First Time

I was searching the internet and I found this link

http://www.cactus-art.biz/technics/Grafting_on_opuntia_compressa_step_by_step.htm

I have never grafted cacti before so I decided to give it a go. I made four seedling grafts (turbinicarpus and astrophytum) around three weeks ago and only one has not shriveled. Is the seedling not shriveled a successful graft? Also when can I expect to see some growth?

Thanks

I think no shriveled scion after 3 weeks of the grafting is the evidence of a successful result.

I believe your stocks are no roots as same as the website.
A scion normally starts to grow when roots of the stock have developed.
I am not sure how you set up rooting of the stock but the scion may starts to grow around 1 month after the setting.

Beginner’s luck I think Thanks for your help

I did a series of grafts on Opuntia a year ago, actually after reading that very same webpage. Some of the grafts I did at that time seemed to heal just fine, but for whatever reason, they never really grew either. Even a year on, they are just sitting there on the pad, not really doing anything.

Really hopefully my lonely graft grows, I guess time will tell. I am just experimenting and trying new things at this stage so I’m not too worried

I saw a similar technique where they held the stock and scion together with plastic wrap. Pretty much the same idea otherwise. Ie grafting something onto an unrooted opuntia pad, and then after the graft had taken the pad got planted.

It looked good on the website. But who knows? IXOXI didn't seem to have great success, which is pretty telling (cos I think he knows a fair bit about grafting). But I was tempted to give it a go nonetheless. It looked so easy to do!

cheers

it is easy i will asure you , but as a rootstock opuntia umifusa (or wathever name you use for this plant) is a nice permanent stock for cold climates,it have a good affinity with astrophytum(especially with asterias) and give it a good natural looking habit, but...it dont give to plants the kick of other rootstock like harisia or mirtillocactus, if you have to graft lots of plants is easy to find and almost free here because whe have wild population but.....
ps it have orrible affinity with ariocarpus that are sooo slow on it!
i have large experience with this rotstock because i know personally the owner of cactus art(one of the first introducers of astrophytum feere here in italy)and i've started to graft with this rootstock but ended dropping off it in favor of better ones in my climate!

That's interesting. So basically Opuntia umifusa works well in cold climates, but it doesn't have the kick of some of the others.

I was going to use O. cochenillifera. I'm not sure if that would make any difference. Though seeing as the climate here is quite warm, it sounds like myrtillo, etc would be a better choice.

But I will try grafting rebutia onto opuntia anyway, mainly because I'm just curious. I was actually going to do it this evening, but I've run out of plastic wrap!

cheers

sulco on opuntia is a good choice because it looks like it have no rootstock, and you cn eventually degraft it easyer tan with the others, sometime the opuntia dye and the plants form new rots automatically! so you find own roots plants instead of grafted as a surprise!