Grafting Hardy's

[ihc6480]

OK, is there such a thing as a cold hardy grafted cactus?
I believe I'm going to find out as I have a few cold hardy's in my collection. I have a cold hardy that John of Templegate got me hooked on finding and yes I found some. The cacti is Opuntia pulchella and I have three of them growing on there own tuberous root thus far.
As I fear I will possibly loose these in the fall/winter due to excessive moisture I'm going to graft one of them. I'll be using Opuntia compressa as the grafting stock.
So heres where I need opinions-- O. compressa can survive my fall/winter conditions with no problem. So by grafting an O. pulchella onto the compressa it should be able to survive as a cold hardy grafted cacus in my view.

So does my reasoning should right.
C'mon, jump in and don't hold back. I want your opinions or experienced advice.

OH, heres a picture of one of the young O. pulchellas in my garden. It's about 3 inches tall.

[daiv]

Bill,
I can't say how well that will work, but think about it this way.

You are taking two plants and connecting them together. One of the plants has no problem where you are. That won't change with the graft. The other may have problems, but not necessarily with the top. So if the survivability is dependant just on the roots, your experiment will work otherwise no.

The only thing is that O. puchella is mostly root so that the top won't be representing the majority -that is kind of a bummer.

[Bill in SC]

You probably have this link, but if you don't, it is a good one..
http://www.cactus-art.biz/technics/Graf ... _index.htm
Bill in SC
BTW if you run out of O compressa, just holler..

[templegatejohn]

Hi Bill, You have done really well to get those going on their own roots. They are not easy and I remember you getting the seeds.

Valentino, a nurseryman friend of mine in Italy uses Opuntia compressa for all his grafts and he does graft pulchella on compressa.

Many people make the mistake of grafting difficult to grow plants onto fairly delicate stocks which tends to defeat the object. e.g. Myrtillocactus, which is an excellent grafting stock, but not particularly hardy itself.

The grafted plant will to a degree take on the growing requirements of the stock. I guess it is try it and see time.

Good luck mate, and well done with the young plants. I think that is quite an achievement.

John

[ihc6480]

You probably have this link, but if you don't, it is a good one..
http://www.cactus-art.biz/technics/Graf ... _index.htm
Bill in SC
BTW if you run out of O compressa, just holler..

Yep, that be the site I'm using for info on grafting

Oh I'll give ya a holler but you might be surprised what I holler for

[ihc6480]

Hi Bill, You have done really well to get those going on their own roots. They are not easy and I remember you getting the seeds.

Valentino, a nurseryman friend of mine in Italy uses Opuntia compressa for all his grafts and he does graft pulchella on compressa.

Many people make the mistake of grafting difficult to grow plants onto fairly delicate stocks which tends to defeat the object. e.g. Myrtillocactus, which is an excellent grafting stock, but not particularly hardy itself.
The grafted plant will to a degree take on the growing requirements of the stock. I guess it is try it and see time.

Good luck mate, and well done with the young plants. I think that is quite an achievement.

John

Thanks John,

Since you were inspiration for my O. pulchella I thank you. It has been a learning experience for me-- never thought I'd get this far.
That said, I kind of know I'll lose them if left outside this winter. I know they are hardy enough to with stand the cold here but fear I'll lose them due to excessive moisture.
I'll have one in my collectiong even if it's grafted Come too far to lose them now.

Hopefully it will end up looking as nice as yours.
Thanks for the inspiration John.

[ihc6480]

Well I finally brought myself to do a little snipping on my cacti.
Here is O. pulchella grafted onto O. compressa.
Now to wait and see the results.


PS: don't pay attention to the paperclips. It was them to hold the spiny's in place or electrical tape

[Mark]

Looks good to me. Is this your first time grafting?


Mark

[ihc6480]

Looks good to me. Is this your first time grafting?


Mark

Yes, this is my first attempt at grafting. Hopefully all will go well.

[Mark]

I hope it goes well to.



Mark

[daiv]

Best of luck on this one Bill. I hope it does take. Don't get impatient like me and take off the hold downs too quickly.

[ihc6480]

Well my first ttempt was a flop .

Not to give up easily I had to give it another try and believe I have a successful graft this time.

Looking good thus far.

click to enlarge


click to enlarge

Now to see how it grows

[daiv]

It does appear to be connected, eh? This is one that your grew from seed right? Charles in Nevada said one of his put on 32 stems, but he is worried about how it will winter.

Daiv

[ihc6480]

Yup, one of the seedling survivors. Of the 2 I have left I fill as Charles does also, thats the reasoning behind grafting one.
They are very cold hardy but in there natural enviroment they only recieve about 4" of moisture a year . The tuberous root is very prone to rot.

[Bill in SC]

Bill,
The lower grafting stock should have an angle cut on each side so water will run off. Otherwise, looks fine!
Bill in SC