Inyan

I am using the parafilm to add pressure and keep the humidity up at the same time. This is why I love to graft with parafilm. However, self-adhesive coban... is another important tool to have in your grafting arsenal. As it does both of these things as well, but holds in a little less moisture while allowing you to apply a lot more pressure if needed.

Any bets on whether this one is going to turn freak or not?I'm watching as this one appears to be trying to set pups from each areole on the side and wondering what is going on here. Still, I don't think I can call this one just yet. It will be interesting to see how this one progresses.

And a few more pictures showing another way I make seedling grafts... Place the seedling Wrap the seedlingDone deal.

You should put a bid on the auction if you like those particular cacti... the price is still about what it is going to cost me to ship them right now. I don't believe in posting pictures of everything in the box though. I think some things should be pleasant surprises when the box is opened.

and another and another and so many more... someone is about to be very happy as I just don't think there is room for anymore specials in this box. Now, the question is... should I attempt another box like this today? Or wait a few days?

Bottom line, I've grafted crests smaller than the one shown here and had them revert to normal growth as well. I've also seen those same reverted specimens go back to crested forms after a few inches of growth. So, yeah.. grafts can be funky.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Trichocereus-variegated-crested-collection-T-scopulicola-x-T-terscheckii-and/273205917805 Variegated, crested, and others... a small assortment if you will.

Here you go my friend. Another day, another graft it seems. This one is a variegated crested pachanoi being grafted.

That is string. Would you like to see one done with dental floss? It can be arranged.

It goes a little like this.... No one can stop you from naming a seedling you have raised. No one can stop you from naming a specimen you have discovered in the wild that has not been named already. No one can stop you from naming a specimen found in a nursery or someone's back yard.... However, as Zelly has noted, just because you name a specimen does not mean that others will necessarily think your specimen is worth keeping. The name Brugmansia cubensis actually refers to crosses that involve 3 different species. Brugmansia aurea x B. suaveolens x B. versicolor. A name was given to a triple cross so to speak. Brugmansia candida is a name given to any cross of B. aurea x B. versicolor. Now, are all Brugmansia candida or Brugmansia cubensis equally beautiful or equally hardy? Are they all deserving of a name? Well, they all get the name B. cubensis or B. candida regardless of what we think of them. Now, Zelly has created the similar situation with his Zelly hybrids as we see above with Brugmansia candida and Brugmansia cubensis. Zelly is the first one to make zelly cross (scop x vrg grandiflorus) to my knowledge. Just like the box of chocolate crosses with Datura... the fellow who first made that cross made the distinction that all such crosses would be B.O.C. hybrids. The name stuck in both cases. I love seeing new hybrids and new names, but just because I see a newly named hybrid does not mean I'm going to rush out and try to acquire one. I love some of the BOC hybrids I've seen with their bright yellow and purple streaks. Others... just appear muddy to me. Yet, they are all BOC hybrids recognized around the world by those that collect Datura. For myself, when I was actively hybridizing Brugmansia I would grow out upwards of 10,000 seedlings to maturity in a single year and keep a mere handful of them for further evaluation. Still, I've seen others grow out a few hundred or even less of a hybrid and name several out of the cross. I'm not knocking those that can do that... great genetics often breeds great things. And an ill conceived cross is often doomed to failure from the start. Now, if I've confused you. Let me clarify by saying I think it is a wonderful thing to have a working name or numbering system for your hybrids. It allows you to keep track and take note of important things down the road if you plan on breeding. Perhaps you note that the body type generally comes from the mother, but with this one special pollen donor terscheckii the father can actually play a significant role in the body type of those seedlings on occasion. That is something to take note of. If you note that the pollen donor throws out especially fat specimens or especially long spines in its seedlings regardless of the mom... Now, I am going off on a tangent and I've probably lost at least a few of you so I'll stop right here. Hope this helps clarify my thoughts on the matter, not that my opinion or anyone else's opinion matters when it comes to choosing to name your specimen or not. I wholeheartedly believe anyone has the right to name their cacti whatever they wish to name it. if the name catches on and your specimen travels the world... great. If your specimen lives and dies in your back yard... again... great. There is no rule that a named specimen has to be popular or gain notoriety. As we have all seen, many specimens that once had notoriety often fall by the way side if enough years have passed and enough improvements have been made to make that old hybrid obsolete. One need only look at some of the first crosses done with Hemerocallis and those crosses we see today to see the truth in that statement. Again, my apologies for running amuck with my thoughts. If I've derailed your ability to comprehend where I am going with this then my job is truly done.

These two babies are very nice beginnings from Zelly seed. and an unknown here..... Yes, I'm a bit crazy as I can't seem to get enough of these genetics. I'm thinking that the last one is perhaps related to this little guy...

For now...

I love your posts Crop. You are a breath of fresh air in a world that is frequently darkened by those that seem to either not care or not understand that we have a responsibility to take care of the only space we have. Its not the great deeds done by one, but the many small deeds done by the masses....If knowledge is power, then sharing ones thoughts is sharing power. For me, I strive to share those thoughts that have more merit or power to them. Admittedly, I don't always live up to that, but it is through sharing power that I feel we can grow to a place where we can undo some of the harm we are creating haphazardly on this planet by our often lackadaisical attitude towards subjects such as global warming or the acidification of the ocean. People tend to at a very small picture of where they are at and if where they are at is good... then everything is good. The world doesn't operate on such a small insignificant scale thought. Trends happen over time and temperatures fluctuate over great distances. The whole picture is overlooked as it really is like standing nose to ass with a herd of elephants. We get lost in the one anus we have our face stuck in and even if we can pull our heads out of that anus far enough to see the other elephants we are met with more ass and perhaps some hind legs if we are lucky. We often call that getting perspective and yet we have failed to simply walk around that single elephant much less the herd we are in to attempt to see what is really happening.

scopulicola x huarazensis

I don't believe names have to be classifications. If a person names a pure species or even a hybrid T. scopulicola seedling Helon then only it and its clones can be Helons if the name is referring to a specific clone. If however the name is referring to a specific cross or type of cross as is the case with Brugmansia aurea x Brugmansia versicolor seedlings being named B. candida or B. sanguinea x B. arborea hybrids being called B. flava. Sometimes one names the specific type of cross done such as Zelly being a cross between a fat Scopulicola and Grandiflorus hybrid. If we can have many Zelly hybrids with numbers to designate different ones we are keeping track of the specific clones identified by the number after the word Zelly which denotes a classification. Essentially, Zelly12 denotes a classification or cross first and then a specific clone of that cross second. It seems others are simply naming their individual specimens/clones without necessarily getting more specific than that. The same thing happens in Hemerocallis. You get some people that will list the parents of a particular named seedling, others will simply list one parent, or sometimes no parents are listed as the parents were unknown or unregistered seedlings themselves. The exact species involved in many complex named hybrids is often unknown. This is true whether your talking about Hemerocallis, Brugansia, cacti, etc. Now, for me, I would like to think that when I get a named clone that the clone is indeed what it being sold as. I also like to think that the clone is superior in some form or fashion to others I might already have in my collection. What makes a clone worth keeping or naming? What makes a particular cross such as Zelly a cross worth naming? For me, Zelly hybrids having spectacularly colored flowers is definitely something I look forward to when I grow a Zelly seed. I know that cross is tried and true. I have high expectations of getting that colored flower from that particular cross. With that being said, I have a beautiful Trichocereus scopulicola x Trichocereus terscheckii that while quite small is already getting its 10th rib to grow in. Now, for me... I love that given many of my other seedlings from that same cross that are the same size have 8 or even less ribs. Now, am I going to give up on my other specimens and simply name this one that I think is so special? Not at all. I am going to watch and wait and see if the others will develop more ribs in time. With that being said, I like a plethora of ribs as I can't see ever having too many of them. So, chances are I'll be keeping this one for the long haul if the others don't keep up and getting rid of the rest. Perhaps one day it will prove itself worthy of a name, but chances are someone somewhere else has grown one that is just as good looking or even better already from the same cross. So, perhaps in the end this seedling might only be good enough to warrant being the parent of another great hybrid seedling that itself is also not worthy of a name. The resulting progeny will then have parents that do not have names, but perhaps one of the many seedlings produced will be worthy of a name itself... one never knows.

If all assholes cared about the environment I think the world might be a little better place. Imagine a world where every asshole did his or her own small part to take care of or improve the environment around us? A world of assholes like that... now that is something I could get on board with.