magical9

So ive got some 50-60 6" center cuts of various bridgesii, peruvianus, pachanoi, scopulicola, etc I have them rooting right now in hopes of having them all pup and become my producers. Is there anything i need to keep an eye out for? anything i need to be sure i do to ensure these root fine and pup? Is pupping just luck of the draw or can i reasonably expect the majority of my stumps to pup by next season (2015) assuming they root this season? (they are in 5x5 pots atm but will be up-potted to 2gallon pots once rooted)

not sure i understand the angst... what is it with cactus collectors being so pissy and quick to talk shit? MS Smith, i was still kinda confused when you first responded to me based kinda along the lines of what zelly referenced but your latest explanations make sense. Thanks for that. Zelly, i love your seed and the info you provide but im dumbfounded at the attitude... i have all the respect for you though.

I wonder if there is still green chlorophyll underneath the scaring that still allows for light processing. IE: the light energy passes through the scaring still.. and if there is still chlorophyll present underneath then maybe it still processes the light waves. Although im sure there would be some slow down as not ALL the energy is going to pass through the thick scaring.

good point. ya i was just curious about doing it over winter just so i could get a jump start on the season since these stumps aren't rooted just yet. BUT ill just let nature do its thing at its correct pace.

thanks for the feedback man.

Im trying to layout my backyard for optimal cactus propagation. I have some questions on pot size. I have 65 6-12" stumps of various trichocereus mostly consisting of 3 different types of bridgesii. I plan to use these stumps as sort of pup factories. What I would like to do is harvest 12-18" tips from these "pup factories" and root them whenever they grow out. My questions: 1) If I keep all my mother plants in pots, what size pots would be preferable in order to allow for enough room to grow out no more than 4ft tall columns. Is depth or width or both important for the pot size? I imagine if Im harvesting 12-18" tips that there probably wont ever be a huge amount of columns therefore I could get away with tighter spacing. Is that a correct assumption? 2) If i skip pots and go with in ground planting, then what spacing would be sufficient in this situation? Could i get away with planting 1 stump per square foot assuming I keep the plants pruned and in check?

Question to ya'll... during off season(winter).. if i try rooting stumps indoors in a grow tent with lets say... a 400w HPS lamp and air temps of 95F ... would the stump root and continue growing? Basically is there a way to keep the cactus growing without stopping for winter break?

heh yup . i had that problem with the zircon6 cuzco when i cut it into pieces.. i forgot to mark the ends lol so i couldnt tell . had to check the ebay pics! spines shoot upwards!

hm i see what you are saying. im pretty certain this was the bottom 12" of an arm though.

Here are the pics of the T. Bridgesii that is rooted upside down with 2 pups coming out normal looking. No weird physics ;)

I dont think that is going to be the case at least in my example. The pups look like normal pups like on my other right-side up cuttings...ill try to take pics tonight and show ya what im seeing. maybe im wrong.

I have nearly 400 cactus now... the large portion of which has come from ebay. I have genetics such as ICAROS, various types of pachanoi, altmans monstrose pachanoi, 4 types of cuzcoensis, 4 types of bridgesii, scopulicola, lumberjack, juuls, SS02, etc etc Sure I havnt seen 2ft tall well grown rooted SS02 in a pot on ebay or a Scopulicola.. but generally you can find cuttings that require you to only stuff them into dirt and wait and then they have roots... thats all ive been doing. By the way i search "trichocereus" "bridgesii" "peruvianus" "pachanoi" on ebay.. .at least 5 times a day (HEH) and i still miss some really good deals. Maybe you arent searching frequent enough. I some how managed to miss an auction for a 2ft+ kimnach pachanoi, couldnt believe it. I saw it in the sold listings search (somthing i also do just to see what has sold and for how much). edit: i do have access to local nurseries though as ive developed a relationship with one in particular. i guess that does give me some advantage on finding things. Although this nursery doesnt grow anything like SS02, lumberjack, ICAROS, etc.. though it will soon! ;)

Well it was a tip cutting. Roots formed on the tip while the cut end is cured over and has 2 pups coming out. It had been laying out on the ground for a few months. The rest of my stumps are marked as I harvested/cut them into 6" pieces. As far as I understand it, as long as the cutting is dried/cured properly on both ends (assuming its a center cut) that it will root just fine no matter orientation though it will take some time for it to figure out which way is up if you change its orientation.

Hm i have at least a few tricho's that have rooted upside down no problem. In fact i have a nice Bridgesii that rooted upside down and is now pupping two pups heh.

You know.. ive considered this. They are meant to be pup factories.. would it be best to just put like 4 stumps per 10 gallon pot? maybe 15 gallon? I don't want something so huge I cant move the pot to a new location if need be but i want them to grow very large and unhindered. I will be putting some in ground as well.

lol ya im working on finding more space. my brothers yard is available. heh

Alright sounds like some good info. That saves me on having to find room to put so many stumps in larger pots. Im kinda out of room at the house anyway..

Here are the pictures of the T. Cuzcoensis. Let me know if im way off base here and if its really a T. Peruvianus.

oh great advice i didnt know that would be a possible outcome. ill keep it in mind. I do plan on uppotting them as soon as they show root buds into whatever size seems appropriate. Also I cut them at an angle as i was taught it helps minimize standing water on the stump during rain storms. As far as aesthetics they are just my (hopefully) pup factories so im not too concerned about looks

All you have to do is resell his Cactus Kate PC Pedro on ebay as "PC San Pedro, AKA: Cactus Kate" and hopefully his customers will put two and two together. ;) although im sure he would try to sue you.

hmm ok looks like ill wait then.

im considering BAP'ing like 5 of these bridgesii stumps just to see what happens. if i do ill take pics and document it. Funny thing about BAP... i applied it to all my show cactus on my patio except for one.... my T. Bridgesii.. i didnt wanna risk any issues arising on my favorite specimen... well guess which cactus is pupping while ALL the rest are not so far lol. it must have been like "oh thanks bro ill pup naturally for you instead"

I simply use MS Smith's method for detirmining T. Cuzcoensis and it hasnt failed me yet. First thing I look for are 2 central spines and the flared out spine base. This is prominent on all 3 of my different T. Cuzcoensis. The more I think about his statement at the end of the email the more I think he is threatening me. In which case... heh..

thats great news thanks for the infroz. Also thats just a fraction of my stumpage!

Is this Melted Wax or just a weird bridgesii?