Interesting graft technique

[Shane]

I came across an interesting video yesterday. Their method for holding the scion and stock together while fusing is pretty clever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-glXJrswWtw

I wonder what other stocks this might work for

[Edwindwianto]

I came across an interesting video yesterday. Their method for holding the scion and stock together while fusing is pretty clever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-glXJrswWtw

I wonder what other stocks this might work for

Thanks Shane
It needs a stock which can root easily
And her choice of substrate is also interesting...100% sand

[Shane]

And her choice of substrate is also interesting...100% sand

I know, I noticed that too. Maybe it promotes root development. At the end she transplants one into another soil which looks very clay rich, which is an interesting choice

[Shane]

I wonder how much of a growth speed boost you get from O. fragilis. It seems to be used mostly to increase hardiness

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

EDITED TO ADD: It looks like examples from agriculture prove that grafting does increase cold hardiness. I've just not seen it with my own experience with cacti. I need to do more work to find this out because it would be quite useful to us northern growers.

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/grafting-a ... rop-plants

I wonder how much of a growth speed boost you get from O. fragilis. It seems to be used mostly to increase hardiness

Keep in mind, the Opuntia has incredible hardiness to temperature, but that hardiness is not transferred to the scion.

[SoilSifter]

I'm in southeast Idaho. I think O. fragilis grows locally and I have some. Or, it might be some sort of O. fragilis hybrid. I'm not sure. In my area Opuntia is the only kind of cactus. For some reason, for all the years I've had it and kept it outside all year, it has never flowered. When conditions are right they grow quickly but as you can see in the video their pads are small compared to a lot of bigger Opuntia.

I recently tried grafting 3 tubercles to a pad of O. fragilis. None of them healed together so I thought the vascular bundles probably weren't suitable for grafting but this video suggests I was wrong. I kept the healing pad in an enclosure with a bit of heat, light, and high humidity. It rooted very easy but at some point it received too much water. I recently pulled it out to throw away and found that even though it had two long spindly pads, trying to grow because of the insufficient light, the bottom half of the pad had rotted.

I thought that grafting was commonly used with plants in general, particularly trees, to increase cold hardiness, if only a little bit. The rootstock certainly doesn't change the DNA of the scion to increase hardiness. Generally cacti don't like being cold and wet and the really cold hardy Opuntia seem to tolerate both of those conditions better. With Optuntia roots a scion can survive the cold and wetness better. Plus I've thought maybe the composition of the fluid transported by the xylem is changed a bit, slightly improving cold hardiness, because of the different rootstock but I don't know that for sure.

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

I thought that grafting was commonly used with plants in general, particularly trees, to increase cold hardiness, if only a little bit. The rootstock certainly doesn't change the DNA of the scion to increase hardiness. Generally cacti don't like being cold and wet and the really cold hardy Opuntia seem to tolerate both of those conditions better. With Optuntia roots a scion can survive the cold and wetness better. Plus I've thought maybe the composition of the fluid transported by the xylem is changed a bit, slightly improving cold hardiness, because of the different rootstock but I don't know that for sure.

I had thought most tree grafting occurred because certain species and varieties grow more rapidly or are more adverse to disease and rot (from the soil) compared to other species and varieties which may produce a more ideal fruit but have a harder time getting there. I also assumed that the scion does not gain the ability to withstand colder temperatures, but is able to circumvent some of the issues it normally has with being in the ground itself, like freeze/thaw cycles, root rot, root pests, etc.

Maybe some other board members can comment on this. From my own experience here in Ontario, Canada I did not notice sensitive scions (Ariocarpus and Turbinicarpus) fairing any better grafted to Canadian Opuntia. That said, a lot of our assumptions on cold hardiness need to be further tested. For example, I've left Pereskiopsis (by accident) out in temperatures below freezing for hours and sometimes days at a time to find the majority survive. Another group of Canadians (local cactus group) is experimenting with western cacti with hardiness (Echinocereus and Escobaria for example) and are finding that many examples are able to tolerate temperatures in excess of expectations, but fair poorly to freeze-thaw cycles due to root rot.

You've given me some topics to read more on.

[Shane]

I'm in southeast Idaho. I think O. fragilis grows locally and I have some. Or, it might be some sort of O. fragilis hybrid. I'm not sure. In my area Opuntia is the only kind of cactus. For some reason, for all the years I've had it and kept it outside all year, it has never flowered

O. fragilis seldom flowers in the wild or cultivation (see
https://www.opuntiads.com/opuntia-fragilis/)

It makes me wonder how a plant that doesn't produce seed ended up with such a wide distribution...

[DaveW]

"It makes me wonder how a plant that doesn't produce seed ended up with such a wide distribution..."

Some plants have ev0lved to be mainly spread by vegetative means Shane and so become reluctant flowerers simply because those that attach to animals or people, or break up easier were spread quicker, better and further than those that regularly produced seed. "Jumping Cholla" for instance.

The problem with some cactus clones in cultivations that are reluctant flowerers though produce numerous offsets is due to it being easier to propagate from offsets rather than using the same species which tends to remain single but flower more freely and produce seed if cross pollinated, a form of artificial selection. Also for self sterile plants people may have had only one plant or clone of the species, therefore could not produce seed so used offsets for propagation instead.

[greenknight]

O. fragilis is also known for its rain tolerance, using it as a rootstock might allow growing cacti in areas that would otherwise be too wet for them.

[Shane]

"It makes me wonder how a plant that doesn't produce seed ended up with such a wide distribution..."

Some plants have ev0lved to be mainly spread by vegetative means Shane and so become reluctant flowerers simply because those that attach to animals or people, or break up easier were spread quicker, better and further than those that regularly produced seed. "Jumping Cholla" for instance.

The problem with some cactus clones in cultivations that are reluctant flowerers though produce numerous offsets is due to it being easier to propagate from offsets rather than using the same species which tends to remain single but flower more freely and produce seed if cross pollinated, a form of artificial selection. Also for self sterile plants people may have had only one plant or clone of the species, therefore could not produce seed so used offsets for propagation instead.

It's just striking to me that a plant that presumably started in one spot came to cover such a vast area. Especially one full of obstacles to its spread like mountain ranges. Though with enough time it's definitely possible. Sort of mind blowing that it came to cover a several million square km range just by being moved around one piece at a time

Alternatively it could flower very occasionally (would be easy to miss in the wild). Even one fruit per square km per year could vastly speed its spread if the fruit was eaten by birds

[Sarraceniacrazy]

I used to play around with grafting Japanese maples and it was just for quick, robust growth versus taking cuttings. JM cuttings don't make the greatest roots and never a tap root, if I remember correctly, so they're just slow growing and will never mature. Grafting the same cutting to root stock and you get a healthy, fast growing tree.

Then I came here and learned about grafting succulents and noticed it's done for faster growth. So, I always assumed you graft to a faster growing robust root stock to get a robust fast growing scion.

[Shane]

JM cuttings don't make the greatest roots and never a tap root, if I remember correctly, so they're just slow growing and will never mature

Most cacti form good roots from cuttings, but some don't. I've heard tuber forming cacti don't form proper roots unless grown from seed