| Decapitating E. grusonii | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Decapitating E. grusonii Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:31 pm | |
| I've had an E. grusonii for about 19 years and it's about 40 cm in diameter. When I moved house about seven years ago, it was placed in a partly shaded spot next to a shed, and since then has has been neglected. It has grown up on a short stump and bent in the direction of the main light source. It looks unsightly.
What I'd like to do is cut it off at the base of the ball above the stump, let it dry, and then nestle it into a bed of new growing medium.
Is there a prospect of success, or has anyone a better suggestion? I can't see any other way of salvaging a plant that's an eyesore. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Les (Brisbane) | |
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Darren Calm and Collected
Number of posts : 352 Location : adelaide but moving to monbulk Registration date : 2009-09-07
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:23 pm | |
| g'day les i had an issue with a big E grusonii and people posted lots of suggestions you can see the thread under pests & diseases. regards Darren | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:04 pm | |
| Thanks, Darren. Your thread was interesting. My issue is fairly major -- chopping a Golden Barrel in half!
I thought I would have to use a sulphur-based fungicide. I suppose it should be applied straight after cutting while it is still wet?
Les | |
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Darren Calm and Collected
Number of posts : 352 Location : adelaide but moving to monbulk Registration date : 2009-09-07
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:16 pm | |
| i was considering lopping mine in half and still may have to, some people think that it may not root but it is possible. what you need to do is cut it and coat it in the sulphur then get a plant pot the right size so that you can sit it in it without it touching the bottom and leave it to dry out. or i was also told to rest it ontop of straight perlite or something dry like that but it needs to be out of the sun and kept dry. i was thinking about getting a heap of cuttings of trichocerous and letting them get roots, then cut them all at the same height and plant them in a ring the same diameter as the big barrel cactus and cutting the barrel in half and grafting it to all the cuttings. it might look a little like the pantheon or some other architectural masterpiece. i am not sure if this would work and i dont realy want to risk it but i reckon it would look pretty cool | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:26 pm | |
| Thanks, Darren. Good luck!
Les | |
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Gracie Calm and Collected
Number of posts : 158 Location : Bendigo Victoria . Zone 6 Registration date : 2008-05-02
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:51 pm | |
| if it works for smaller diameter cactus then if the procedure was clean and timing was right for new growth then I cant see why it wouldn't work. of course the roundness I would think would be lost. | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:29 pm | |
| Thanks for your reply, Gracie.
The ball of the plant is fairly symmetrical and has pretty well a full, rounded shape. Beneath this, the trunk starts. I hope to cut just where the trunk finishes.
Best regards
Les | |
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MichaelCactus Calm and Collected
Number of posts : 293 Location : Melbourne Registration date : 2008-06-24
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:17 pm | |
| I'd personally just leave it, it may look un sightly to some, but just adds character in my opinion. Once its adjusted to the correct lighting and etc. | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:16 pm | |
| I'm afraid the character it adds doesn't appeal to me. | |
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cactusjd
Number of posts : 33 Location : Pakistan Registration date : 2010-05-24
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Mon May 24, 2010 5:02 pm | |
| same problem with some of my cactus. once plant's shape is out of order i dont think it can be corrected | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Mon May 24, 2010 5:53 pm | |
| I'm fortunate that the main part of the plant (the ball) is in good shape; it's only the base that's grown as a stem. | |
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TasV
Number of posts : 145 Location : NW Tasmania Registration date : 2010-03-12
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Mon May 24, 2010 9:23 pm | |
| If you did lop its head off... would the base also begin to offset if allowed to continue growing? You might be able to make one of those multi-headed grusonii that look so appealing (to me). You might end up with two really nice plants.. a symmetrical single headed plant and nice multi-headed plant. I had a grusonii that was about 8-9 years old whose growing point was injured and it offset.. not sure how a much older plant would repsond. | |
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blowng Calm and Collected
Number of posts : 256 Location : Mellville Registration date : 2008-10-28
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Tue May 25, 2010 12:42 pm | |
| ............ This is my Echinocactus grusonii ,my first which I received some years ago as a pup before I had gained much skills .I had planted it outside in the ground where it looked and grew fine ,but as i did not prepare the bed before planting, the drainage wasnt the greatest and resulted in root loss and some rot which was beginning to creep up the stem .I think I saved her now though .It wasnt easy ,and a bit scary ,I used a wood saw initially to cut through and tried to let this callous but the roughness left by the serrated saw blade made a habitat for mould , so I re-cut a week later with a sharp knife, but before I did the cut the spines that were in the way were cut with a dog claw trimmers lol, worked a treat.The edges were bevelled , the cut dusted with sulphur , left in a warm dark place and now is hardened right off , gonna find a nice shallow terracotta pot with some nummy cactus medium for her rehabilitation. | |
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s a v v o
Number of posts : 10 Location : Brisbane Registration date : 2009-11-14
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:39 pm | |
| Thanks for your responses -- sorry for the delay. Thanks particularly to 'blowng'; we have a similar issue. I'd like to think that when one of us is sure of success, we can let the other know -- obviously quite a way into the future yet!
Les | |
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TasV
Number of posts : 145 Location : NW Tasmania Registration date : 2010-03-12
| Subject: Re: Decapitating E. grusonii Sun Jun 06, 2010 9:03 pm | |
| I had a bizzare thought about this... why not treat it like a big graft? If you cut it off close to the soil level and then shortened to 'scion' section to assume a more rounded appearance again and then sit the top section onto the base... maybe it would bond and keep growing as if nothing had ever happened. There would be zero compatibility issues and you could, in time, hide the graft union with gravel and nobody would be any the wiser. This way you can use the strong root system you already have. There is, of course, a caveat! I have no idea whether this would work or not with a large mature cactus. I also do not know how lignified the base would be... but if it doesn't work you can always remove the 'scion' and try to get it to form roots as per the original idea and wait for the base section to offset. | |
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