Hellonasty

Looks great PD. I still have all of mine in pots with the exception of a rampant nutty Caapi that just wants to take over my backyard and next doors Do you think you get much more growth in the groud PD ? It just looks so much better hmmm.

Phos, For propagating arios I use: 1/3 organic potting mix (searls seed raising) 1/3 Washed River sand. 1/3 porus rock 1-3mm, any will do. the more porus the more free draining the mix. I use landscaping sand which is mixed rocks between 1 & 3mm. Once they are stablished I use a bit less organic. I do most of it by eye so the amounts are not perfect. I probly use a little less rock than 1/3. Arios are pretty hard to graft too. I find you need high but not too high humidity for at least 7days. I find 10days is beter but you have got to be careful because too high H and they rot where the graft is taking. I have found letting them dry out a little by using a light wind either fan or natural, around the sixth day will allow me to keep them humid for 10days.

Mate, many of us have wated to import rare cacti from overseas. Problem is as you stated in your original post it WILL be destroyed by Quarantine. I don't personally speak from exprience but wait for Kadakuda to reply to this thread. I think he is in Indonesia and has tried sending several clean cacti cuts to aus with no luck.

Nice arios Kada. Lets see some other members arios ?

I ordered some Hypoaspis Mites today. I will post here on their effectiveness.

As the title says. I have heaps of little flys in my cacti grow room. They look to be causing no particular harm but are just annoying the shit out of me. How should I best get rid of them ?

Andy, I know what ya mean re the soil. I think that is how I got them They are crafty little buggers and like you said hard to see unless they move. I have the adult population under control only a few about but I have seen the little lavae on one of the pots. Pretty hard to get rid of. If anyone else has any good tips on getting rid of them please post.

Mate I just got them from Bunnings! Rentokil brand sticky fly traps, got 8 rolls for about 5 bucks.

So anyone tried Hypoaspis mites ? From what I can tell the traps (For adults) + Hypoaspis Mites (for larvae) is the best way to get rid of them. The mites are a little expensive but people say they are effective and you don't have to used chems Edit: Got some traps today. They are working pretty well for the adults.

Also where can I buy Gnatrol ? Thanks EDIT: http://www.biologicalservices.com.au/hypoaspis.htm Looks like the go if you havea bad infestation.

Thanks mate. I have had them before but this tiem they are pretty bad. Anyone have any up to date advice on getting rid of them. The yellow traps look like the go for the flys but what about the larvae ?

Yeah no dramas. I made a typo in my post meant to say CAN'T read I will fix it.

Have you seen this one >Ariocarpus: I can't read much of it but the pics are simply stunning

Ace, The pics were pretty huge so I put them in my blog so this thread is less congested. VVV

Original size of scion and Pere >>>>>> Top left. Approx 10months later >>>>>>>> The one on the left. Definetly thicker and looks little taller too.

Ace, My exprience with Pere stocks is different. I find the grafted stocks do grow, mostly in girth but also in height. I have photographs to prove this. I am doing a few little exprements regarding size of the pere stock to rate fo growth etc. Thanks

Beautiful, top job Ace. About how tall was the Pere when you originally grafted it ? how tall is it now ? and how old was the seedling ? Cheers

Some researchers suggest LSA is not the psychoactive in HBWR. Do a google and you will find info on that. all I will say on effects is HBWR is a powerful plant.

Just beautiful.

You need to find a medium that works for you, your climate and growing conditions. Tell us about these things and an educated response will follow. Will you germinate them under natural or artificial light ? I personally use: 1/3 River Sand 1/3 Rich organic compost 1/3 Any kind of 1-2mm pourous rock. I'm not saying this will work for you but I use this to germinate all of my cacti seed and it has been sucessful. Both under natural and artificual light. There are literally thousands upon thousands of combinations out there. Pick one and give it a try.

Late last week I received a seed order containing several astrophytum and ariocarpus cultivars a few of them quite rare. They were planted and many have already popped their heads up :) Today I decided o plant some ther cacti seed I had lying around so this is what I planted today: Echinocactus Grusonii Astrophytum Capricorne Astrophytum Myriostigma Astrophytum Asterias "Texas" Will update in a few week how everything is going

I received some new grafting stocks from a very generous member of these forums. I have potted them all up and i'm just awaiting roots now. Once new growth is established most will be grafted with various rare cacti. I like this paticular plant so much i'm going to let a few of the cuts grow like mad. I decided to leave them pretty long for the grafting in an attempt to see if there is any difference between larger versus smaller trafting stocks. I have previously only used smaller socks so I will see how this goes. Depending how many stocks I need I may still have to cut one of 2 of them up, but for now they are fine. The stocks: And just for fun a TBM cutting pupping like mad.

I usually dose a level tea spoon. I suppose I should say i'm to lazy to cap

Have used it on and off for a while but mainly for energy and focus to train. Actually used the exact product above. Not a bad product except I just can't stand that taste anymore, which is why I stop using it for a while. Very bitter especially with water. Not so bad with milk and there is too much power to cap. Mild stimulating effect that dies quickly with use. Lasts a while and no crash.

Over the past 2ish weeks I have grafted a heap of Lophs mostly willis but also some others and a few Astro Asterias Nudum. The first lot have taken and are just beginning to grow. The astro's are a little more difficult to graft than the lophs. They become dehydrated easily and high hummdity is essential for at least 7days. I have lost a few astros due to this. All the lophs have taken with no casualties as yet. I will post some pics in a week or so.