Inyan

Just because someone doesn't understand science, doesn't make that science wrong. When 97% or greater of scientists agree on a subject such as global warming there just might be some truth to it. Ever wonder if you were not in fact as intelligent on a particular area of scientific study as the scientists with doctorates in that field? https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/schmidt_01/

My response, if you see people are not taking responsibilities for their actions and those actions are hurting the environment and others when does it become your responsibility to speak up on behalf of the environment? When do we speak up on behalf of others? When do we band together to affect a greater change for the good? Now, when I listen to a lecture I realize that person must really feel that they have an important message to share. That message may or may not be right, but when the majority of scientists are in agreement on a subject such as mans detrimental influence on our shared environment I tend to take more notice to that type of argument than I might take to an argument such as which person's religious set of rules is right. For me, the message is as simple as understanding ones own personal level of understanding of subject that is indeed very complex in that there are many different scientists studying the effects of mans influence on our environment. If you choose to believe that scientists are lying to you and there is a conspiracy to get you to want to clean up after yourself then I can see that influencing your attitude. If you choose to believe that even a simple act such as taking responsibility for your trash and not tossing it out of your window as your driving is too much to ask then that is your choice based on your own perceptions of what is right or wrong and your own ability to affect the environment around you. I would only ask, that we entertain the idea that we try to become more conscious of how we as individuals affect the environment in positive or negative ways and try our best to create as small a negative effect as possible based on our own limited understanding of a very complex subject. For me, that might simply mean not tossing a bag out my car window. For someone else with a greater understanding of how we affect our environment that might mean that they feel compelled to provide lectures on the subject to others about how we can make changes. Inciting policy changes might be another's goal. I am only suggesting that if you believe we can as individuals affect our environment in a positive or negative way... is it not a good thing to take responsibility for that and try to impact our environment in as positive a manner as we can? I'm not saying we can be perfect or we should strive to be perfect. I'm saying we may choose to strive to be better versions of ourselves, but we have to choose for ourselves how far to push. We have the ability to choose to decide to reflect on these things or not. For me, I choose to believe we are all capable of a small change. Even if all that change amounts to is thinking about how we can make a more positive change, I believe action can eventually follow thought. You don't have to be anxious to love the environment or care for the environment you are a part of. You don't have to be anxious to want to be better in your own personal actions. I enjoy working out. I am trying to improve my own internal environment by doing so. I don't spend countless hours each day doing so. I am not anxious about it. I do realize that even 2 minutes spent exercising each day if done consistently will have a markedly beneficial effect on my own internal environment. I'm not asking myself to be a marathon runner. I'm only asking a very little from myself for myself. If we don't believe that we can do anything for the environment and we are powerless to make any changes in our own behavior then there will indeed be little change. We have to believe there is a possibility for improvement and that we can benefit from that improvement before any action will be taken. But until someone realizes and finds it important then I don't see any real change happening either. I take responsibility for my body by doing a single set of pull-ups for instance. Now, I do that every other day and soon I will find that my pull-ups have gone from 1-10. Now, have I made an improvement in my own internal environment? Was the 20 seconds I spent doing pull-ups every other day worth it? Was it worth an incredible 10 seconds out of my day to do something like that? Taking responsibility for that 10 seconds of averaged time each day may have made me feel better about myself, but was it worth it? Was it worth taking responsibility for my body for 10 seconds to achieve 10 pull-ups? I think we should ask the same when it comes to our interaction with the external environment. You don't have to believe you can be a marathon runner or it is necessary to be a marathon runner. Nor do you have to believe in the science behind global warming. You just have to believe you can have a positive impact on your internal and external environment with a small fraction of your own personal time invested into it and then strive to keep consistent with whatever small change you have decided to take responsibility for. You simply have to be consistent with that small action that you have decided to take and I believe you will have effected a positive change. But in the end, how much responsibility you choose to take and how much action you take will have an affect and whether that affect is one where you have unexpectedly found yourself to be a marathon runner, power lifter, or simply someone who feels better about being able to walk and carry a load of groceries without straining or losing their breath is completely up to you. Small changes over time when done consistently can greatly affect our internal and external world. That is my belief. That is why I choose to take a little responsibility for those things. Is it too much to ask for us all to agree that it is a good thing to take a little responsibility for ourselves and our environment? If we all spent 10-20 seconds each day thinking about how we could have a positive influence on our outside environment would that be too much responsibility to ask for or not enough? Would we still find ourselves locked in debate about even that small amount of time devoted to our own betterment? Or would there still be people who would debate that is entirely unnecessary and a complete waste of time?

I agree that this style of grafting works and can work without pressure or parafilm. However, that style of graft does have a higher success rate when pressure is applied and an increase of humidity is achieved. The fact is you can graft seedlings with a single set of cotyledons vertically or horizontally to one another with ease so long as you can keep the connection between them secure and humidity is kept high enough to ensure the seedlings do not dry out too fast. Whether you are grafting a single areole or a seedling that has just sprouted its first hypocotyl... the basics are much the same. One need only listen to what your cacti are trying to tell you and you will soon succeed. Excellent work my friend.

I mix bone meal, blood meal, cow manure, and fish emulsion into my soil for Pereskiopsis and as I drink 6-12 eggs a day... those egg shells also find their way into my soil for my Pereskiopsis. If your looking for hard numbers, I'm not your guy. I'm the type that simply mixes things up until the soil looks right and feels right. Pereskiopsis are like Brugmansia though in that if you grow them together and your Brugmansia is very happy... then your Pereskiopsis will also be happy. Both are heavy feeders. With that being said, I've also simply stuck Pereskiopsis in the ground outside after it was tilled as Pereskiopsis also loves room to grow its roots. A root bound Pereskiopsis in a small container can work wonders for small grafts, but if you want faster growth over a longer period of time.... upsize the container your stock is in prior to grafting. Any loose clippings of Pereskiopsis can also be simply tossed on a well tilled ground and they will set roots for you and start growing on their own. I know this is kind of basic, but I figured a little information was better than none.

Well that makes more sense now that at least the pad was not shriveled at the start. While it is possible to graft cacti to stock that is not rooted, I find that my luck with that is better on stock that was actively growing at the time of the cut and then grafted within a week of cutting. I like your idea of rot proof taproots as well. This stock will definitely give you that as well as your more natural looking growth. As for your enthusiasm, I can't say I might not have tried this myself if I had a surplus of both stock and scion material. My own problem is generally not enough stock and too many seedlings, but that can change with the drop of a hat depending on the season. Your definitely one of the smart cats which is why I posed those questions to you my friend. For me, I have to ask why something doesn't work and what can I do to fix it this time and if not this time then I've learned something for next time. My best piece of advice on the graft you have shown the picture of... water it heavily next time. Opuntia humifusa can take wet feet.

I only move to the shade if the stock or scion was in the shade to begin with or I'm not using something to boost the humidity like parafilm. However, if you use a growth chamber to increase humidity, you have to be aware that chambers will also increase the heat which can be a bad thing if they are placed in direct sun too long during the heat of the day. You might try intermittently bring your grafts out if you are using a humidity chamber with good effect if done for just a few hours off and on throughout the day. As regards your first graft, it looks like you need to go ahead and slice the sides off of that graft. Use a brand new razor blade for this as this will enable your graft to breath. It looks like it has taken and all is good. Dust with sulfur. Alternately, if your not sure of your steady hands... suck up a bit of sulfur dust in a syringe. Poke a few needle holes gradually over the outer edge of one side of your graft and and then the other side do the same. Slowly introduce a bit of that sulfur as a dust onto the surface of your graft. Great job with the parafilm by the way!

Opuntia humifusa can take freezing temperatures and floods both without skipping a beat. For grafting purposes, I personally prefer to graft on nice plump vigorously growing specimens. My theory being that if my stock is dehydrated and in need of water itself... how much fluid is it going to be pumping into my graft? You band kept your specimen from floating off for 9 days... provided it had an abundance of fluid that the stock could push into your graft that would help. Why use a pad that is not swollen to the hilt? The more swollen a stock is the more it can push its nutrients into the scion. Why use an unrooted stock to graft? Without roots, a stock will have to use its own reserve energy and fluids to grow new tissues to support a union between the stock and scion. Why was the graft moved to a lower light area? Light stimulates growth. As for your question as to humidity in relation to your Opuntia rooting.... Humidity is not essential for rooting your Opuntia. Rooting your Opuntia can be best expedited by increasing bottom heat and soaking your Opuntia humifusa in water and nutrients. Personally, I would grow that Opuntia in a bog style environment with a heaping dose of fertilizer added to the water. I'd go with a nice aqua blue, green, or muck brown color to the water to ensure a good amount of fertilizer was added. Humidity is more important however in a graft of this type to keep the graft union hydrated so living tissue can form before that same tissue dries out. Even a small imperfection such as a double cut when you are slicing your stock or scion can create a space for an air bubble which is hopefully mitigated by the pressure of the rubber band and the increased humidity in your growth chamber... or one could simply wrap with co-ban or another material to hold more moisture in at the graft site itself. Nice collection by the way. I assume you went with Opuntia humifusa as you wanted a slower growing stock or a stock that would not rot if overexposed to water? Either way, it was a good choice.

Some Datura pictures...Datura wrightiiDatura discolorDatura metel var. fastuosaDatura quercifoliaDatura stramonium

I trimmed 42 different cacti specimens in my garden. Now we wait for them to callous over and wonder what we are to do with these clones of my specimens. Took a few Pereskiopsis cuttings so I can graft another 600+ seedlings I have going. Admired a few variegated Trichococereus throwing out pups still a bit on the small side for clipping, but getting to clipping size. And I gazed dreamily at some of my very fat Trichocereus scopulicola x Trichocereus terscheckii And of course I checked on my variegated crested Trichocereus pachanoi areole sitting still and not doing anything, but even that is a good sign given its age.

Birthdate 19 March 2018 Today our grafted crested variegated Trichocereus pachanoi is 82 days old and starting to pup. Unfortunately, the pup did not choose the proper spot to pup! Is it cheating if you take a an areole that is starting to pup like this one and graft it or will that get you kicked out of the grafting union?