Stillman

what sort of light are you guys using? I have some peres grafts under 20 watt cfls they seem to crank but I would have thought nowing how many lumens it is.. that it wasn't enough?

Yeah he wasn't keen on getting in the photo but I needed something or someone for scale thats some sort of big pachycereus on the left and the yellow thing was just a monster it was about 5 metres tall just one big column. I was thinking next time I will take my video camera and see if he will let me take some images because there was some really amazing things out there. He had a Lophoroph shottii monstrose that had formed like a hedge, was selling big thick rooted 30cm pieces for 30 dollars. For some reason I didn't jump on it. But I think I was really overwhelmed because everywhere there was something amazing. My biggest problem when going out to places lkike that is I don't automatically see something and recognise what it is. Obviously certain things jump out at me but he no doubt had some stuff that was rare as hens teeth that I just looked straight through. Anyway all of them will be at the June/ july cacti meeting at the botanical gardens I am going this year for sure.

Hi am setting up a good sized grow room to start of a shit ton of cacti am looking to purchase fresh cacti seeds. Most species I would be interested in but chasing. Astrophytum Interesting flowering lobivia or echinopsis Trichocereus Gymnocalycium Any good cacti for grafting Any and all lol Please PM me if you have any I might be interested in, Cheers.

the photos don't do it justice he has a massive collection. A bit of everything.

google it there are whole web sites dedicated to LW some really interesting articles and also tips on flowering etc.

no not from bunnings that I have seen but on here alot of peeps grow it.

JUst guessing could be E backbergi (spelling?) or perhaps a gymnocalycium possibly baldianum cross. How big are they? from the image they look really small? pretty cool looking would be interesting to see what they grow into.

could be have one very similar sold as Terscheckii from hamiltons

i'm still not sure if a cutting has enough energy within itself to set and ripen fruit to seed collection point but a big piece of cacti probably could. I know some of my cacti take months for fruit to ripen.. Will be an interesting experiment none the less. I am still assuming the cutting is non rooted piece? take some pics if you can at various stages. I'm certainly not disbelieving in anyone's opinion I am more just really amazed at how much potential energy is in a piece of unrooted plant.

I have a small scopulicola which in the last few weeks has gone from a 6 rib to a 4 does this happen alot. I will try and get a pic in the next few days.

I think Torston is saying you can successfully pollinate an unopened flower by "raping it" ie cutting it open before it opens naturally, and manually pollinating. Which I have done to cacti flowers that don't actually open completely. Perhaps he didn't quite read all of the first post?

Those big North QLD Tarantulas can get massive like 20 cm leg span I went over to a guys house once and he kept on getting these massive spiders out and handling them. The difference with Australian Tarantulas and south American ones is ours are really fast and alot more aggressive.. so this thing keeps crawling up this guys arm and on his neck and I am freaking out. And then it jumps on the floor and looks like it might come towards me and I am letting out a ned flanders sqeal and he is telling me not to stand on it. I was keen on spiders before that experience. It was a similar spider to this http://www.thegreenscorpion.com.au/shopclose.toy?itemnid=130468

maybe three years four at the tops. I am really not sure how big they get and its quite dependent on the species there are some that are perfectly round like a marble I really want one of them. the scientific name alludes me. But like I said in the right conditions you would be surprised how quick they grow. I have them in a mini green house which can get up to about 40 degrees for a few hours a day during summer and they have been doing really well. Keep them in really sandy substrate and don't let them get too wet too often and they flower and grow quite nicely I would think a few guys on here would have some pretty cool living stone collections. if you are interested in Lithops and getting more I found this site http://www.ozlithops.com/pictures.asp

I will have to take some updates but this is L bromfieldii about 20cent piece. IMO don't try and graft them as I think you will kill the plant. they are fickle but very easy if you give them what they want.

My thinking is the second cacti is a Cereus of some sort 1st one looks most likely like a Trichocereus/Echinopsis of some flavour. Someone might be keen on a particular species but my knowledge is a bit too limited for that.

I assume this is a solanaceae sp maybe a tobaco assuming its the pesty wild tobacco you see in south east qld. has any one any idea of the scientific name? the plant is in full shade looking really healthy even though it is a weed lol. the leaf when crushed has a very pungent smell plant is very hairy. What are your thoughts?

living stones are succulents no doubt capable of being grafted how ever I like the mystery of growing them on there own roots. They actually flower readily and produce seed easily and grow from seed just as simply as cacti. Trick with them keep them in a green house or sealed environment they don't like alot of water but they love ALOT of heat and humidity seems to be enough to keep them growing. My brother in law has about 30 species.

does anyone grow this species, I have a quite a few cuttings it looks very interesting square stems blue/purple calayx white flowers. Apparently it enhances dreams, other than that not sure just curious of others experiences.

I would say 8 is a G damsii or anisistii same species to names one seems to get redder.

your best bet is to graft to something that is currently showing some growth, I'm pretty new to grafting myself but I have had the best results when scion and graft stock are both showing new growth. There is a ton of LW vids on you tube. Stock that I have used personally for grafting is echinopsis any and all that I have, Oputunia sp, Trich' spath', and peres. Peres is the fastes but the best for really small seedlings. In my experience echinopsis and Trich' spath have been my best for larger grafts. I don't know if that helps but as long as you set the scion right and apply pressure I am sure it will take.

what are you grafting it too?

thats it. generally speaking a good rule is the smaller the seed the more light it will require to germinate. Its not always the rule but more often then not. Initially all you need is germination to take place the first month or so the plantlet really only needs moisture, the seed is energy. Hence sand is quite a good medium, in saying that I am sure just about any medium would work, I have seen them germinated on rockwool.

Interesting plant i think we have one up the back garden, what are you planning on doing with so many, I read somewhere it is used by bushman as an appetite suppressant?

I have just used the takeaway container tech under a light (60 watt cfl at about 30cm on 18 hr timer) to germinate some seeds I small air hole, but probably didn't need it as I open the container and have a look every day. I didn't microwave the soil but have had No mould to date lots of germination probably about 80%, but they were my own fresh seeds that I took from overripe fruit washed dried for two days then planted. In a controlled environment there are obviously less variables but fresh seeds seem to work the best for me, I have used the same tech with exactly the same elements and had piss poor germination from seeds that I have bought. I assume the seeds were older or heat effected?? I just reread your post sorry if I misunderstand but, from my understanding cacti need light to germinate they will not germinate in dark, do not cover the seeds with soil. I surface plant my seeds and from the first moment they are in the container they are under 18 hour light cycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-FfIBcNeu0 http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/grafting-eggplant-onto-devil-plant/