
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degrafting

Post by promethean_spark »

I like to leave a fair amount of scion on the stock when I degraft, then it will almost assuredly offset and make even more for me.
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