phytolator

So I just noticed a strange new growth below the scion, coming from an areole on the pereskiopsis. Looks ariocarpus-esque, the scion is fissuratus. dont know if it's a chimera yet, or the scion pupping below the union (just as strange??) but I'll be keeping an eye on it! *sorry pics are sideways!!! 8-D has anyone seen similar before? Would be very keen to hear of it.

I've had only good experience with BA. The prices are reasonable, the shipping quotes are for registered post, but they will charge less for unregisterd if you request it. They can be hard to contact sometimes, but that is probably more to do with ebay and the messaging system - compounded by them being on the other side of the world. I always get free extra seeds from them too, and I havent found their germ rates significantly worse than anywhere else that sells them on from another source (Like koehres) I would suggest tho, that the prices quoted in your example show some pure cv seed against BA's cross - this would explain a little why they are cheaper. don't hold your breath though, I've only seen BA selling cv crosses. cv coral is super rare, that's cool you've found a source for it, and if you were willing to share I'd love to know who the Italian lady is selling them! :-)

Thanks HolographicYou, I didn't see his seeds although the pudica seed I have grown has been flat not spherical? - I grew them to maturity and even produced more seed so I know the seeds for pudica are flat. here's two images of the plant from his video posted on IG, showing before and after leaves folding. Leaves folded in 3 secs of misting..

Hi All, I have a friend who is excitied about his young yopo seedling and posted a vid of it closing leaves rapidly in response to his misting spray... I told him this means it must be actually Mimosa pudica, as that is the only species I know that does that. All (most?) mimosa, acacia, desmanthus etc... close at night, but I was fairly certain that only PUDICA will rapidly fold it's leaves in response to touch. He reckons that the seed was legit, supplied by "Herbs of the Gods" in Amsterdam, and has googled and compared the seed of each. I never saw his seed so I don't know. It's a very young seedling, so looks like any of 400 similar species right now.. I've grown m. pudica many times, and other acacias, but never yopo. Wiki's "Rapid Plant Movement" page lists M. pudica, but not A. peregrina as able to fold rapidly... Can someone confirm yopo does or doesn't rapidly fold it's leaves in response to touch?

I'm no pro at this, but my uncle is! I just checked the calendar he gave me and it says New Moon to First Quarter.I remembered it wrong! Apparently this is the time of best vascular activity, so good for graft bonding...

I think gypsum is sold sometimes labelled as "claybreaker" with the intended purpose of adding it to soil to make it more friable. I've used it in soil mixes for desert cacti, but you wouldn't want to add heaps, or you might find you've set your plant in plaster! **I actually ground up Plaster of Paris casts, - PoP is gypsum that has been heated extremely high to cook all the H2O out, my assumption was that once the PoP had been hydrated and set, it was returned to it's "gypsum" state. I've also experimented with added ground eggshells, which are 90%+ CaCO3. There has been no way for me to quantify the benefits, but plants have been growing healthily with this in the mix. I've never liked the way limestone chunks looked in pots, so was keen to try calcareous alternatives. A gypsum/clay mix also seems to help produce cracks in the surface after watering, which looks rad. :-) Good luck with your kotschoubeyanus grafting! look forward to updates. I recently bought a bunch of Kots seeds fom Botanical Archive, in Italy, on Ebay. They have a great selection, including cultivars.

**edit*** New Moon to First Quarter!!!!

Love this thread! Here's just a few.. the same plant 6 months ago, and now. From seed. Sorry if the pic is sideways, the uploaders acting up on me... Also from seed, same age And here is a detail of possibly my favourite twisty guy...

so a forum search for brevipalpus turned no results so hopefully this is helpful for others also in the future. if anyone can offer tips for wiping these guys out or confirm the ID it would be appreciated. they are not spider mites and I have already released phytoseiulus persimilis into the nursery with no effect. I have another general predatory mite on the way which may or may not help. once I've finished doing h2o2 flushes for fungus gnat larvae I can find out! aaargh pests are ruining my life! in a not depressing but comedic tragedy kind if way.

thanks andyamine! could it be rot even though it is not soft? it doesn't seem very affected at the very base either are gnats white??

I noticed the grafted scion losing mass but it wasn't till I pulled the pot out and looked below that I noticed something more than hibernation was responsible! is this scale damage? I think I flicked off something that was scale, but it was only one and I've see more on other peres that don't have any damage even nearly as advanced. seen some red spider mites around the collection too, have ordered some predators for that... but I don't think it's them causing this particular problem. the shrivelled area is not soft at all, just very shrivelled and apparently unable to transport nutrients or water. have now cut above the damage and will replant ...

I noticed the grafted scion losing mass but it wasn't till I pulled the pot out and looked below that I noticed something more than hibernation was responsible! is this scale damage? I think I flicked off something that was scale, but it was only one and I've see more on other peres that don't have any damage even nearly as advanced. seen some red spider mites around the collection too, have ordered some predators for that... but I don't think it's them causing this particular problem. the shrivelled area is not soft at all, just very shrivelled and apparently unable to transport nutrients or water.

thanks team! I will try a 50/50 perlite mix as that's what's on hand. should I keep it in the small pot then so it cannot retain too much moisture? appreciate the help, will hopefully be able to post a pic of it not drowning soon :-)

so, I've had this little cutting a few months, is rooted and it's thrown a few new leaves and has shown healthy progress, but since the temp dropping for autumn it has started to droop and drop some leaves. I keep the soil slightly moist most the time, and have begun turning a heat mat on under it.... but I want to take care if this droopy, leaf dropping prob before it's too late, any tips much appreciated! thanks :-)

noticed this bundle of growth under a fricii grafted on pere, looks somewhat unlike the usual pere sproutling... I dunno if it just looks weird just because I didn't slice it all off the first attempt - and some more is growing through the initial leaf sprout, or if it is mutating, or "chimera-ing". probably jumping the gun a bit here, but nevertheless curious to see what anyone else thinks... :-)