MrXeric's Grafts

All about grafting. How-to information, progress reports, show of your results.
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Hello, I decided to start this blog to share my current and future grafts!

First is my group of what I call "mercy grafts". Most of these were weak or sick looking seedlings I tried grafting on some Selenicereus seedlings I had on hand (from seeds from a yellow-skinned dragon fruit I bought from walmart, so maybe S. megalanthus? Hylocereus? :-k ).
Image
Image

The oldest grafts are 5 months old (from what were 4 month old seedlings at the time) and the newest grafts are 3 weeks old. 11 out of 21 graft attempts have taken. The Selenicereus seedlings were 3 months old when I did the first grafts.

The species grafted are:
Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus v. macdowellii
Astrophytum caput-medusae
Astrophytum sp. (from an Astrophytum mix, very likely a hybrid)
Browningia hertlingiana
Lobivia haematantha v. rebutioides
Mammillaria schumannii v. globosa x2 (these were the only two survivors of a heat lamp mishap)
Mammillaria lasiacantha
Pediocactus knowltonii
Turbinicarpus booleanus
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus

This T. pseudopectinatus was grafted 5 months ago (9 months since sown) and has started growing roots! I will be degrafting soon. I'm thinking of just pulling it off from the rootstock.
Image

This A. caput-medusae seedling was also grafted 5 months ago. I grafted it because it was the only seedling that didn't grow a tubercle and the cotyledons were folded over themselves. It hasn't grown much since producing that grotesque looking growth about 3 months ago.
Image
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

I have grafted several seedlings in the hope that I can have reliable seed producing plants in the near future. These are 2 month old grafts on Pereskiopsis rootstock of what are now 5 to 7 month old seedlings. These were all started inside a propagation box in the garage and most were moved outside for better light and heat about a month later. I kept the Ariocarpus and Geohintonia in the prop box.

Ariocarpus fissuratus.
Image
Chunky tubercles!
Image

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus v. macdowellii. 5 heads so far. Funny how the newer heads from the graft joint are more developed than the main head. :lol:
Image

Discocactus horstii. I love this fuzzy little thing.
Image

Echinocactus horizonthalonius SNL94. There was this funky seedling (on the left in the pic below) that didn't grow its true stem like the others, so I tried grafting it to see what it would grow into.
Image
...and here it is grafted, two months later
Image
Looks pretty normal to me! It was probably shy and didn't want to leave the safety of the cotyledons, until I came along and forced it out, that is. :wink:

Epithelantha bokei SB416.
Image
I really like the disc shape of this scion. :)
Image

Geohintonia mexicana. Seems rather slow. Is it because the scion is just slow, or is it my poor grafting technique? :-k
Image

Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae. Another slow one.
Image

Pelecyphora strobiliformis. I only had two seedlings of this and one graft failed to take. :(
Image

and finally Yavia cryptocarpa. The speed of growth of this scion was quite dramatic!
Image
...interestingly, the offsets are only growing on one side of the scion.
Image

I also grafted Ariocarpus hintonii and Ortegocactus macdougallii, but either these are mind-numbingly slow or I botched the graft, since there has been no growth in two months whatsoever, despite being nice and plump. I will try grafting another set whenever I have more stock ready and hopefully I get different results.
User avatar
7george
Posts: 2628
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:49 pm
Location: Calgary, Canada
Contact:

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by 7george »

They look great! Prepare some sticks for support if you are not degrafting soon...
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Here's an update on these grafts!

The scions on these are now between 7 and 12 months old.
Image
From left to right: Astrophytum sp., Mammillaria lasiacantha SB1063, Ariocarpus trigonus 'elongatus', Astrophytum caput-medusae (no growth!), Lobivia haematantha v. rebutioides R585A, Turbinicarpus booleanus Mp Galeana, Azureocereus hertlingianus, Mammillaria schumannii v. globosa, Pediocactus knowltonii SB304, and another M. schumannii v. globosa.

Ariocarpus fissuratus, 6 month graft.
Image
...and another from the same batch of seedlings, 4 month graft. Interesting how different this one is.
Image

Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus v. macdowellii, 6 month graft. This funky little guy still has 5 stems, with a couple more growing from the tubercles (should I be pinching these off?). The "main" stem was growing tubercles with strange warts on them but the new growth seems to be normal now.
Image
...one more from the same batch, this one not as proliferous as the other, 5 months old.
Image

Discocactus horstii, 6 month graft. Very purple.
Image
this one was grafted a month later, shown here at 5 months. I was careful with water to keep this one fluffy. :)
Image

Echinocactus horizonthalonius SNL94, 6 months grafted. It started growing another stem.
Image

Epithelantha bokei SB416, 6 months. Big and bloated, but still pretty.
Image

Geohintonia mexicana, 6 months. It was slow to start but once it got to growing it really took off. It even grew 3 offsets. :)
Image

Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae, 6 months. This one grew 3 offsets. I grafted another seedling 1 month later from this, but it hasn't grown any offsets yet. :-k
Image

Pelecyphora strobiliformis, 6 months. Odd little pinecone.
Image

Yavia cryptocarpa, 7 months grafted. My favorite from this group. :D I plan on attempting to root the larger offsets at some point.
Image
Image
...and another from the same batch, 5 months grafted. Only 1 offset on this one.
Image

I didn't show pics of the next two grafts on the last post, but here they are now:
Ortegocactus (or is it Cochemiea now? :wink: ) macdougallii, 6 months.
Image
Rather disappointing. I grafted 2 more seedlings and those look even less developed than the own-root seedlings now.

Ariocarpus bravoanus subs. hintonii, 6 months grafted.
Image
It only grew an additional 3 tubercles since grafted; obviously a botched graft. I'm thinking on re-grafting whenever my Pereskiopsis are in growth. I grafted 2 more seedlings some time after this one and the results are night and day (and even between them :wink: ). I will post those sometime soon.
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Here is the second part of my 2021 grafts.

Ariocarpus bravoanus subs. hintonii, 7 months grafted. Quite the difference from the graft above!
Image

the same scion with crested(?) offsets.
Image

a different scion; not as busy as the last.
Image

The favorite of my grafted Arios: Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus 'elephantidens', 7 months grafted
Image

and another scion of the same species with many offsets, this one 6 months grafted. I'm not sure if I should be removing these, since I'm more interested in having these 2 (the only ones to germinate) flower for seeds rather than for vegetative propagation.
Image

Ariocarpus trigonus 'elongatus' with several offsets, 7 months grafted
Image

and a twin-headed scion of the same species, also 7 months grafted.
Image

Last October I lost and damaged several pots of 1 year old seedlings by suddenly moving them to a different position where they got direct sun from the sides, rather than from the top (what they were used too). My then 1 year old Astrophytum caput-medusae pot was one of these. Of 11 seedlings, only 2 survived with one additional seedling I managed to save by grafting it on Myrtillocactus, shown here 5 months later.
Image

My Astrophytum myriostigma cv. Onzuka pot was also damaged. Of 9 seedlings, 4 were damaged and 2 of those I managed to save by grafting. This is one of them 5 months later, grafted on Selenicereus (Hylocereus) (with a hole where I excised a soft, black blister that has healed nicely).
Image

Here is the other one, grafted on Pereskiopsis 5 months ago. This one didn't develop the Onzuka characteristics.
Image

Here is an odd one. This was a 3 ribbed Astrophytum myriostigma cv. Onzuka seedling that I grafted on a whim on Selenicereus sp. (grandiflorus?) 7 months ago. It's been very slow and I suspect some sort of pest damage has deformed it (though I found no evidence of this).
Image

Copiapoa calderana 'lembckei' KK70 (Mesa Garden has it as "Copiapoa lembckei"), 7 months grafted on Selenicereus sp. This seedling had particularly elongated tubercles that were very different from the other seedlings, but the graft quickly outgrew them and the growth has since been normal.
Image

Neoporteria (Pyrrhocactus) villicumensis DJF 362. I was losing seedlings of this to rot so I grafted 2 in case I lost them all, of which only 1 graft took. This thing ballooned up so fast it started splitting and hasn't stopped since, shown here 7 months later.
Image

Lobivia haematantha 'rebutioides' R 585A 6 months grafted, 1 of 2 grafts, the only seedlings to survive (only 3 germinated).
Image

Same story with this one: very low germination rate, the only seedling to survive. Reicheocactus (Lobivia) bonnieae, 6 months grafted.
Image

Rapicactus (Turbinicarpus) booleanus "Mp Galeana" (I'm assuming "Municipio de Galeana, Nuevo León, Mexico"?), 6 month graft.
Image

My then 1 year old pot of Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus was also scorched last October. Of 18 seedlings, only 4 remain: the now degrafted scion shown at the beginning of the thread, 2 failed grafts that rooted, and 1 5 month graft shown below.
Image

This mystery scion germinated in a pot of Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus 'elephantidens' from Mesa Garden. The seed coat that hung from the cotyledons looked identical to the Ariocarpus seeds (at least to me). I'm thinking Coryphantha? :-k Whatever it is, I'm liking those huge central spines!
Image
A_G_R
Posts: 233
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2018 10:41 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by A_G_R »

Very nice grafts MrXeric!!
Alejandro
User avatar
Aeonium2003
Posts: 303
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2021 2:53 am
Location: Central California

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by Aeonium2003 »

User avatar
Hanazono
Posts: 3534
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:21 pm
Location: Adelaide SA
Contact:

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by Hanazono »

The cactus on the photo is an Onzuka mutation "Bouze" which means skinhead.
Although it is a small percentage, Bouze comes out seeds harvested from normal parents.
Bouze can not make any flowers and so it can not make any seeds.

Mr. Onzuka mixed various myriostigma forms to create the cultivar Onzuka which might cause this issue.
If you cut top of Bouze off, off-sets many be normal Onzuka.

I do not have a good refernce but I attached a photo for your information.
An Onzuka seedling fused with an Ariocarpus seedling. The fued Onzuka turned to Bouze.
Attachments
Onzuka Bouze
Onzuka Bouze
IMG_1069 - Copy.JPG (146.4 KiB) Viewed 7279 times
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

A_G_R wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 1:10 pm Very nice grafts MrXeric!!
Thank you!
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Aeonium2003 wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:41 pm That weird Astro?
https://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/ASTRO ... a_ball.htm
Oh that is definitely it! Thanks! I'm glad this mutation wasn't from some pest. By the way, that first image on the left from that link looks so much like Conophytum burgeri. :lol:
Hanazono wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 9:00 pm The cactus on the photo is an Onzuka mutation "Bouze" which means skinhead.
Although it is a small percentage, Bouze comes out seeds harvested from normal parents.
Bouze can not make any flowers and so it can not make any seeds.

Mr. Onzuka mixed various myriostigma forms to create the cultivar Onzuka which might cause this issue.
If you cut top of Bouze off, off-sets many be normal Onzuka.

I do not have a good refernce but I attached a photo for your information.
An Onzuka seedling fused with an Ariocarpus seedling. The fued Onzuka turned to Bouze.
Thanks for confirming, Hanazono! Very interesting information. I will label my plant as Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka Bouze. It's strange and interesting how seemingly normal seedlings will grow into this mutation.

I really like your fused Onzuka Bouze/Ariocarpus. It looks like some sort of sea creature. :)
User avatar
Hanazono
Posts: 3534
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:21 pm
Location: Adelaide SA
Contact:

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by Hanazono »

G'morning MrXeric,
It's strange and interesting how seemingly normal seedlings will grow into this mutation.
Even if you sowed seeds harvested from Onzuka (both parents are Onzuka), some of seedlings are Onzuka, not all.
I normall select seedlings which have a hint of Onzuka. Bouzu also give some hints and you also can select.

Since Onzuka was mixed various forms of myriostigma, it forms a special off-set if it was grafted.
The off-set looks like a flower bud but it is possible to graft. The grafted off-set turns to a multi-ribs Onzuka later.

I attached the photo for your information.

Frank
Attachments
Onzuka off-set
Onzuka off-set
m. f onzuka.JPG (60.41 KiB) Viewed 7218 times
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Hanazono wrote: Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:51 pm G'morning MrXeric,
It's strange and interesting how seemingly normal seedlings will grow into this mutation.
Even if you sowed seeds harvested from Onzuka (both parents are Onzuka), some of seedlings are Onzuka, not all.
I normall select seedlings which have a hint of Onzuka. Bouzu also give some hints and you also can select.

Since Onzuka was mixed various forms of myriostigma, it forms a special off-set if it was grafted.
The off-set looks like a flower bud but it is possible to graft. The grafted off-set turns to a multi-ribs Onzuka later.

I attached the photo for your information.

Frank
Thank you for the information Frank, truly fascinating.
Mrs.Green
Posts: 1083
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2020 5:59 pm

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by Mrs.Green »

Great pics MrXeric! :) I have never tried grafting anything but your posts certainly make me want to try it. No access to Pereskiosis though, in fact I have never seen one IRL.
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

Mrs.Green wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:02 am Great pics MrXeric! :) I have never tried grafting anything but your posts certainly make me want to try it. No access to Pereskiosis though, in fact I have never seen one IRL.
Thanks Mrs.Green! Maybe try online? Or maybe someone from a local cactus club or society can spare a few cuttings? A few cuttings is all you need; these things grow like weeds and you'll soon be overrun by them (provided they're kept warm and well watered).
User avatar
MrXeric
Posts: 559
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:31 pm
Location: California, USDA zone 10a

Re: MrXeric's Grafts

Post by MrXeric »

This 7 month old graft of Ariocarpus fissuratus, from seed sown last year, bloomed yesterday before the rain. I've been watching the bud form for the last couple months, thinking it was an offset at first since it didn't form on the the apex but lower down, almost Mammillaria-like.

1 week from fully opening
Image
Image

yesterday
Image
Image
Image
Post Reply