Pereskiopsis growing methods

[TheChinski]

Hi everyone,

My pereskiopsis used to grow like a weed when my collection was small enough to live indoors, but last year I moved to a greenhouse. Since then my pereskiopsis growth has seemed pretty naff, certainly not comparable to what I was getting before. I live in the UK so we aren't talking absurd weather patterns, and I grow them mostly in wet potting soil, with a few handfuls of grit tossed in, and planted with a load of stems in little trays a couple of inches deep. Other than that they just sit on the bench in the sun not doing a whole lot.

To all those who enjoy their pereskiopsis growing "like a weed", would you mind sharing the conditions you grow yours in? I'd love to try and get back to the speed I was getting way back when.

Kind regards,
Aaron

[DaveW]

Pereskiopsis grow like mad in Turkish Bath type humid conditions Aaron. You want to house the trays in one of those transparent plastic top type propagators, or arrange a polythene tent over your trays and keep them in a warm part of the greenhouse so you get visible condensation running down the inside of the propagator or polythene. I live in the UK and when I used to do that they put on about 4-5 inches of growth in a week or so.

Pereskiopsis being leafy plants require conditions unlike terrestrial cacti since they grow in warm humid areas. That is at least until you graft on them and the graft has taken, then you then have to grow them in normal cactus conditions to suit the scion.

[TheChinski]

Pereskiopsis grow like mad in Turkish Bath type humid conditions Aaron. You want to house the trays in one of those transparent plastic top type propagators, or arrange a polythene tent over your trays and keep them in a warm part of the greenhouse so you get visible condensation running down the inside of the propagator or polythene. I live in the UK and when I used to do that they put on about 4-5 inches of growth in a week or so.

Pereskiopsis being leafy plants require conditions unlike terrestrial cacti since they grow in warm humid areas. That is at least until you graft on them and the graft has taken, then you then have to grow them in normal cactus conditions to suit the scion.

Thanks Dave! I have moved some trays into an Ikea tub and we'll see what happens.

[Shane]

Thanks Dave, I was wondering the same thing. I'll add one reason for poor growth outside: slugs eating the leaves. I'm not sure how they survive the spines, but they strip the plant absolutely bare of leaves. I've found that terra cotta will deter them though. They won't crawl up/across it

[DaveW]

Teo gives a method of growing Pereskiopsis in his book on grafting in the link below, but the general advice is warmth and wet. At least until you graft on them.

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rho ... opic=869.0

[Shane]

Teo gives a method of growing Pereskiopsis in his book on grafting in the link below, but the general advice is warmth and wet. At least until you graft on them.

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rho ... opic=869.0

Thanks for sharing the link! Lots of good info

I'm doing some experimentation myself and will report my findings

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

Since the vast majority of (maybe all of it) Pereskiopsis in the cactus trade is from cutting I wonder if certain genetics are playing a role in poor growth. I've tried my best to keep track and label the source of mine throughout the years and there have definitely been Pereskiopsis that have been stagnant in their growth regardless of ideal conditions.

[Shane]

Since the vast majority of (maybe all of it) Pereskiopsis in the cactus trade is from cutting I wonder if certain genetics are playing a role in poor growth. I've tried my best to keep track and label the source of mine throughout the years and there have definitely been Pereskiopsis that have been stagnant in their growth regardless of ideal conditions.

Interesting. Perhaps there are some lineages of perioskopis that grow more quickly than others. Something I've noticed with mine is that it seems to respond much more quickly to negative environmental changes than my other cacti. That is it takes much less to get it to stop growing. And when it stops, it takes time to get it restarted. I don't think I've been able to provide good enough conditions to get it into full growth mode yet

If anyone has perioskopis they know to be fast growing, I'd love to have a cutting of that (I live in the US)

[Aloinopsis]

It sometimes grows feral in the US (Florida and Puerto Rico). Sometimes you will see it for sale on eBay from there, these are often plants that people go outside and collect.

[Shane]

It sometimes grows feral in the US (Florida and Puerto Rico). Sometimes you will see it for sale on eBay from there, these are often plants that people go outside and collect.

I bought mine on Amazon from a guy in Florida. Assumed it was cultivated but maybe not based on what you said

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

Since the vast majority of (maybe all of it) Pereskiopsis in the cactus trade is from cutting I wonder if certain genetics are playing a role in poor growth. I've tried my best to keep track and label the source of mine throughout the years and there have definitely been Pereskiopsis that have been stagnant in their growth regardless of ideal conditions.

Interesting. Perhaps there are some lineages of perioskopis that grow more quickly than others. Something I've noticed with mine is that it seems to respond much more quickly to negative environmental changes than my other cacti. That is it takes much less to get it to stop growing. And when it stops, it takes time to get it restarted. I don't think I've been able to provide good enough conditions to get it into full growth mode yet

If anyone has perioskopis they know to be fast growing, I'd love to have a cutting of that (I live in the US)

This is definitely something I've observed. Try a couple of the different US sellers on eBay. Compare the length and shape of the leaves. Compare the tufts of hair emerging from the areoles and the colour and length of spine. I believe that 99% of those available in the trade are indeed P. spathulata. However, these superficial differences seem to correlate to growth. My experience is those specimens with shorter spines, greater glochids, and tighter more compact leaves are more easily impacted by changes in environment and can nearly stall in growth. I find the opposite for those specimens that have nearly no glochids, longer, almost red spines, and more succulent leaves that are more pronounced from the stem.

You also may have experienced buying cuttings that were just from older, more thick stock. Fresh cuttings taken from green growth will continue to gain in size and health. Older cuttings that are thick and woody at the stem can be more like Pereskia in growth habit.

[Aloinopsis]

It sometimes grows feral in the US (Florida and Puerto Rico). Sometimes you will see it for sale on eBay from there, these are often plants that people go outside and collect.

I bought mine on Amazon from a guy in Florida. Assumed it was cultivated but maybe not based on what you said

Yep, it very possibly was taken from feral plants. I've seen them in Florida growing higher than houses. I've wondered if it's a breeding population. They DO flower when they get really tall, but if it's all the same clone, they're probably not breeding. It seems to be one of those things which is extremely under-studied and under-documented. Florida has so many wild/feral/invasive species, that I think Pereskiopsis just gets overlooked. It's not nearly as "sexy" as pythons, parrots, and Persian lime trees.

[Shane]

My experience is those specimens with shorter spines, greater glochids, and tighter more compact leaves are more easily impacted by changes in environment and can nearly stall in growth. I find the opposite for those specimens that have nearly no glochids, longer, almost red spines, and more succulent leaves that are more pronounced from the stem

That's an interesting observation. Mine are distinctly in the second (good) category. I've been growing one in a homemade humidity chamber (a plastic jar with the bottom cut out) and several others open but in more shade. The one in the jar seems to be responding well. I think the long term solution might be indoor growing. It seems like I just don't have enough control over the environment outside

I'm out of town now. I'll see how my plants look when I get back. Fingers crossed

[DaveW]

See:-

https://pereskiopsis.com/pereskiopsis/

[Shane]

I got home from my trip and discovered my Perioskopis growth was much improved. It looks like the main issue was excessive light intensity. The jury's still out on whether increasing the humidity is helping