vitt13's grafts

[vitt13]

Hello. I would like to share my small grafting experience with this community.
I plan to start with my earliest attempts and go to the present.

Feb 9, 2018
Rhipsalidopsis grafted on Shlumbergera. The scion is wedged, the rootstock is splitted.



I tried to root the rootstocks but most of them rotted. So I rescued one graft against the rot with re-graft on Pereskiopsis.
Apr 13, 2018




May 14, 2018


June 29, 2018
One seedling of Opuntia humifusa (catalog description is "forma Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada") grafted on Pereskiopsis to speed the growth.
I made an oblique cut to completely close the surface of the rootstock's slice, and at the same time cross the vascular bundles ring. I fixed in the scion by the thorn (pink on the photo).



July 3, 2018


July 23, 2018
Opuntia humifusa own-root seedling (left), and seedling grafted on Pereskiopsis (right).


Sept 28, 2018
Opuntia humifusa grafted on Pereskiopsis is big enough to cut and trying to root the cutting.



Jan 15, 2019
Rhipsalidopsis grafted on Shlumbergera (interstock) and grafted on Pereskiopsis rootstock.

[vitt13]

I was so inspired with Frank's (Hanazono) grafting story but I struggled with rotting Pereskiopsis in my earliest seedlings grafts.

On May 24th, 2018 I sowed many species of cacti. I read the stories of Frank's grafting and I was very inspired by them.
I planned to graft several spieces of seedlings on a Pereskiopsis to accelerate seedlings growth.
They were look very good and promising.


But as a beginner, I was not successful in rooting Pereskiopsis cuttings, they rotted.
In the first days of August 2018, I placed the Pereskiopsis cuttings for rooting them but after two weeks they did not have roots.
At the same time, Ferocactus seedlings began to get deceased one by one.
I grafted the last survived Ferrocactus seedling on an unrooted Pereskiopsis shoot.
But mildew threads appeared in the humidity chamber around seedling, and reddish tissue is appeared.
After that, I made a few more seedlings grafts on unrooted pereskiopsis cuttings, and placed them in a wet sand. Placed them in the humidity chamber.
I noticed that some seedlings outwardly were not bad, but on the cut the conducting bundles were of red color.
These seedlings quickly faded away with the burning of tissues after grafting.
But what I didn’t notice right away - the infection hit the Pereskiopsis core and went down.
So for the week, the remaining cuttings in the common pot were infected.
Aug 16, 2018
Seedlings which were not very bad looking and had good conducting bundles on the cut, I urgently grafted on the young growth of Opuntia monacantha f. monstruosa variegata.
I needed a lot of Opuntia segments, but they were too small, many grafts were not successful, some grafted seedlings were reddish from below.



Acanthocalycium glaucum

Frailea angelesii n.n. P390

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus

FRAILEA phaeodisca GF 558

Matucana madisoniorum

Echinofossulocactus

Astrophytum hybrid

Opuntia humifusa

[vitt13]

By mid-August, I bought the Parafilm M from ebay (actually from China) and was preparing to save the seedlings with re-graft them on Pereskiopsis rootstock.

And by September I made a friendship with a Pereskiopsis.

Sept, 2018
In September 2018 I re-grafted three Echinofossulocactus seedlings on Echinopsis rootstock.
By Sept 13 I realized that the first graft was successful, the second graft was alive, but with a damaged apex, the third was gone a few days after the grafting.
Rescued with re-grafting 'Sulcorebutia rauschii WR 289' seedling
Sept 13, 2018



Sept 18, 2018



Sept 26, 2018



Sept 28, 2018



Echinofossulocactus on Echinopsis

[vitt13]

Oct, 2018
In October 2018 I grafted Schlumbergera and Rhipsalidopsis on the same Pereskiopsis rootstock. I used Parafilm M to keep it from drying.
At that time I already had rooted cuttings of a Pereskiopsis, so I did the re-grafts of Echinofossulocactus from Echinopsis to Pereskiopsis.
I left stumps on the stocks, and later babies began to grow from it.

Oct 13, 2018


Oct 10, 2018
Echinofossulocactus re-grafts

[vitt13]

So, now I want to show my rescue grafts and re-grafts on Pereskiopsis stock.
Part of them I was made in September 2018, part of them I grafted and re-grafted due to hidden infections later.
On October 28, there were noticeable grows, I will show it later.
Obregonia denegrii
I did four grafts. But only two were successfull.
Oct 15, 2018
Obregonia denegrii

Hidden infected Obregonia denegrii

Astrophytum hybrids

Frailea angelesii

Aylostera heliosa

Acanthocalycium glaucum VG-177

Echinofossulocactus

[vitt13]

These are another rescue grafts

Oct 8, 2018
Lophophora sp.

Lophophora sp.

Sulcorebutia rauschii WR 289

Lophophora sp.

Lophophora sp.

Lophophora sp.

Shlumbergera truncata

Frailea seedlings grafted on Pereskiopsis

[vitt13]

Oct 28, 2018
I was happy to see my little grafting success.

Acanthocalycium glaucum VG-177

Lophophora sp. seedling #1

Echinofossulocactus sp. seedling #1

Obregonia denegrii seedling #1

Shlumbergera truncata

Frailea angelesii

Echinofossulocactus sp. seedling #2

Sulcorebutia rauschii WR 289

Obregonia denegrii seedling #2

Lophophora sp. seedling #2

Aylostera heliosa

Full view

[briancarpenter]

Great post glad to see those grafts

[vitt13]

So, as I told, I tried rescue wilted seedling. I used grafting to save them from rot.
But there were some grafted seedlings which remained reddish for two weeks after grafting and them did not show any
new growth.
I did re-grafting such seedlings. I show some shocking photo what was decease I found inside stock.
Look at the first photo. Scion looked oddly so I decided to re-graft it. This was not the fist my experience with such grafting decease,
so I made a tiny cut above grafting conjunction and used sliced cutting to re-graft it.
Then I made a cut below grafting conjunction and some semi-liquid substance flowed out from core of Pereskiopsis stock.
I think this was a bacterial decease. Scion had an immunity and was struggled with this decease but root-stock was not.
That was why I never seen new growth on sick seedlings. But re-grafting two and even three times had helped me to save some cacti.
Nov 13, 2018

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

Vitt13, beautiful photos and thank you for sharing your growing experience with us. It's amazing how Pereskiopsis can work differently for so many people. Some can't kill and others struggle to get it to even root.

I have a few questions for you...

1. Where did you get your forma Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada" seed? I grew up in that area and remember them growing all over the Lake Erie Islands. On Pelee Island they are protected, on the Ohio side they were not and now I cannot find them like I used to. I would love to trade for some if you have any left.

2. How did you maintain sufficient humidity to graft seedlings to the small Opuntia cuttings? I've done it before with some success but found I had to maintain almost 70%+ humidity to get the scion to stick and under those conditions rot usually occurred thereafter.

3. I've been experimenting with grafting to Schlumbergia for a few months now and have had some successes and failures with it. For one, I have found it incredibly easy to attach a scion to the vascular tissue. But the real challenge is getting that Schlumbergia pad to root or better yet to divert energy to the scion. Most of mine never rooted and those that took grow nearly as slow as the seedling, though they do have a wonderful brightness to their skin. Recently I have had success rooting Schlumbergia in rockwool and water.

[vitt13]

briancarpenter, thank you
Pereskiopsisdotcom, thank you

1. Unfortunately I have not anymore that seeds (sowed all the seeds in past), only seedling and semi-mature cladodies.
I bought the Opuntia seeds from local cactus seeds distributor, it called 'KaktusKlub'. It's an online magazine and seeds distributor.
That catalog's item has full description 'Opuntia humifusa forma Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada (Italy)'.
I guess that '(Italy)' remark is what was the source of the seeds, they only resells the seeds.
I can send you the direct contact (e-mail) to ask them more details about the originally stock of that seeds.
Here are the photos how one own-rooted seedling and another, that was grown up with grafting, looks today. Does they looks like 'Opuntia humifusa f. P. Pelee'?



2. Yes, I had same problem with Opuntia rootstock. I covered pots with a transparent containers and sprayed a water periodically inside it.
Opuntia segments were to small to survive, they were only temporal rootstock to the time that Pereskiopsis rooted. After a while, due to a high humidity, Opuntia segments starts rotted.
But I can not say for sure what was the reason to rot because I definitely had the infected (scions) seedlings.

3. Only two Shlumbergera rootstocks had rooted, I can show you how they looks today. Here Rhipsalidopsis is a scion, Shlumbergera is a rootstock. Rootstock is almost under soil. Other two (left pot) are own-rooted.
I definitely can say I can not see any positive vigor results of such grafting.

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

briancarpenter, thank you
Pereskiopsisdotcom, thank you

1. Unfortunately I have not anymore that seeds (sowed all the seeds in past), only seedling and semi-mature cladodies.
I bought the Opuntia seeds from local cactus seeds distributor, it called 'KaktusKlub'. It's an online magazine and seeds distributor.
That catalog's item has full description 'Opuntia humifusa forma Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada (Italy)'.
I guess that '(Italy)' remark is what was the source of the seeds, they only resells the seeds.
I can send you the direct contact (e-mail) to ask them more details about the originally stock of that seeds.
Here are the photos how one own-rooted seedling and another, that was grown up with grafting, looks today. Does they looks like 'Opuntia humifusa f. P. Pelee'?



2. Yes, I had same problem with Opuntia rootstock. I covered pots with a transparent containers and sprayed a water periodically inside it.
Opuntia segments were to small to survive, they were only temporal rootstock to the time that Pereskiopsis rooted. After a while, due to a high humidity, Opuntia segments starts rotted.
But I can not say for sure what was the reason to rot because I definitely had the infected (scions) seedlings.

3. Only two Shlumbergera rootstocks had rooted, I can show you how they looks today. Here Rhipsalidopsis is a scion, Shlumbergera is a rootstock. Rootstock is almost under soil. Other two (left pot) are own-rooted.
I definitely can say I can not see any positive vigor results of such grafting.

1. The Opuntia humifusa forma Point Pelee National Park you have looks accurate. Access to the seeds is likely difficult due to the endangered status of this plant in Canada and the park that it grows in is monitored in an international tourist area. The population is reduced drastically from the 80s and 90s in the surrounding islands and has only stabilized there. I am not aware of any of the other Lake Erie Islands having this plant anymore, when I could get on a kayak and occasionally spot specimens along the water 10-20 years ago.

I know that people make the mistake of believing that because this is a Canadian hardy cactus that it will be able to withstand some wild winters. I have yet to test it myself but, I'm in 5b in Ottawa and Pelee Island is in Lake Erie in zone 7a with prolonged falls, mild winters, and early springs. I would be careful with growing it outdoors depending on where you live.

That sounds like a fun group to be a part of. Do they offer a membership and you get seeds with your magazine? I found someone here in Canada who has cuttings. I'll see if I can acquire some.

3. As for your Shlumbergera rootstocks how did you grow them before grafting? Did you take cuttings of one or two segments and attach them right away or did you wait and root them? I have even thought about buying a mature woody specimen from the store and removing most of the segments, attaching 4-5 scions to the main stem and seeing if that has any impact on speed of growth. Your Rhipsalidopsis look great!

[vitt13]

3. As for your Shlumbergera rootstocks how did you grow them before grafting? Did you take cuttings of one or two segments and attach them right away or did you wait and root them?

I took cuttings of two segments and made cleft grafting right away, root them after grafting.

[vitt13]

I had to re-graft all of Astrophytum seedlings due to disease.
I used Echinopsis stock for two seedlings. After re-grafting I left a stump on Echinopsis where a meristematic baby had appeared after time.
Oct 30, 2018
Re-grafted Astrophytum hybrid on Pereskiopsis stock

and this was a meristemic baby from stump I left on. They are clones of the same cactus.

This Lophophora seedling promised me to be variegated but (spoiler) it turned to normal one.


Well, it's time to go to intermediate grafting results. Few Frailea seedlings I had grafted later, so its grafting results I will show on next posts.

Nov 3, 2018
I had to re-graft Aylostera heliosa since new growth was not on few weeks.

This Astrophytum had small new growth

This second Aylostera heliosa promised me to be red variegated but turned to normal colored.

Successfully grafted (and saved) Obregonia denegrii seedling. I saved only three seedlings.

Acanthocalycium glaucum VG-177


Nov 6, 2018
Four Lophophora seedlings (mixed lewinii and texensis)




"Furry" Astrophytum hybr. (mixed out, probably "Astrophytum asterias x asterias 'Super Kabuto'"

Echinofossulocactus (probably "phyllacanthus var. violaciflorus 'Riga'"),
I had two known species but mixed them out accidentally.

Another Echinofossulocactus sp.

Obregonia denegrii, new growth

Aylostera heliosa

Strange Frailea graft

Sulcorebutia rauschii WR289

Frailea angelesii n.n. P390

[vitt13]

Well, November 2018 bring me a lot of positive attitudes: I had good grafting results and remarkable new growth on most of grafted seedlings.
Nov 24, 2018
Acanthocalycium glaucum VG-177

Aylostera heliosa

Aylostera heliosa

Astrophytum asterias x asterias 'Super Kabuto' (hybr.)

Echinofossulocactus sp.

Echinofossulocactus (probably) phyllacanthus var. violaciflorus 'Riga'

Sulcorebutia rauschii WR 289

Obregonia denegrii

Astrophytum (probably) asterias x asterias 'Super Kabuto'

Lophophora. Those who was reddish turned to light green.




Yet another Echinofossulocactus sp. (clone)

Second Obregonia denegrii seedling

Frailea phaeodisca GF 558

Frailea castanea MM 230

Frailea angelesii n.n. P390

Frailea phaeodisca GF 558

Frailea sp.

Frailea sp.

Astrophytum (probably) capricorne fa., Parras x asterias 'Super Kabuto' F2 (hybr.)
I had an item such described but accidentally mixed out all Astrophytum seedlings after some of them them had rotted.

Third Obregonia denegrii seedling that I had saved from rot. It was giving me a hope it may be monstruosa (or even variegata) form but (spoiler!) it turned to three-headed.


Here is Schlumbergera and Rhipsalidopsis (behind) on same Pereskiopsis root-stock.

How it was looked like behind. Here Rhipsalidopsis is on front of view.

Just for fun
Portulaca grandiflora f. albiflora grafted on Pereskiopsis stem. It had bloom later a few times, but live just few month.


I'm sorry, I forgot to note: I had graft from one to even three seedlings on one Pereskiopsis rootstock.
Here are the photos: