Evil Genius Posted April 11, 2012 Glad to hear people are actually trying these methods. Thanks Albert! Knowledge is nothing if people dont use it so i cant wait to see more results and trials like this. The method definately works. The problem is that you need to stabilize the genetics of the offspring. First generation of plants may be weak and needs to be crossed with pure parents again to bring in some fresh genetics. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RyanVolle Posted April 22, 2012 woah cool... can i use this technique to other flowers too? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) Alright guys, theres some new information about intergeneric breeding. Just found out that Epiphyllum and Echinopsis can be crossed sucessfully with each other! This might also apply to Trichocereus. So guys, let me see some frigging Epiphyllum x Trichocereus or Trichocereus x Epiphyllum Hybrids in the future! Also its possible to cross these: Seticereus x Matucana Arequipa x Matucana Cleistocactus x Trichocereus Cleistocactus x Matucana Seticereus x Matucana Morawetzia x Matucana Hamatocactus x Echinofossulocactus Trichocereus x Matucana Discover the possibilities! Edited May 21, 2012 by Evil Genius 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted June 15, 2012 Can't wait to try this on PC pachanoi. EG, could this be used on very delicate flowers such as salvia flowers for example. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted June 15, 2012 Hi Halcyon, yes this could (theoretically) work with Salvia too but i see problems because Salvia doesnt have such a great genetic pool to begin with. But you never know until you tried so its definately worth the try. Maybe Centipede feels like trying some pollen from other salvia species out too. With cement and without as both could potentially work. Another option would be too create a pollenmix to fertilize it. With this technique you can try out many diffrent types of pollen at once. Saves you lots of time. If the salvia accepts one of the pollen types you mixed, it will set seed. But with this tech, you do not know which species was the one that successfully fertilized the flower. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted June 15, 2012 You really are an evil genius EG! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted June 16, 2012 Still havent figured out how to turn stones into gold though. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paisano Posted June 20, 2012 i wish i read this a week ago before my UFO cactus (tricho hybrid) flowered. Flower lasted about 18 hours before closing but it was an amazing show! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) Still havent figured out how to turn stones into gold though. Well all you really need is a backyard particle accelerator like mine. They can be hard to hide from the neighbors though. Sorry, I'm digressing. Ok so how about if you had two different salvia clones, and crossed them using the cement powder, that's gotta be worth a try. Also I'm wondering if betel lime would be too strong an alkaline to use (or not). It would certainly create a high pH but may actually burn delicate parts of flowers. Edited June 21, 2012 by Halcyon Daze 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlbertKLloyd Posted September 7, 2012 My attempts to employ Ca hydroxide to allow my peanut cactus to pollinate itself failed... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted September 7, 2012 Well, sad to hear but that the likelyhood was very high. Success rate is not very high and lies at 20 percent at max. So far i was able to cross: Rebutia x Lobivia Leuchtenbergia x Ferocactus Chamaecereus aka Lobivia Silvestrii x Trichocereus Hildewintera aka Cleistocactus x Trichocereus Echinopsis x Trichocereus Still not sure if these succeeded: Astrophytum x Leuchtenbergia Cleistopsis x Trichocereus Cleistocactus x Trichocereus Söhrensia x Echinopsis 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snowfella Posted September 7, 2012 Leuchtenbergia x Ferocactus (Ferobergia) and Astrophytum x Leuchtenbergia (Astrobergia) are known cultivars and seem to hybridise easily though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) Yeah i know. Leuchtenberia are genetically pretty close to Ferocactus. But i wanna see if the resulting offspring is variable to the known cultivars. The hybrid between Astro and Leuchtenbergia looks so great that i wanna see if i get reliable seedling supply by just crossing it again. Edited September 7, 2012 by Evil Genius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) Just read about someone who allegedly crossed Chamaecereus x Gymnocalycium Multiflorum. Most seedlings turned out to look like Chamaecereus, two of them looked like Gymnocalycium Multiflorum and one of them grew like a Gymnocalycium but pupped as excessive as a typical Chamaecereus! Will repeat the cross next season. Also the following ones were claimed to be successfully crossed by someone in germany: Gymnocalycium bruchii x Lobivia pugionacantha Sulcorebutia canigueralii x Lobivia wrightiana Sulcorebutia canigueralii x Echinocereus baileyi Gymnocalycium doopiana x Lobivia chrysochete R171 Edited September 13, 2012 by Evil Genius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Savage Gardener Posted November 10, 2012 How cool!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted November 10, 2012 Yeah but with crosses like this, there is always the risk of it being a spontaneous self-pollination or a bee-pollination with something else. One plant that has a huuuuuge Potential for intergeneric breedings is Matucana! Everyone who is interested in Crossbreeding should work with them. Hybrids are extremely variable. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Auxin Posted November 10, 2012 Well damn, I see what you mean! Matucana madisoniorum X Echinopsis hybrid: It looks like a baby terscheckii but is flowering at ~15 cm tall, how cute is that. Thanks for the tip. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Uri Posted November 25, 2012 Evil genius - botanists get doctorates debating the cause of the explosive divergent evolution of cactaceae. I've read hypothesis ranging from geographic isolations, uprise of the Andes, increased UV at altitude or desert, inbuilt mutogenic chemistry, even Nazca UFO aliens dicking around with DNA! But never the possibility you suggest by your solid experimentation. ...so, the pH of limestone desert dusts!...Sir! I salute you! Congratulations. You author a new chapter in our knowledge. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mira Posted November 27, 2012 So I used the DE trick with some plants I had not been able to get to set fruit/seed for the life of me. I ended up hitting them with DE mixed with self and foreign pollen just for the heck of it. I finally got fruits off off of them for the first time, but I haven't sowed them yet. The first attempt (DE only?) led to a completely sterile fruit, but 2 very seedy fruits on the latter attempts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Uri Posted November 27, 2012 Evil Genius - I feel in your debt forever! I have one lonely little specimen about 7 years old (I've spent a fortune on seeds too) that flowers it's little heart out but has never set fruit - of course. On a hunch - and the fact it is downwind of a local alumina refinery that "graces" us with its caustic soda plumes - I looked amongst the furrows and found a seed! Today it germinated! So it didn't just self pollinate, the seed was viable too! My poking around stimulated another flower. It opened today and I had the ammonium hydroxide 0.05M solution ready and waiting! (Just an Auxin variation of your technique - thank you both! The NH4OH is completely volatile, of known pH and cement powder can be variable in the lime/gypsum proportion.) The stigma has browned and I'll see if the flower opens tomorrow - but my expectations are very good! This time I'll ensure I don't overload the embryo seedlings with light, which has always been my mistake previously. You have made an old man and a lonely, little cactus very, very happy! If anyone else had told me to put quicklime on my precious little fella's sex organs I would have done it to them. Thank you! and thank you Auxin! Happy Patty! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted November 27, 2012 Hehe, well I actually always had a secret long-term plan to re-meet the Lophophora and Trichocereus genuses/genii in Matucana or something related. Bring selected genes into a middle-plant that could then, after stabilizing, begin back-crossing to both. Of course this would take decades to get off the ground, but could be either hilarious or great. Maybe even there's a minute chance of directly crossing the two, or is that heresy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Uri Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I'm gonna try this with Erythroxylum spp. native and otherwise. If successful I gonna name it after you Evil Genius! Even if I got to polypoid the hybrid seed to virilise it. Edited November 27, 2012 by Pat Uri Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Uri Posted November 28, 2012 Well my little cactus did not open its flower today - it just tightened up, darkened, its little calyx twisting it into a rosebud - no doubt a long, satisfied, consummated 'smile' on its retiring little face! I think we all know what that means! So it's cigars and champagne all round! I'm gonna be the daddy of a dynasty. OK - a dynasty with a very limited gene pool, but that hasn't stopped Tasmania has it? And what could be better than cactus babies with TWO heads? My happiness knows no end - Thank you all! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamwalker. Posted October 29, 2013 I have been experimenting crossing and epi with a Cleistocactus via the cement method (they were the only 2 in flower) both seem to be setting fruit, I also self crossed them..............the epi rejected this self cross but accepted the Cleistocactus x..........the Cleistocactus accepted either.............still early days...but I came across this post on http://www.bcss.org.uk/foruma/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=160588 "There was an article in the NCSS journal in 1948 suggesting that 'wide crosses' were a sure way to get plants to 'self' if I remember right Gymnocalycium was one of the most popular genera to use." 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Cursive Posted November 16, 2013 Anyone else have any good news? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
