Pereskiopsis grafting = pic heavy

[Onzuka]

What if one side lifts up but the other side connects? I've had some like this that have eventually failed, some that succeed and some that stay alive but never really take off. Like one Pelecyphora that has sat on an incline for two years and has only grown about 2 mm in that time. I regrafted and one side lifted again and again, only about 2mm of growth this year.
And why would you say they lift on one side? I had pressure with rubber bands for a couple weeks. Could humidity not have been enough or not long enough? Were the cambium rings not aligned correctly?

Next scenario... If a scion produces a root or two, would you take that as a sign of a bad union and regraft or cut the root off?

Sorry if I'm being a pest, but I'm tring to think of as many scenarios as possible to help those interested in learning and trying themselves.

Let's see if I can provide a few answers.

I get maybe 30% of grafts lifting on one side, but which are connected by the vascular rings. It is almost, but not quite, never, that I have to regraft them. I have never been able to acertain the cause but I suspect that it has something to do with the alignment of the rings. Usually they just grow as quickly as the ones with a more complete joining and the join area seems to fill itself in over time. Here's a few pics to show what I mean.

This graft is what we all desire and aim for. It looks to have quite a gap underneath the scion, but it's just the angle of the camera.



This one has tilted but is firmy attached and has just started to pump.



This one is a few weeks old is pumping very nicely, in spite of being tilted.



I liked the look of the Onzuka graft shown above, so I took another photograph from a different angle. Can you see what I can see?



Finally, if you see roots, the graft has failed! The scion can detect the moisture in the stock's rings and is sending out roots to tap into it. The survival instinct is strong. When I get these, I pot the scions up and give them their chance on their own roots. The may seem to have joined, but give them a slight tug and they will come away and you will see that they are not connected. They may have stuck together a bit, but the graft has failed.

Steve

[paulzie32]

Thanks Steve,

The graft I have that for some reason keeps lifting is below. I got it from someone that was doing a Grafting Demo at a local C&S meeting. He does them for his business, so I thought it would have been done correctly. But a month or so after removing the rubberbands, It started lifting on one side. I left it like that for a year but there was SO little growth, I regrafted it. And again, it lifted. I think the vascular bundle on the root stock is too small and too wide on the scion so it just pumps into one side and not even enough.

You can see in the middle pic that the Connection is on only one side of the vascular ring of the scion.

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The Root Situation is an odd one. I've had some that rooted into the rootstock and right through it into the soil. I've also had some that produced several roots, did not much for a while and then started to grow really well. The rootstock doesn't produce suckers, so I always took that as a sign the graft took. Sometimes I've cut the roots off and they produced no more.

Here's one that did nothing for a while but produce roots and just never regrafted it. This year it really grew a lot. As you can see, it's much larger than the Pereskiopsis it's grafted on and to. It was smaller than the stock when it was grafted.
Do you think the roots go to the ground through the rootstock? I would think the rootstock would produce side shoots if it had not taken and in 2 years, it has not.
The first picture is from April of last year and the second is this morning.

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[Onzuka]

Okay, Paulzie, I'll make a few comments on your pics.

Plant number 1. There is little surprise to me that the scion is not growing. Are you sure that the stock is alive, apart from the green rim? The bottom 3/4 of the scion does not look good either. If it was mine (and it isn't) I'd be seeing if I had a suitable stock and attempting to graft the top 1/4 of the scion onto it. I think the time has long passed when you could just wait and see what happens.

Plant number 2. WOW, I've never seen anything like that! The scion looks to be properly attached to the stock and is certainly getting nurishment from somewhere. My guess is that it is being fed by the Pereskiopsis stock in the usual way with the roots just being aeriel roots so far. One thing is for sure, when you eventually decide it's time to get it onto it's own roots, it should be real easy.

Steve

[coldcactusmontreal]

Is it that somehow the scion was cut low enough that it actually has a lot of root tissue that is being fed by the graft stock?

[paulzie32]

Sorry, I should have posted a photo showing more of that plant. It is definitely alive. The brown patch is just a patch. I'll post a larger picture later.

On the one with roots, if you look closely at the first picture of it, you can see the cotyledons. Some roots are growing from above and some from below.

[promethean_spark]

Here's a successful bottom graft on pereskiopsis:
Shortly after graft:

Nine months later:

I put these bottoms on an opuntia pad and it worked out well too:

All Strombos from 2 year old seedlings.

[paulzie32]

Another root end -

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[paulzie32]

I'm sure when grafting, you've occasionally dropped the scion and had to re-slice the bottom off. Well, I was grafting a rare seedling and only got 5 seedlings out of 10 seeds so I wanted to maximize all I had! Not only did I graft the root end, which I don't have a picture of, but also the thin slice I took off... and it took! This pics a couple weeks old and the offset is Much larger now.
Sorry for the quality of the picture, but you can still see the slice and the offset. I guess there was an areole left on the slice... but then again, maybe not.

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[Onzuka]

I've just moved some grafts from the humidity chamber into the greenhouse, where they will go into an electrically heated propagator for the winter, Pereskiopsis don't like the cold one little bit! Whilst inspecting the grafts, I found this and thought I'd post the pics to show you what I mean by grafts developing roots.

You can see how the scion knows where to send it's roots in order to survive, it's aiming straight for the vascular rings.



Gentle presure on the graft and the scion came away from the stock. Here you can see the roots that it has developed.



This is the end of the stock. There may have been some degree of adhesion, but certainly the cells have not knitted together.



So, whilst I generally give them a chance on their own roots, I decided to take another slice from the stock and scion and have another try.



What would have happened if I had just left thing alone, I don't know, I've never tried it.

Steve

[Brunãozinho]

Not only did I graft the root end, which I don't have a picture of, but also the thin slice I took off... and it took! This pics a couple weeks old and the offset is Much larger now.
I guess there was an areole left on the slice... but then again, maybe not.

That slice graft is really interesting... I suppose it would dry out more easily than a regular graft, so did you use some weight on it? or, did you have any special care with it, like leaving it for longer in the humidity chamber or anything like that?

[paulzie32]

Hey Bruno, No. I just slid it on. I also only left it in a humid environment for about as long as anything else. Once I saw it had "stitched" or "knitted" together, I uncovered it. It's MUCH bigger now too. I'll try to get a picture later.

[Robb]

Paulzie, one question. What was the rare cactus?

[paulzie32]

Hey Robb, I thought it was Lophophora alberto-vojtech, but now I'm thinking it may have been a slice from a L. jourdaniana. I was grafting both that day.. Guess I'll have to really just wait and see.

[Driller64]

I used this method for my first Pereskiopsis grafting attempt that I did two days ago. Hopefully it will take, but the wound area near the scion is beginning to blacken a little. I'm hoping its just a weird looking callous :S

[paulzie32]

Too Humid! Let it dry out. The black is not good.
Usually just placing the bag over the top is ok... but sealing it is too much.

You may have to re graft it.