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So my wife has been bugging to try grafting some Pachypodiums (brevicaule to lamerei) and 2 weeks ago, Tony gave us a crash course in grafting (He grafted this Pachy and 2 Aztekiums for us, thanks man!)

Once the lamerei was cut we immediately noticed there was no distinctive *ring* like there is on cacti. It was just a solid stem. Ok, this is gonna be easy!

Cut the brevicaule just above the roots and stuck him on, taped em up...done!

As you can see in the pics, the scion lifted a bit, but the bond is very solid. I picked up the whole pot by the scion. (Yes, took a big chance, but had to be sure ) I beleive it lifted due to drought. I had it in the propagator with a clear cup covering it, but i think it stayed too dry while curing. It may also be due to the fact we did not bevel the edges of the stock or scion. But i don't see the stock edges curling up...?? however, the center pushed up a bit. The scion looks to have shrunk a bit around it's outter edges. I'm quite sure it'll grow out of it and never been seen once bigger.

We plan to do alot more grafting (we have a good 50 of each!) and i'll update this thread with progress reports as we go. I did not take pics of the stems when we cut them, so that will be one thing to update this thread with.

On to the pics!
To give you some idea of size. It's in a 4" pot, the lamerei stem is about 1.25" in diameter and about 3-3.5" tall. The brevicaule is about 0.5-0.75" in diameter and maybe 1" tall.

Alrighty then, i guess nobody is all that interested in pachy grafts...lol!

Well, i'm posting a 30 day update anyway...

here is the same graft as above, at 43 days. Huge lucious leaves!





Here is another graft, done by my wife, this one is about 22 days old. It was given a different aftercare. More humidity and wasn't allowed to dry out during the *take* process. Unlike the first graft above. The base did not shrink much, nor did it lift at all. We learned! Over the past week or so, i swear i see the leaves grow overnight!

I was just waiting for the inevitable update.
Alright! Good work Jen! If your out there.

Very nice idea Darryl. I'm glad that it's working out.

One word: wow!

very nicely done looks great. i dont graft them myself, but i see many people having great success doing so, crests seem to grow like made grafted! yours looks like one happy camper!


ps. in picture 3 you can see the ring some plants dont have rings per se, and the tissues is in different areas (many plants have it in their bark layers)

Houston we have lift off!

Very nice! Looks cool!

Thanks guys!

I do see the ring in the last pic, but i think thats moreso from the drying process. When it's freshly cut, it's not visible. Might need a magnifying glass...? But it doesn't really matter (like with cacti), as the scion is completely inside the ring

Great job! I never see like this before

Looking good, those babies sure took off

FYI, I tried grafting the bottom cutting of all the brevicaules too. I put the roots up in the air on the graft. None of them took. I spoke with Woody from Cactus Data plants (he has done many of these) after my tries, and said that he has never been successful with that or known anyone who has. I had gotten the idea from this guy Frank who does grafting and said that he does that with cacti and gets pups all around it.

I am doing this for 2 reasons. The first, I want seed fast. Alot of seed. The second, growing a brevicaule on a lamerii makes the plant very forgiving. Anyone who grows them or has one in their collection knows how easily it is to kill them. It is not as sensitive to waterings and such. For people who want one, but are sick of wasting their money because they kill them so easily, it is a great alternative. I have a couple large ones on butt grafts and they are much easier to care for.

Hi Jenni. I see that you're Darryl's wife so it's nice to meet you.

jenni wrote:FYI, I tried grafting the bottom cutting of all the brevicaules too. I put the roots up in the air on the graft. None of them took. I spoke with Woody from Cactus Data plants (he has done many of these) after my tries, and said that he has never been successful with that or known anyone who has.

I thought that Cactus Data plants closed and their plants and supplies went to the CA Cactus Center. http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2859/

Woody did sell the location and most of his plants, but he re-opened in New Mexico. He still retains the name *Cactus Data Plants*