To cut the mother or the pup?

[puffingfish]

I have a few trich's that have been ground planted for about six months. The pups on some of these plants are now nearly equalling the size of the mother plant and appear to be draining resources as well as destabilising the plant.

Would it be better to cut the (very healthy) pup off or cut the mother plant?

If removing the mother plant, how much length should I leave at the base?

As the plants are already in the ground should I use a funguside on the remaining section while it callouses?

Thanks

[Ace]

Hey puffingfish - I'd think chopping the pup would be best. Leave a little bit of the bottom of the new pup on the mother - it should pup from the pup's stump, if you know what I mean

The top of the cut pup can be caloused and rooted to form a new plant :D

Dont know how cool the weather is up your way, but most cuttings root far better in spring/summer. Perhaps it'd be best to wait till September, or take the pup indoors to root?

Either way, good luck

[zee_werp]

I'd say cut the mother, and leave the pups to grow. Leaving not much of a stump of the mother, maybe 10-15cm. Cause once they have had their vascular bundles diverted away to the pups, its hard to get the original length cranking again.

If you were to take the pup off instead, I would disagree about leaving a bit of the pup on so that more can grow from the 'stump' of the pup. In my opinion this makes the plant look messy and butchered, and any pups that come off it will now be going through two areole connections between the roots and the growth. I reckon it's better to make a nice clean cut at the base of the pup, but thats just my 2c.

[puffingfish]

Thanks for the advice.

I think what I'll do is remove the mother plant only leaving a small section remaining. I've read cutting on an angle is better for promoting more pupping.

I'm then going to make it into 3-4 sections, callous them and plant a couple up right and have a go at planting some on their sides.

Even though summer is ending it has been very dry and hot during the day so I think they will still do fairly well.

The only thing is should I bother treating the exposed cut (when I remove the mother plant) with fungicide as it will have to callous outdoors?

Even though I know I have to do it I'm a bit nervous as she was the healthiest specimen of my original stock and I would hate anything to happen to her!

[egad]

Thanks for the advice.

I think what I'll do is remove the mother plant only leaving a small section remaining. I've read cutting on an angle is better for promoting more pupping.

I'm then going to make it into 3-4 sections, callous them and plant a couple up right and have a go at planting some on their sides.

Even though summer is ending it has been very dry and hot during the day so I think they will still do fairly well.

The only thing is should I bother treating the exposed cut (when I remove the mother plant) with fungicide as it will have to callous outdoors?

Even though I know I have to do it I'm a bit nervous as she was the healthiest specimen of my original stock and I would hate anything to happen to her!

Hey puffingfish, if you make your cut flat it will promote more pupping, if you cut it on an angle it is likely to pup less as it will pup from the highest aeriole, a flat cut ensures there are multiple aerioles at the same height in relation to the newly forming callous.

The consensus on here of late is that planting horizontally is a waste of time, not resulting in any more pups than having planted the same pieces vertically.

You will not need to treat the exposed cut(s) with anything, as long as they are allowed to callous and dry sufficiently they will be perfectly fine on their own.

Good luck, don't worry too much, cacti wants to grow and it will do pretty much anything it can to ensure that it continues to grow, cutting back a big plant will just mean you have two or three bigger plants next year.

[zee_werp]

For an outdoor plant, it is a good idea to make the cut at an angle. Otherwise water pools in the middle of the core bit when it sinks in after callousing and mold and stuff grows in there. Unless you never get damp weather where you're at.

For an outdoor plant I doubt that angle vs. flat is going to make a difference when it comes to number or size of pups. It's going to produce whatever it feels like producing either way. Besides, with trichs, more pups = less overall growth on each one.

As for treating the exposed cut, I'd simply make the cut early on a day thats forecast to be warm and sunny, then in the evening cover it with something to shield it from moisture, such as a plastic bowl or bucket. Then take that off whenver the sun is out until the thing seems sufficiently calloused.

Edited April 3, 2007 by zee_werp

[chilli]

For an outdoor plant, it is a good idea to make the cut at an angle. Otherwise water pools in the middle of the core bit when it sinks in after callousing and mold and stuff grows in there. Unless you never get damp weather where you're at.

For an outdoor plant I doubt that angle vs. flat is going to make a difference when it comes to number or size of pups. It's going to produce whatever it feels like producing either way. Besides, with trichs, more pups = less overall growth on each one.

In my limited experience, my one outdoor plant with an angled cut has pupped less and the pups don't seem as vigourous as the plants with straight cuts. This might be due to other factors though, although the genetics of the plant in question otherwise seem to favour pupping.

There is another way to avoid water pooling and still have a straight cut, though: just cut it nice and straight, and then "bevel" the edges, so it looks like this: _______

/ \

I haven't tried this, as I don't get problems from water, but it might be worth checking out.

[puffingfish]

Thanks for the tips.

I'm going to take a photo and post it tomorrow as my boyfriend reckons I've got a black thumb and I shouldn't do anything to the plant in question until you've seen exactly what I'm talking about.

Looks like I'll have to do a good search to get a difiniative answer on the angle vs straight cut as well.

[reshroomED]

Unless the pup has grown exactly vertical, cutting it level (ie perpendicular to growth) will still allow water to run off.

Personally, I've found no difference when cutting perpendicular or angled. Some perp. cuts will multiple-pup, some won't, and the same with angled cuts.

Those made horizontally usually catch water and deteriorate by an inch or so, before hardening off. Probably less pups from these but I haven't really investigated. Note that I'm in a cold climate, which limits rot etc.

ed

[chilli]

Unless the pup has grown exactly vertical, cutting it level (ie perpendicular to growth) will still allow water to run off.

Personally, I've found no difference when cutting perpendicular or angled. Some perp. cuts will multiple-pup, some won't, and the same with angled cuts.

Those made horizontally usually catch water and deteriorate by an inch or so, before hardening off. Probably less pups from these but I haven't really investigated. Note that I'm in a cold climate, which limits rot etc.

ed

I'm also in a generally cold climate, so that could explain why I haven't had rot on any vertical cuts. Plus, now that I look at it, my one angled cut is pretty steep, so that may be why the pups seem less proliferative and vigorous.