Black Rainbow

Yeah they look healthy AF so I'm not so concerned. Grunge is cooler than textbook perfection anyway. Scars for character!

Hmm, the damage did coincide with the spring warmth. Although I haven't had this issue in the past, even with more extreme weather changes.

Cheers guys, I had suspected it was a little critter. Just haven't caught any in the act...

What might be responsible for this damage, and how can I avoid it in the future?

I recently I read this post by Gee Bee, an administrator of The Trichocereus Community FB group. More cultivation ethics than harvest ethics, but still of some relevance: “Excerpts of an email Conversation with Keeper Trout... Through my interaction with the community on FB, an issue of great concern has come to my attention. To be clear, I am not a grafter. I utilize vegetative propagation. The issue of concern is the matter of mentor grafting. A mentor graft is defined by the following characteristics... The rootstock is older and mature and larger than the Scion. Leaves are left intact (if applicable), and is the rootstock is robust. The Scion is comprised of young, undifferentiated tissue (such as a seedling, or areol), and is small in comparison to the rootstock. The leaves of the scion are removed (if applicable). This configuration causes the Scion to be completely dependent upon the rootstock for nutrition. Under these special conditions, the scion is ‘mentored’ by the rootstock, and may take on characteristics of the rootstock. Through my research, I have found that this technique has been used for 100’s, if not 1000’s of years in arboriculture. Recently, science has uncovered the mechanisms responsible. A phenomena known as choloroplast transfer is responsible for a transfer of genomic material through the graft fusion. The studies refer to (primarily) solanaceous plants. However, trichocereus and Lophophora are both dicots, so the research may apply; even if only in part. Choloroplast transfer is a natural phenomena and can result in habitat through natural root grafts and through arial, gaseous emissions of adjacent plants. So, gene swapping does occur. The research indicates that with mentor-style grafting, genomic transfer is occurring; sometimes with whole genomes The transfer can result in hereditable alterations in the DNA, and shows up in the seeds for several generations. In some instances, we have seen the scion take on visual traits from the rootstock. This would support the hypothesis. The primary transfer occurs localized to the graft fusion. In fact, if one were to cut a thin section of the graft fusion and tissue culture that section, a hybrid of the rootstock and scion plants would result. This is how chimeric and variegated plants are produced in the horticulture industry. So we see that the mentor graft is a very powerful tool of genetic engineering and allows the blending of interspecific plants. Now, tissue culturing aside, if that same graft fusion were to produce a lateral pup, that pup would be a hybrid the same as the tissue culture of the graft fusion. As mentioned previously, we see that with the mentor-style graft, some changes in the DNA result in hereditable characteristics. This being the case, the scion itself has also been altered. I see that within the community, the mentor-style graft has been widely adopted as a propagation technique for especially rare and unique clones and plants. The concern of course is this... If these plants are being altered genetically, and unintentionally, then there is a systematic degradation of the genome. This could result in tremendous losses and great confusion, and has the potential to negate decades of diligent work in this field. Some plants no longer exist in the wild, so if subjected to genetic changes, are lost forever. I don’t object to hybridization, or grafting. But it is essential, in my view, that this matter be properly studied and the practice halted if necessary. There is a difference between graft propagation and graft-hybridization. In graft propagation, the rootstock and scion are of similar age/size. In this case, genetic transfer has not been shown to take place... Do you have any thoughts on this matter?.... There is much invested in these grafts.... This issue is contentious and controversial. Cheers, g Hi G, Some people actually try to push that envelope to deliberately create those chimeras you mention.... The relationship of a graft to a host takes on some features of a parasite except that parasites leave their hosts alive and grafts eventually drain and exhaust their stock. What you refer to is an under appreciated problem that is increasing due to grafting and tissue culturing being used for amplification of rare plants intended for wild reintroduction.... but the subject you have concerns about is at the heart of modern conservation efforts. All the best Kt”

Sold, pup 2 and 3. Cheers spooge

I guess I'm just trying to think from the perspective of plants. Are they ever like "fuck I wish these cunts would leave us alone I'd rather we all die than have our kids in some garden prison"?

Yes! I'm not sure when I should graft. Came from a bag of Zelly's mixed seed.

It is a T. validus

I've seen it on gumtree quite regularly.