Inyan

Lophophora williamsii x Lophophora fricii day 3 And the hybrids go marching along.

Given the heap of offsets... You should try this again, but with a nice caespitosa. That might look truly freaky.

Hot pepper sprays on a weekly basis are what I always used for my Psychotria. Just another tool in your arsenal if you should decide to go down that route. Once your Psychotria is actively growing and gained some size remove mature leaves that have turned dark green and fold them in half and or into an accordion shape. Slide those leaves in the ground like that and keep humid and wet and you will likely have 30 more new Psychotria plants from each leaf in a matter of months. Wish you luck, both grow like weeds once you get them established.

Here we go again... updates day 2 Lophophora williamsii x Lophophora fricii

I see you have some specials! Nice collection and a testament to why more people should grow from seed.

I think I'm a clone now...

As well meaning as this is... and if memory recollects correctly some cultures are cannibals and some eat the ashes of the dead and such... I just don't think I could bring myself to eat the dead without an intermediary in-between. Thus, the sacred entheogen forest, vegetable garden, or such would be my personal preference. Not knocking the other, just not something I could stomach. Stranger in a strange land was a good book, but I honestly haven't read that book since I was a young teenager. I should probably revisit it.

I intend this to be a day by day account over the next 30 days or so and then space it out a bit more as time progresses. Sadly, the stock these two are on are devoid of most of their leaves so you won't see as great an explosion of growth as I would like. If anyone else has the same hybrid... please feel free to interject your pictures here as well. Two different Lophophora williamsii x Lophophora fricii with the hopes of eventually being able to get some f2 specimens going this coming April-May time frame. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Today... I removed the parafilm wax from a few of my grafts. Smallish specimen here is a Lophophora w. x L. fricii. Anyone else growing these?

I'm confused. I look at things that need to be decomposed as a resource and a fertilizer or growth medium. Its what inspired me to want to be buried in something like a mycelium suit or a pod. I look at embalming fluid as a poison and most cemeteries as a place to dispose of a carcinogenic chemicals in otherwise perfectly nutritious mediums (our bodies). If you embalm yourself, you are essentially poisoning all of those nutrients that should be freely available for other life forms. A cemetery that utilized the bodies in a more eco-friendly way could still provide a place to come and remember ones loved ones. In my mind, it would be much more healing to visit an old old tree and a Trichocereus under that Oak that I new was being fertilized by the remains of a loved one. Whatever garden or entheogenic plants that were planted in such a sacred forest... I for one would rather visit that place as I would feel more of a connection with the Earth as well as those that have gone before me.

While I understand and appreciate your sentiment as I feel largely the same way. Especially given how many cemeteries are devoid of life save the grass that is growing over the coffin and the occasional flower that is dropped off that will soon dry up and perish. However, I do feel that a grave does provide a place for family and friends to come together to mourn the loss of a loved one and even celebrate the good times that were had as well. Graveyards can provide this sacred space for healing. And if that is true, wouldn't it be nice if we were to create grave yards full of life and mystery by making graveyards gardens and forests?

This to me... is right on track with what I think and feel about how a grave should look. Not that one should have to have the same plants as seen here, but it is as it should be. Full of life Now, with that being said, if your out in the desert you might instead have a field of cacti growing over ones grave... but the idea is the same.

And I'm thinking now... you might want to go into the fetal position with something like this....http://coeio.com/infinity-burial-suit-2/

I want to have a C. sativa planted above my head. I can think of no better sacred park than one created in this manner with sacred plants. And what better way to give back to the environment than to remove a coffin and replace it with a nice eco friendly living organism?

Growing from seed is indeed the easiest way to grow an army of variegates, crested, etc. I'm a big proponent of growing from seed as you get to see the various phenotypes available in a single batch and more importantly... the best ones haven't been picked out for some other persons private collection. When you grow from seed you have the opportunity to get some of the finest cacti you can possibly hope to encounter and at a bargain price. On the plus side, growing from seed also affords you the opportunity to learn to graft to expedite some of your seedlings growth. With that being said, you may want to purchase more seed than you plan on growing out if you will account for a few failed graft attempts along the way. One of my latest seedlings...

@Humbolt thanks for your concern. I did learn a good bit already from my hurricane grafts though. Grafting with extremely well watered Pereskiopsis, as happens with Hurricane soaked stock requires you to dry off the Pereskiopsis with a cloth right after you cut it. You have to be expedient in placing your cut scion onto the graft as well as sealing it tight with Parafilm. Otherwise, the grafted seedling will float off right at the start. Some of my stock I put under car port which effectively blocked some of the wind. In addition, those under the carport had even more light blocked than those exposed to the clouds and thus my grafted plants and stock have grown quite light green in a very short period of time anywhere there is new growth. Suffice it to say, all of my grafts have weathered the Hurricane very nicely so far with no graft failures. A win for Parafilm grafting! That said, I did have one grafted Pereskiopsis that was a few feet tall fall over in the wind and even that newly grafted specimen has stayed perfectly in tact. So, far it has been a rewarding experience watching the scions hang on for life with the help of the parafilm... it is no contest. Hurricane Florence Zero... Grafts 100% okay! I'll try to get some pictures uploaded later.