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.

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'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..

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.

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 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 ...

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... :-)

There's a lot of talent and inspiring work I'm enjoying around here! I feel compelled to share some art of my own... These are done using acrylic ink and a nib, usually to cover a 50cm x70cm sheet of paper. current work in progress... further detail of same work below.. a couple of others Enjoy!

sowed out some newly acquired seeds... 100x LW v. texana 100x LW v. moctezuma 100x L koehresii 30x L jordaniana v. mammilaris would have liked to have gotten on to this earlier in the season, but it should be ok. got a heat mat :-) **edit note: soz about the images, they were the right way round before I uploaded them I swear!

thanks mutant! that book looks rad!

this feller here is my favourite mutant, and has been dancing quite a bit this season!

thanks guys! It is definitely meditative, to a degree, while I draw them, and I find to look at them too. As far as process goes, I will just start drawing a wiggly isometric construction and then at some point decide it is time to reflect it. So there are phases within the work for me that are purely creative, and then those that I am simply replicating. Of course, the decision of when to begin reflecting symmetrically is also a creative decision. There are varying degrees of pattern integrity that the work can display... very repetitive with a few dynamic anomalies, or, very organic, with no clear axis of symmetry - while also showing a certain amount of order. When you are close, the linework is interesting, but when you step back and the details become obscure, it is the shapes in the negative space that become more of a feature. These works have recently led me down a line of research that has brought "quasicrystals" and "aperiodic order" into view... I'm reading a little about penrose tiles and non-translational symmetry in geometry - which is prevalent in middle-eastern decorative architecture. - I find that last point of interest fascinating because Henri Michaux (French-Belgian Artist Author) believed the "spikey" geometry in the decorations of the middle-east was inspired by hashish, a source of inspiration I am sympathetic to ! :-) (whether Michaux's hypothesis is bogus or not!)

That's terrible!!!! oh noooo! I bet that lousy perv has taken your fair green mistress as his own!! "non-compliant" my ass!

PHYTOLATRY = PLANT WORSHIP Can this be a recognised religion? Can it's practices be offered protective rights? what constitutes Phytolatry? *religion does not necessarily imply a God or deity, but is accessed in the practice of worship, which is at it's simplest - declaring profound worth to something - in the case of phytolatry, the kingdom of plants! Of course everyone is provided the freedom to individually believe in whatever they want, but for a belief to qualify as religion it must represent the beliefs of a community, one person is not enough. Why would you care whether your beliefs qualify as religion? - because if, as a community, there are specified rights for individuals and these rights are of the highest worth to members of the community and declared as religious, then under The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that religion and it's practices are protected so long as they do not impinge on another individuals rights. As far as I understand, individual rights under UDHR can not be compromised by local or national legislation or Bills. - This means Bills that attempt to regulate possession of plants etc... would not be able to be used to take away rights from an individual whose religious practice might normally contravene a piece of legislation. Perhaps you could have items confiscated, but you could not be imprisoned. I am not an expert on any legal aspect of this, but am trying to make sense of it as best I can. I would like to be part of a community that regards plants as being a sacred counterpart to human existence, and that wishes for it to be a defendable right. A community that declares plants as being of the highest worth to both individuals and our species. And of course the belief that every person is born with the right to keep or consult with any plant for betterment of their vitality and appreciation of life. These simple assertions could have profound implications, sometimes it feels like if we do not assert these rights now it could be too late. One day all plants will be owned by a corporation and the domestic garden will be a fact of history. Keen to hear your thoughts, sorry if it's all a bit waffly... check out phytolatry community on FB, it's young, more material and collaboration wanted!

what's the point? the cacti are distinct, so are they suggesting they be referred to as botanical varieties or cultivars instead of species? bloody semantics

That tall graft is awesome dawnbeaver!! I've just been ogling your photo series of the same graft in the "flower heavy" thread... Did you keep the graft humid in the initial days? apply any downward pressure? I've had only limited success grafting to trichs but am now itching to have another hoon on it! :-)

the clay I scraped from the base of a cliff, it is quite a grey-brown clay. the gypsum was scraped from cast plaster. *plaster of paris is gypsum that has had the water cooked out of it, plaster that has been wetted again (such as done in plaster casting) returns it to gypsum. <that is my understanding anyway! :-)