Hana's cacti rooting in 2005/2006

It is happened the necessity of cacti rooting by various reasons.
I root quite many cacti in spring and summer.
1st one for this season was set yesterday.

Degrafted Aztekium hintonii from Pereskiopsis stock
Size: 4 cm in diameter
Drying agent: Garden lime
Rooting hormone: Nil
Filler: wet clay
In case of degrafting, a small hole will be created on the bottom of plant and you have to fill up the hole.
Setting method: burying in pumice sand
Years ago, it was possible to import cacti grown in habitat. Imported cacti had no roots normally.
This rooting method was used for these cacti.

I experienced a successful result with Geohintonia.
I have 7 of grafted A. hintoniis on Pereskiopsis and so I have to establish a rooting method.


Next setting will be degrafted Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka.
They are under drying process currently.

I set 13 of Astrophytum myriostigma cv onzuka for rooting in the afternoon.
Since the sizes were varied, various sizes of pots were used.
50 mm square tubes: 2
65 mm square pots: 9
80 mm square pots: 2
The photo is an A. myriostigma cv Shimairi Onzuka in a 65 mm square pot.

I prepared to root Pelecyphra asellifprmis in this morning.
Since own-root seedlings grow slowly and very thin, you need grafted scions or off-set cuttings.
The photo is grafted scions onto Pereskiopsis.

I got 9 cuttings in total. They are under drying process.
Large ones are 3 cm in diameter.

The drying process of 3 degrafted Astrophytum fukuryu-banjyaku was completed and I set them into 10 cm square pots for the rooting.
The cutting face of one of them was sunk from the body lone and so I filled up wet-clay.

Before filled up wet-clay

After filled up wet-clay

Completed setting

9 cutting of Pelecyhora aselliformis were set up in 5 cm square tubes for rooting yesterday.

Hanazono,
I have some astrophytum seedlings that need to be repotted.
They all have their "necks" above soil, should I plant them lower in the soil or leave this part above the ground and plant at the same level they are now?

Interesting how you fill the cavity like that, thank you for the knowledge! Are these unrooted cuttings misted or watered? Are they exposed to direct morning light, or 100% shade, or 50% sunshine? Thank you!

Waker87

I think you should keep the same level as they are now.
Necks above soil will give less chance of rotting for seedlings.

Seedlings will drive into soil by themselves if they thought it was necessary.

Hanazono

Convergence

I use a small spoon and fill in slightly wet clay grains.
When you degraft scion from a Hylocereuc stock, this practice will be essential.
The joint will be embedded into a scion and will make a large hole when you degrafted.

No watering for 2~3 weeks and then starting a normal watering.

A 50% shade-cloth is laid permanently in my green house and so the answer is 50% sunshine.

Hanazono

Thank you for the reply.
I will replant at the same level.

I cut 2 years old Ariocarpus scions off and set them for the rooting in the morning.
Scions are A. retusus v furfuraceus cv Daruma-Seiji.

A scion with short stock of Pereskiopsis
Cutting stock slightly longer by scissors and cutting back by a knife to the target length after
The target length is 20 mm.


Scions with short stocks were set for the rooting immidiately, no drying process.
Pots are 9 cm square with wet potting-mix.

The rooting of Ariocarpus fissuratus is tricky.
It is hard to stop running down liquid from the cutting face occasionally.
I am not sure the exact reason but this will be the cause of rotting during rooting process.

I cut a small off-set and could stop the liquid by the drying medium, garden lime.
The off-set has been set for the rooting.

I set degrafted Ariocurpus for rooting into 8cm square pots early in this morning.

Left: A. retusus v elongatus
Right: A. bravoanus

I returned home on the new years day from 3 weeks of overseas trip.
Since I was away from home in mid of summer, I lost several cacti.

One of them is the grafted A. ritteri, grafted on a hylocereus.
The stock turned color as brown completely.


I checked the vascular bundle.
It was still alive and so I decided to go a Zuituki-orishi, degrafting with a vascular bundle.


The cactus was set in wet-mix immediately.

Astrophytum hybrid, fukuryu-banjyaku grafted seedlings last year formed many offsets.
I took them off for rooting in this morning.
The photo is offsets under drying process.
18 will go into 5 cm square tubes and 2 will be 7 cm square pots.

I degrafted several 2 years old fukuryu-banjyaku.
The stocks are Pereskiopsis.
In the case of Pereskiopsis, there are no cavities at the grafting joint.

Since small catting face is easy to root, I cut just above the joint.

A cutting face


Scions are set on black pots and will be kept by the end of August.
Aerial roots may be developed by that time.

I set cacti for the rooting.
Rooting medium is pumice sand.

(1) off sets of D. horstii, U. buiningii and Astrophytum

(2) off sets of Ariocarpus

(3) off sets of Ariocarpus and asterias

(4) Astrophytom

(4) Astrophytum

The astrophytums are gorgeous! You've got such a beautiful collection, it is very inspiring. Are you expecting many of your mature plants to flower this season?

Yes I am, matured cacti are in flower every year.

I grafted 12 offsets onto Pereskiopsis stocks in 2014.
They were around 1 cm in diameter.
Pereskiopsis allows to graft this size of offsets without any pressure on scions.

7 - Aztekium hintonii
4 - Aztukium ritteri
1 - Geohintonia mexicana

They have grown well as shown on the photo.


I degrafted them except A. ritteri.
Scions are 6 ~ 7 cm in diameter.
An A. hintonii with a short stock.


A grafted G. mexicana is quite green as shown on the left but it will turn the body color eventually as shown on the right.


All scions are inserted in wet potting mix immediately.

I prepared 12 pots and used 8 yesterday.
4 of degrafted Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus were set for the rooting in this morning.

Those grafts are very impressive Hanazono, love the aztekiums. Do you put those scions into wet potting mix with a short Peres stock still attached? Do you ever have problems with the buried stock rotting?

One other question, how is your experience degrafting/rooting variegated scions where they still have around 30-40% green color? Is it possible to form own roots or better to keep regrafting to bigger stock? I have a variegated lophophora that I just degrafted and am about to put into pumice but am considering regrafting. Thank you hana

I would have to say Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus is my favourite ariocarpus, those degrafts are beautiful. I take it you leave the stock attached for kotschoubeyanus?

Yes I do, a short Pereskiopsis stock is buried into wet potting mix immediately.
Rooting failure will be 1~2 % caused by dried stock up, not rotting problem.
When the short stock dried up, I removed it and try a normal rooting.

30~40% green variegation should be hard to root.
Lopho is quite easy to root normally but regrafting is more secure.

I use 3 ways of degrafting.
1) Standard degrafting (removing stock completely)
2) Daituki-oroshi (with a short stock)
3) Zuituki-oroshi (with a short vascular bundles of the stock)

The method shown in here is 2)
Since Pereskiopsis is woody, no soft tissue, the result of rooting is similar to 3)
I grafted 24 seedlings of A. kotschoubeyanus 2 years ago.
4 small ones were degrafted in this morning and have to do 20 more in larger pots.

30 of Ariocarpus scions were degrafted and set for the rooting in this morning.
They grafted in 2014.
I planned to use 95 mm square pots but 6 of them did not fit the pot.
125 mm square pots were used for them.

5 - A. retusus v furfuraceus cv Suguri cauliflower
1 - A. retusus v furfuraceus cv Daruma royal
in 125 mm square pots


12 - A. retusus v furfuraceus cv Daruma royal
in 95 mm square pots


12 - A. retusus v furfuraceus cv Suguri cauliflower
in 95 mm square pots