What did you do in the yard today??

I degraft 2 years old scions early September.
Off-sets formed on lower parts disturb to set the scions on the potting-mix for rooting.
I started to cut off-sets off today.
Since I have many 2 years old scions, I need several days to finish the job.
The photo is an Ariocarpus retusus v furfuraceus cv Daruma-seiji.
I cut 2 off-sets from this scion.

I completed to remove off-sets of the grafted Ariocarpus in the afternoon.
38 off-sets were removed.
Garden lime is used for the drying agent of cutting face.
I will set them on potting-mix for the rooting in September.

Beautiful grafts there! Why lime? Could sulphur be used instead? What temperature do you keep the degrafted offsets? Cool or warm? Can they be kept under lights?

Any powder without virus including sulphur can be used as drying agents.
I just select the garden lime and used years.

Degrafted off-sets are kept in natural condition, no temperature control.
After drying process for 1 week, they will set on empty black pots and kept until September.
The top of off-set will receive natural sunlight but the bottom is dark because it is covered by the black pot.

So wet and cold so not much happening in my garden sadly. I did manage to re-tighten all the shade cloth my green house however.

I've sowed a heap of seed over winter mostly trichos but from now on I am just going to focus on Astrophytum. Sowed a bunch the last few days with some nice Japanese hybrids from Germany. Set up a new grow box, originally for grafts but I was too excited about sowing seed that I ran out of space! I will hopefully have a head start on Spring and can move most of the ones that have germinated to an outside grow box as things warm up (soon I hope). Then repeat the process. I'm using the takeaway tek method. Bought a heap of Astros from collectors corner (specialist nursery, lots of cacti) still chasing some Japanese hybrids, they have some a few larger grafted Astros but their prices are too expensive. I may treat myself over the weekend perhaps

Do you know names of Japanese hybrids which you sowed seeds?

Hi Hanazono,

The Japanese hybrids I sowed were:

Astro myriostigma cv Fukuryu-Koyo
Astro myriostigma cv Fukuryu-Ranpo
Astro myriostigma quad cv Fukuryu-Shikaku
Astro asterias cv Syowa

I also sowed some:

Astro myriostigma v quad
Astro myriostigma v strongylogonum
Astro asterias gonzales
Astro myriostigma mix
Astro asterias variegated (hopefully some hybrids too)
Astro myriostigma variegated (hopefully some hybrids too)

I have another 25 or so Jap hybrids (a portion of each) that I am hoping to sow soon too.

It seems all of Japanese origin ones are not hybrids if their names were correct.
They are cultivars.

There are 3 species with fukuryu form
1. fukuryu ranpo (myriostigma)
2. fukuryu hannya (ornatum)
3. fukuryu banjyaku (ornatum x myriostigma)
No. 3 is only hybrid species

All of your fukuryus are No. 1, myriostigma.
Asterias cv syowa is also a cultivar.

For your information:
fukuryu ranpo (cultivar)

fukuryu banjyaku (hybrid)

Hi Hanazono,

Thank you for clearing that up, I will do some more reading about cultivators and hybrids. Great photos. The fukuryu ranpo is very nice, I am looking forward to watching them grow.

G'morning astro_clo

I hope you to get a successful germination result.
Astrophytum will germinate within 10 days if the condition of sowing was correct.

Fukuryu will reach to the flowering size in 2 years if you grafted young seedlings.

Thank you Hanazono I started to see germination within 4 days so I am very happy at this stage. I'm still trying to master grafting young seedlings on peres. I've had some success with grafting established seedlings on myrtillocactus.

I changed the plan and set dried Ariocarpus off-sets for the rooting yesterday.
They were set in 65 mm square pots.
Rooting medium is dry pumice sand.

The photo of off-sets was posted on 28th June.
The attached photo is after the setting.

Looking good Hanazono!

Today I bought a few astrophytum my favourite being a grafted Astro myrio cv Hakuun. I also sowed some more cultivators. It's a cold day in Melbourne but always plenty of garden related things to do!

You have gotten a nice Hakuun.
Hakuun (white cloud) was developed in 1950s.

Today i checked on some new astro seedlings. Seeds germinated 14/5/16. They are mixed cultivars. The growth is good for me. Definitely some variation.

Looking nice and healthy. I've had great germination on those that I have sown over the last few months. Have been doing a few more tek each week. I'll take some photos and upload them when I have a chance. Looking forward to the warmer weather to start some outside.

Looking good BedOfSpines!

Started to transplant some of my larger cacti into much bigger pots so I can move them off my shelves and onto the floor. Coming along nicely except for the barrels. They are extremely painful to re-pot so I have left them for another day.

Took a few pups from one of my variegated echinopsis. I will try my hand at grafting a few. Most have roots though so I will put a few in the soil as well.  

And de-grafted a pachanoi crest/mutant. It has started throwing plenty of roots so no need for a foreign root stock.

Checked up on some new grafts. First is on rapsalidopsis second is on zygocactus. They are ariocarpus hybrids of some sort. They are growing much faster than i anticipated.

Massive repotting effort over several days.

They look fantastic all uniformly potted like that!

Another repotting adventure. The goal is to have my entire greenhouse re-potted, watered and fed in the next few weeks. Just in time for Spring.
My favourite is in the first pic. Far right column. Third one from the bottom.
This is Mammillaria perezdelarosae ssp. andersoniana.
A very beautiful little cactus and quite rare to come by. So far all attempts to self pollinate has failed so I have acquired a standard Mammillaria perezdelarosae.
Hopefully the pollen is compatible. If not I will have to scour the cactus scene for another one.

I think I will be expanding my mammillaria collection this season. I have grown quite fond of them.

Sneaky your cacti look amazing!
I'm about to do a bit of a cull, funnily enough I'm actually planning on reducing my mamm numbers.
I've been thinking about reducing the collection size for some time and refining it back to a few species but every time i try i get too sentimental.. it's going to be a painful exercise.