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RogerColgreen

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Posts posted by RogerColgreen


  1. Just stock-piling some info here that might be of interest to other breeders.

    In harmony with my previous post on "camouflage," as far as the world knows, these are the aims of my breeding program:

    Tall-growing;

    Large, colorful flowers, moving into 2 and 3 colors;

    Minimal spines.

    TO THAT END, I'm posting some pictures of useful genetic material:

    I) Tr. 'Pluto' (Wessner)

    http://echinopsis.eu/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=535#top_display_media

    pluto6_upl.JPG

    mng5nZouQpA6IVFtWk68unA.jpg

    This plant is remarkable for having most of what I want.

    It's tall-growing, has very short little spines, and a stunning flower, red with purple edge.

    II) Echinopsis subdenudata, including well-known clones 'Fuzzy Navel' and 'Domino'

    This has the kind of child-friendly spinelessness I want.

    12321248_10209565933050707_8635620870827

    This splendidly didactic photo contrasts the common E. subdenudata with E. subdenudata 'Fuzzy Navel.'

    III) Lovibia winteriana/wrightiana Lots of small pink flowers, and (at least on the clone I have) spines that are all nicely recurved, presenting a very nice surface to the hand. Handleable. This large-flowered clone is sold by Miles2Go cactus nursery.

    178_Lobivia_winteriana_5_30_08_2_1.jpg

    1915966_10209565932490693_63783478234128

    12472445_10209565932890703_2529801922989

    Thanks, and sorry for hijacking the thread a bit.

    ---RogerColgreen

    • Like 4

  2. Busy Busy.

    Had a going Bc vine, cut 20 piece off to keep it under control. Put them in water. Four looked like they might root; two did root.

    One put out 1" roots, the other put out 4" roots in the same time. The mother plant was strong, so I didn't plant them right away. After about 3 weeks, the stems turned black and died. So, yeah, MENTAL NOTE: RIGHT when the roots get 1" long, THAT's the time to plant. Had 5 boxes of P.v. seed in small plastic boxes in a 90 degree prop-box. Getting 3-4 germinations out of 20 in each one, sown 1 Jan. (Now 18 March) Also had TONS of extra seed in papertowels. (Arrange nine seeds in a matrix on one quarter of the paper-towel; fold into quarters; stack four paper towels in tupperware; place in hot box. This actually worked out very well. Got theobroma cacao tree and achacha tree, also in hot-box.

    Also on seedling rack: Pilosocereus pentaedrophorus, pkt said 20 seeds, got 21 seedlings, 105% germination! Plus two boxes of mixed astros.
    Am reseraching industrial sifters, as I'm not happy with my cactus mix, which is old potting mix, boiled. Too much organic matter, particles too small.

    Will get a few bags of decomposed granite and run it through the sifters, so that I have 1-3mm grit. Then I will be brave enough to try ariocarpus and other non-soggy-growing cacti from seed. DG is cheap enough, but the sifters will probably cost me $30 apiece. You're supposed to get a tower of 6 or 8, for hundreds of dollars, but I just need two. So I'm getting some vintage, steam-punk looking ones, a mismatched set, but they'll do the job.

    ---Roger

    • Like 1

  3. Fun Day:

    Ordered some BRITISH grapevines from Sunnybank Vines in the UK, planned skullduggery for how to import them.

    Got in touch with Mattslandscaping to negotiate a $250 order of BIG torch cacti for spring.

    Received A. valdezii grafted onto A. myriostigma, and M. 'Arizona Snowcap' grafted on M. geommetrizans from 123.mirka in Poland via ebay.

    Six-point valdezii on eight-point myriostigma. NICE!!!!

    123.mirka sent TEN random Astrophyta as a gift! All about 1" across, a good mix.

    He has more valdezii-on-myriostigma on ebay, take a look!

    Was sent an enormous number of PV berries for sprouting FRESH.

    Went through the WHOLE tech -- sterilizing tupperwares, soil, and soaking seeds in dilute bleach after mooshing off the pulp.

    Arrived 1 Jan --> First sprouts 1 Feb, FOUR WEEKS!

    I tell you guys! Get FRESH SEED, FOLLOW THE TECH, and it works!

    ---Roger.

    • Like 3

  4. Oh Teh Stories.

    Used a metal-core twisty-tie on a young macadamia nut tree. girdled it and killed it.

    Told my sister to water the lychee while I spent the Summer in Japan. She didn't, and it died.

    My father cut down my gorgeous cherimoya to have a place to park his Mustang. Grrrr.

    Have lost three P. v. leaves to the leaf drying out before the little plants get going. NOW KNOW to keep the humidity high THREE MONTHS after new shoots appear. Also, built Jungle Box to keep temp & humidity high.

    As far as grafting, that's a real thousand-hour project. Your first 20 grafts are doomed to fail, DEAL WITH IT. You just have to DO THEM and DO THEM and DO THEM until you get a feel for how the tissues go together.

    Got fungus gnats in my "cactus mix" I was starting seedlings in. Used Steinernema feltiae to get rid of them!

    Ordered fancy grafted cactus from POLAND in the winter. Arrived destroyed by cold.

    Ordered cuttings of Ban. cap. in summer. They died soon after arrival, doubtless due to heat.

    Ordered echinopsis and planted them out during Nov-March cold wet winter weather. EVEN THO I had a dry-winter tent set up to keep the rain off, many of the winter arrivals rotted off anyways.

    Bragged on FB about a choice plant, a grafted echinopsis hybrid, stunning, imported from Germany. Next day my collection had been cherry-picked, they got the choice one and about 8 others.

    ---RogerColgreen


  5. Had the same situation, parasitic nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) really did the trick. Plus the video is FREAKING AWESOME!

    Got them at the local garden store for $20.00. Basically what you get is a plastic bag with a little bit of thin sponge in it, folded in half, and in the middle there is a daub of pink goop. You mix the pink goop with a half gallon of water, and you have enough nematode-water to treat 1000 square feet of gnat-infested land!

    They go right to work on the maggots, and every last gnat was gone in three weeks. The nematodes are active in the soil for three weeks . . . before they die out, for lack of any more maggots to parasitize.

    WATCH THE VIDEO YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP AT NIGHT! HAHAHAHAHAH@!

    (My FB post over Halloween)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJkSo_aBcDs
    More Green Adventures. Noting transparent little worms, 3mm long, with black dot at head. Identified them as fungus gnat larvae. Pest control is always a headache in the basement. Fortunately, we live in 2015, and I can easily get a package of Steinernema feltiae, beneficial nematodes, which will eat them. The damage is heart-breakingly bad though: each fallen seedling has a gnat-maggot at its base, the roots are gnawed off, and there a small cavity in the bottom where the maggot is attacking the body of the doomed seedling. Lost 25-50% of my crop already. #1 priority tomorrow morning is to get those steinernemas going!
    EXTREMELY GRAPHIC little movie about what the STEINERNEMA's do inside the Bradysia/Sciaridae larvae . . .. NO NEED FOR ANY MORE HORROR MOVIES THIS HALLOWEEN THANKS!!!! You watch this little slice of reality, Hollywood Hellraisers can do NOTHING FOR YOU.


  6. Scions on pereskiopis tend to top out at tennis ball size, so yeah, I would degraft with one quick slice of the knife between Loph & Pere, dust with sulfur, let the cut edge heal three weeks, let it sit on a counter until it starts pushing roots, then pot it up in gritty, sandy, inorganic cactus mix.

    RogerColgreen


  7. Very nice bit of science, Glaukus! I'm getting deeper and deeper into the P. v. mystique:

    I've killed three leaves already, which makes me a profssional P.v. killer, yay! I had them in soil with humidity bags over, and they DID begin to root . . . but as soon as I saw rooting action, I thought I was GOOD TO GO, and took the humidity bags off. Leaves turned crispy brown, bit by bit, and the much-awaited shoots never came up.
    TIP: bluelotus on ebay mentions that when you get his 4-leaf sprouted plants, you must leave them in bag for THREE MORE MONTHS. Well, that's a pro-tip to take seriously.

    (I'm a cactus guy, still adjusting to LEAFY plants.)

    Also: knowing the winter is on the way and I want to keep sprouting and propagating, I've got a 55-gallon terrarium set up with lights, and the inside is STEAMY WARM. (Several flats of cactus seedlings going now.)

    So I bet THAT will help a lot too.

    VERY GLAD to hear that the wet-paper-towel trick is 100% effective.

    ---RogerColgreen

    • Like 2

  8. Repurposed a 55-gallon terrarium as a steamy hot-box for propagating by putting four 40Watt incandescent light bulbs under it. (The friend's snake died . . . still smells like snake.)

    Have M velutina, lots of normal cactus, and a few specials. Have ordered a STC-100 thermostat off ebay, but really, I can keep the heat where I want it by just adjusting the vents.

    Roger.

    • Like 1

  9. Very interested in all these blue torches. Have P. azureus, P. lanuginosus, and T. glaucus. Looking for

    P. magnificus and P. pentaedrophorus. MUST BE BLUE!!!!!

    Can swap fancy-flowered echinopis.

    ---RC.


  10. Hi, Roger Colgreen here in Southern California.

    Have a large number of NICE echinopsis/trichocereus/lobivia/chamaecereus/hildewintera hybrids, including some of the latest, hottest things from Germany. Pupping and propagating like crazy. Lots of nickel/quarter sized pups to send out.

    Here's what I'd like to acquire:

    Pereskiopsis bleo

    P. aculeata, nice fruiting variety of Barbados gooseberry

    Visually interesting trichocereus, e.g., the fatness of Juul's giant, or one with a lot of BLUE WAX on it.

    Or those of historical interest.

    Seed of all the FANCY/FINE astrophyta, hakkun, nishiki, fukuryu, asterias with multi-colored flowers etc.

    Any hot new flowering cactus Australia has bred.

    Rhipsalis russellii, as can be seen at Adam's Jungle Cactus

    Dunno how shipping is to/from Southern California. Is there someone who can advise, or point me to a comprehensible website?

    ---Roger


  11. Hi, Roger Colgreen here in Southern California.

    Have a large number of NICE echinopsis/trichocereus/lobivia/chamaecereus/hildewintera hybrids, including some of the latest, hottest things from Germany. Pupping and propagating like crazy. Lots of nickel/quarter sized pups to send out.

    Here's what I'd like to acquire:

    Pereskiopsis bleo

    P. aculeata, nice fruiting variety of Barbados gooseberry

    Visually interesting trichocereus, e.g., the fatness of Juul's giant, or one with a lot of BLUE WAX on it.

    Or those of historical interest.

    Seed of all the FANCY/FINE astrophyta, hakkun, nishiki, fukuryu, asterias with multi-colored flowers etc.

    Any hot new flowering cactus Australia has bred.

    Rhipsalis russellii, as can be seen at Adam's Jungle Cactus

    Dunno how shipping is to/from Southern California. Is there someone who can advise, or point me to a comprehensible website?

    ---Roger


  12. Hi Max,

    I currently have two varieties of Pereskia.

    The first is, I think, the standard rootstock, P. spathulata. I got this by degrafting a grafted Astrophytum from Europe. Have about 8 pieces going now, and seedlings ready to graft onto it.

    The leaves are succulent, about 1 1/4" long, by 1/2" wide. The stems have stayed small so far.

    It looks like this:

    http://cactiguide.com/graphics/p_spathulata_a_600.jpg

    The second is a famous old tree at a local university. It's a weird form of P. grandifolia, where there is fruit on fruit on fruit on fruit. The tree is 30' tall, and the leaves can be 8" x 3". BIG trusses of pink flowers, long spines. It's a MONSTER plant.

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pereskia_grandifolia

    Here you see the fruit, but not the long chains of fruit.

    Here's the big heads of pink flowers.

    http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/content/rose-cactus.htm

    The pereskias I'm looking for are:
    P. bleo, with the red flowers

    http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/bioinformatics/dfmfiles/files/c/31510/31510.jpg

    P. aculeata, the "Barbados goose-berry" with good yellow fruit.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXOTIC-FRUIT-CACTI-Pereskia-aculeata-gold-cactus-plant-vine-climber-4-pot-G-/151073743512

    Do you have pictures of yours? Do they have any special virtues, fruit, flower, or as a rootstock?

    ---Roger Colgreen

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