captaincactuscakes

Some sort of Trich species, I purchased it from Spikey Thumb when he was still selling cuttings from his mother. It was reputed to be a cross between a Pedro and a Torch however it was never shown to be one and/or the other. Great stock though and a healthy plant that puts off fat pups.

The plants I have grown outdoors grow so much better than my indoor plants... I'm an avid gardener and move plants around a lot so the work aspect doesn't bother me, i just don't want to put them into shock... maybe if there is a way to contain the rootball to an extent? maybe some kind of netting? I could hibernate them in my garage. I'm trying this out with a couple ugly torches I have to see how it does. I'll report back in a year ;)

Hmm good point, it could create undue stress... It's very cold, as low as -10F in the wintertime (USDA zone 5b) I could look into a greenhouse, maybe I should just build one designed for my cacti. I may give this a shot with a couple PC Pachs just to see what happens (and if I lose them, it wouldn't be a serious loss) I'm in a permanent location but my money is currently tied up in a landscaping project. Maybe I will set up a serious building next spring. Thanks for the input!

I live in a frozen desert wasteland so my outdoor grow time is limited to about 4 months for my more tender plants, particularly my cacti. I generally move my pots outdoors around this time and take back in sometime in September but I have problems with my plants showing uneven growth or even mild etiolation from the change in temps. I've gotten better over the years but I can't help but feel I'm shortchanging my babies by limiting the space their roots can expand during the outdoor grow season. So, I have an idea that I'm sure will work but I don't know if it will necessarily work better... What if I were to plant my potted cacti outdoors in a raised bed to allow their roots to expand and get as much delicious water and food they desire for the months they are able to then remove from the bed in the fall, trim up the roots and induce hibernation? The following Spring, I can do it again with the goal of having more growth (not to mention natural resistance to pests and the elements) and enjoy the aesthetics of my plants in the earth where they belong. Has anyone done this before? Did you notice any advantages/disadvantages to doing it this way vs just moving to increasingly larger pots?

Roughly 2 months later :D

Well, good and not-so-good news. The good news is that the pups are developing well and all have multiple tiny little ribs but the bummer is the top half of the cutting, the part that was splitting, continued to do so even after I stopped watering it. It split in such a way that it started "popping" itself off the trich. I removed it today by barely wiggling it... it has started to shoot roots out though so i'm gonna let that be for a month or two then transplant to my soil mix. Question: since it has split a bit, am I good to go ahead and plant it? The damaged tissue is scarred and dry but I don't want random bacteria showing up down the road... Thank you!

Whatever it is, I love it Tiz Once you get it healthy, it will be a worthwhile addition to your garden

Notice the split in the graft? I have stopped watering and am hoping it will heal soon...

Here's some updates!

I do not have access to sulphur... I've used cinnamon in the past for flat cuttings but I've never had a plant split on me... It started small so I wasn't worried but it has grown quite a bit.

My loph has started to split... I'm going to stop watering it ASAP. Do they frequently recover? I don't want to degraft it so I can see what happens but I also don't want to lose this plant. Advice?

Will it affect my graft if I perform the cut now?

Ahhh good thinking, thank you for the suggestion!

Sorry it took so long... been so busy with other projects. I'll update this with new growth here in a couple days once we hit the 4 week mark.

If it was me, I'd plant as a whole and take cuttings after a season. For no other reason than to enjoy their full form for a few months and observe the growth habits/patterns before propagating. Beautiful plants, enjoy them