zee_werp

Is that a tricho in the front left? Looks nice.

Anyone got a pic of this kid? Google image search yeilds nothing!

Those are real nice!!! Do you know what the other ones are, other than the bridg and the scop?

So there were absolutely no other cacti (of any genus) flowering anywhere near it at the same time? Just asking cause it looks to be in a cactus garden.

Actually I reckon its a monstrose Cereus, possibly C. peruvianus.

Thanks for the warning - I'll scratch that one off the list. I've had successful results with applying meths directly onto scale but I have never tried applying it direct to healthy flesh or roots.

Thats a real nice graft by the way darcy! Whats the stock?

Well all areoles must originate from the apical meristem (growing tip)...and that thing still has its apical meristem so theoretically isn't it still possible for it to grow another areole out of there? I don't see why not, but then again I don't have any experience with TBM. Do they usually only throw out areoles at the base of the dick?

OK, so I'm going to have a crack at this this weekend. I'm planning to dunk the cacti (just up to the top of the pot) that are small enough for me to lift without breaking my back, and the large ones I will just thouroughly douse with the stuff. But I am still not settled on what my liquid mix will actually be. I am thinking of including any / all of the following: -Neem oil -Detergent -Methylated spirits -Garlic -Chilli -Fresh tobacco leaf The neem oil and detergent will be the main ingredients, I was just thinking the others as minor additions for extra defence, with concentrations erring on the side of caution for the first application. Any suggestions on what specific concentrations I should use for say 50 litres of the stuff? Any further suggestions before I go ahead and do this? Oh and MS Smith, what is brown dirt?

They tend to just pup from the base when they get mature enough. Mine usually do it at a height of 2-3 feet though sometimes taller, sometimes shorter. I've had one 10cm tall pedro pup from its base. If the cactus is healthy it should produce another one from the top, just give it time.

Good idea, theres really no point in taking a cutting now since it will stop growing pretty much immediatley when theoretically that thing should put on a lot more growth over the summer and not to mention build up a stronger root system. How big is it? Its hard to tell from the pics. It only looks about 20cm tall though to me.

Yeah, she totally needs a little longer. And if you want it to really produce some decent puppage, put it in a rediculously oversized pot with a really rich (but still well drained) soil mix. Trust me on that one.

A nice little seedling. That definitley looks like a variegated section to me, given that it appears healthy in all respects other than its colouration. How old is it? I was told by a friend who does a lot of grafting that if you did an areole graft from the yellow part then the resulting button will usually be all yellow. Although that little one looks to be a while away from having an areole taken out since its better to take one from a less visible part of the cactus.

Really f**king nice!!!!

Hi all Sorry to be such a noob - but I am currently on the hunt for some 'useful' acacias in NZ. I've seen a load of what look to be acacia, a few different varieties. But I wouldn't know which was which when it came to species or even be sure if it was an acacia at all. Anyone got some info or links that can help me identify some of the species of interest? I want pics, with a scale or size description, and also info like specific leaf branching patterns etc. or whatever their defining features are. Also, if I did manage to find some, is it possible / easy to grow these from cuttings? Any specific procedures for cuttings? Or would I have to collect seed? Any help would be much appreciated. Even a list of the species that are practically utilisable would be handy, we have quite a few species here according to landcare research.

Great score man, you've sure tapped into a good source. I have to travel to Golden Bay to get deals like that, lately the local markets and stuff have gotten damn expensive! (Over $1 per cm for just your standard pedro). Not that I even buy pedroes anymore anyway, I've basically got them coming out my ears given how fast they grow here. I recognise those pots though, the square black ones. I've gotten some probably from the same origin a few years ago.

Looks like a cereus, probably not c. peruvianus though, the spines look way too short.

Oh no, the dreaded STRYCHNINE!!!! Seriously, thats gotta be one of the most prevalent drug rumors. Just yesterday someone tried to tell me about the 'strychnine sacks' under each areole. And the worst part is when you tell them, as nicely as possible, that the whole strychnine thing is just an urban legend, 90% of the time the perpetrator of the misinformation will aruge about it! I've given up arguing about strychnine with people long ago though, har har harrr...

Hi all I have been told that when you grow L.W. from seed that about 10% of them will be the caespitose type. My question is, if a caespitose plant self-pollinates, will it too produce a mixture of caespitose and 'normal' offspring?

Good post Mike. That thing makes me want to fly over there and give it some water!! Maybe Backenberg just got confused about which country he was in? Is thi Cactus Lexicon still in print?

So kind of a low temp pasteurisation of sorts? Sounds interesting. I'd be keen for more info. Anything to kill these bastards.

That is pretty ridiculous!!! Who's to say that those aren't 9 different species alltogether? This Knize guy seems like a bit of a shambles. Oh wait I mean a real big bit of a shambles. So now what I want to know is, to those who use the term KK242, do you use it to refer to all 9 of these types, or just a single one that you consider to be the true KK242? And also when you use the term KK242 are you essentially meaning that you think that the plant originated from a specific elevation near Matacuna?

OK so I'm going to throw this out there just based on my observations as an amatuer cactophile browsing these and other cactus forums. Personally I believe that the KK242 name gets dished out to a bit too wide of a range of cacti. Sure, there are always going to be differences in a cacti's appearance based on its growing conditions, even from the same clone. Please correct me if I'm wrong (I probably am), but I thought that KK242 refers to one specific cactus collection made my Knize. Although I also understand that Knize is notoriously renound for his bad ID of trichs and his mislabeling of seeds etc. Perhaps this is the sole reason for the confusion surrounding KK242. But basically, if KK242 is a code made to represent a single clone, or stable strain, of Trichocereus then I do not believe that all (or even most) of the cacti people ID as KK242 are infact KK242. While I can see similarities between all of the cacti pics in this post, I don't think that they are all the same single strain. Neonaut's 'confirmed' KK242 that he posted a pic of looks a lot like T. cuzcoensis, as people have been suggesting about KK242. The other two cacti he posted pics of don't look so much like cuzco to me. Also, a lot of the features that people associate with KK242 (e.g. swollen spine base) are also present on other trichocereus species. Perhaps others can shed some more light on this...although I can see that KK242 has already caused headaches in many Trich IDers.

So did it flower yet?

Yeah I'd call that a scop too... There is actually quite a bit of variation within the scop species. At least 3 or 4 'types'. I've got one that looks damn similar to that one there. Slightly longer spines than some of the other types.