Ace Posted January 21, 2007 (edited) Looks like the mods have helped me clean my mess up Thanks guys! Pics now appear to be working - Yay! Edited January 25, 2007 by Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted January 21, 2007 Hi everybody! (in the voice of Dr Nick) I attempted my first graft on Saturday as shown below. All steps photographed (sorry for the poor quality shots in some pics) for ease of explanation. Step 1. Materials collected: very sharp knife, rubber band, packing material (somewhat soft, yet well padded), alcohol wipes, Pedro stock, Loph scion. Step 2. Knife cleaned thoroughly with alcohol wipes to avoid infection. A clean straight cut was made to the pedro as shown. Step 3. Knife wiped again with another alcohol swab before the loph was cut as shown. Step 4. Vascular bundles are shown and an attempt to line them up was made. Step 5. The scion was placed on the stock and firmly squeezed down to make sure no air bubbles were trapped within the graft. Step 6. The packaging material was folded up and placed over the top of the scion and the rubber band was wrapped around the pot and the top of the graft to secure it in place while the cacti form a secure bond. This will be kept in place until the two cacti are firmly joined without the chance that they may pop apart due to weather/overwatering, etc. Step 7. The now grafted specimen was placed in a very bright windowsill which will not receive any direct sunlight. The rubber band will be kept in place for approximately one week, possibly more depending on the bond. Also, the remaining portion of the loph will be kept, fully rooted in the pot it was in, hoping it may pup over the next 12 to 18 months. The top part of the pedro will be potted in about a week to a fortnight when the wound has caloused to form a new plant. The grafted pot received a very small amount of water, as well as the loph pot. This was kept to a minimum to avoid large amounts of sap oozing the graft apart. All done! Any comments, questions or recommendations to this tek? I hope everybody enjoyed my process and I'll be sure to update when I remove the rubber band. Fingers crossed she'll take!! -Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KlUe Posted January 21, 2007 Hi everybody! (in the voice of Dr Nick)I attempted my first graft on Saturday as shown below. All steps photographed (sorry for the poor quality shots in some pics) for ease of explanation. Step 1. Materials collected: very sharp knife, rubber band, packing material (somewhat soft, yet well padded), alcohol wipes, Pedro stock, Loph scion. Step 2. Knife cleaned thoroughly with alcohol wipes to avoid infection. A clean straight cut was made to the pedro as shown. Step 3. Knife wiped again with another alcohol swab before the loph was cut as shown. Step 4. Vascular bundles are shown and an attempt to line them up was made. Step 5. The scion was placed on the stock and firmly squeezed down to make sure no air bubbles were trapped within the graft. Step 6. The packaging material was folded up and placed over the top of the scion and the rubber band was wrapped around the pot and the top of the graft to secure it in place while the cacti form a secure bond. This will be kept in place until the two cacti are firmly joined without the chance that they may pop apart due to weather/overwatering, etc. Step 7. The now grafted specimen was placed in a very bright windowsill which will not receive any direct sunlight. The rubber band will be kept in place for approximately one week, possibly more depending on the bond. Also, the remaining portion of the loph will be kept, fully rooted in the pot it was in, hoping it may pup over the next 12 to 18 months. The top part of the pedro will be potted in about a week to a fortnight when the wound has caloused to form a new plant. The grafted pot received a very small amount of water, as well as the loph pot. This was kept to a minimum to avoid large amounts of sap oozing the graft apart. All done! Any comments, questions or recommendations to this tek? I hope everybody enjoyed my process and I'll be sure to update when I remove the rubber band. Fingers crossed she'll take!! -Ace Nicely detailed Ace, but the pics aren't working for me?? Good luck with it mate!! KlUe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted January 21, 2007 Ahh Crap!!! They were working - if they arent up by this arvo, i'll try to reload them... Is anyone else having this prob? Sorry folks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark80 Posted January 22, 2007 Ahh Crap!!! They were working - if they arent up by this arvo, i'll try to reload them... Is anyone else having this prob? Sorry folks! I can't get em to work either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted January 22, 2007 This was a double post and can be found under the same name, and it appears to have the pics, but I edited the info out ready to be deleted. You can check them out there for now, but I'll try and re post the lot later on if they are still not working... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarlDry Posted January 22, 2007 Why would you massacre a Loph that big?? And then graft it to a pach that tall?? What are you thinking????? If you want it to work use a few more rubber bands... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted January 22, 2007 Haha - I understand your anguish Mole - I sacraficed it because it has grown almost nothing for over 9 months. It is looking pretty healthy, so I decided its time to see some action. I decided a pedro that tall because the more surface area it has, supposedly the more energy it will convert from sunlight and pump into the loph. Also, when grafting its often recommended to use the very newest growth on the stock, as this has more energy in it, hence a better graft. I considered a couple mor rubber bands, but this one is very tight (not enought to kill them, but plenty of pressure thats quite evenly distributed) and seems to be doing the job fine. I took it off last night to check the progress and the loph has stuck to the pedro (i know this should never be attempted, but it was only *slighty* touched to see if it had joined), and it appears to be holding well. Fingers crossed, the graft will heal over the next few weeks and the loph will start to plump up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted January 25, 2007 Hey just a quick update - the graft appears to be healing nicely. A few pics I took yesterday: All is looking healthy and happy. No visible growth is expected for at least a few weeks, but not likely until next spring. The cut sections of the remaining Loph and Trich are healing nicely. Second pic for size comparison Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SaBReT00tH Posted January 25, 2007 where do you get rubber bands that thick? I've tried post offices, supermarkets and they only have really small ones. Also where do u get that packaging tape stuff from? I've used cotton wool as a substitute in the past and found that it attracts rot which isn't good at all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted January 26, 2007 can i give a tip? i just did this for the first time and used elastic that you use for sewing. it's wide, it's soft and cloth-like and you can tie it to any size you need. i'm giving tips but i don't know if mine has worked yet. will start a new thread. and i also grafted to a 'trich that tall'. i'm going for sculptural effect, though, because i'm artsy like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirLSD Posted January 26, 2007 is it just me or is the loph placed on the centre of the pedro? if so the vascular bundle in the centre of the loph will be inside the larger vascular ring of the pedro but not touching the ring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 2, 2007 Hello all, I havent seen this thread in a little while, and didnt realise there were replies, so here goes where do you get rubber bands that thick? I picked up a big bag of mixed size rubber bands from Big W as far as I remember - only cost about $2-3 I think. This was the biggest one in the bag (if there were a couple, I would have used more). Sorry, dont remember the brand name, but there was about 1000 various sized rubber bands in this pack. i just did this for the first time and used elastic that you use for sewing Thanks for the tip evo - I didnt have any on hand (I dont do much sewing these days lol), but I could imagine this being really ideal for grafting pressure. I hope yours goes well, its looking pretty good from the pics in your thread and the elastic should be very good for this purpose is it just me or is the loph placed on the centre of the pedro? SirLSD, yes it was placed more in the centre than slightly off. This could be the ultimate demise of the graft. For some reason, at the time, I thought it would still have a fair chance in the centre, and it looks much better there, so I (possibly very foolishly) went with that... I wouldn't recommend this to others, but if it happens to pull through like any other graft then I will be sure to mention it. This is my only real concern (and one that I'm really quite worried about). If there is no growth at all in the next couple months, and both still seem ok, I'll probably regraft, lining the vascular bundles much more accurately. But thank you for pointing this out Cheers, and thanks for the responses guys/gals Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 2, 2007 Update - the graft seems to be fusing nicely, there havent been any sites with rot or substantial lifting between the two cacti. The visible wound seems to be healing very nicely, albeit very dark in patches, but it doesnt seem to be anything nasty. I have watered it a little a couple times since the graft and it all seems good. No noticable growth in the loph, but that isnt to be expected yet. I still have the rubber band on, and it has been rotated every couple days around the loph so that all areas get a bit of pressure (even though its all pretty evenly distributed anyway). I will take the rubber band off permanently either this weekend or mid next week. Sorry, a question that wasnt previously answered: where do u get that packaging tape stuff from I actually got it out of our baby sons packaging for his new cot. I dont know of a retail source for this stuff, but if you have a local recycling depot or something similar, you could probably find some there. If its not the most hygenic piece/s, then I think a bit of alcohol or metho would be enough to sterilise it for this purpose. In general, you could find it in a lot of packaging for wooden products, or possibly glass or plastics. Hope this helps somewhat Sabre I'll keep you posted Ace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted February 2, 2007 well yerrr i didn't assume everyone had sewing elastic about the place but it's the best. my first time ever successful graft attests to it. i actually have a pup coming up already, i'm totally amazed and may well cut up the rest of my mama loph and graft it if the growth is that tremendous. woot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 2, 2007 F*ck me drunk! You've already got a pup?!?! Didnt you only just graft it? Congrats Evo - I cant wait to see a pickie! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackDragon Posted February 2, 2007 Nice series Ace, great thread. Another possible "streachy" item used to apply pressure to grafts is "tree tie" from nurseries. Its like a long thin piece of streach t-shirt material. You can cut it to any length you need, and tie it up in a loop. Its great, it applies even pressure, with maximum breathability for the loph on top. Great stuff. Cheap as. Bd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted February 2, 2007 (edited) F*ck me drunk! You've already got a pup?!?! Didnt you only just graft it? Congrats Evo - I cant wait to see a pickie! unless that little bump that's growing there at the bottom right of the loph is one of my contagious warts and it's crossed species, i think so. the little bump is about 2mm and has just come up in the past day. and yes, i did just graft it when i posted about it (on australia day), i did the graft the day before. Edited February 2, 2007 by evolutionNth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 5, 2007 Looks promising Evo! I hope I have as much luck as you Did you line the vascular bundles up, or did we do the same thing and go for the more asthetically pleasing centre-centre graft? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted February 5, 2007 well, i took a small tip off the pedro and a larger loph pup so the bundles could be lined up and i could still have that visually pleasing centre shindig going down, see. it's always about the fenging of the shui..... i'm considering whacking off (ahahaha) the top of another pedro and attempting a two pup atop graft so i can still have that centred feeling without compromising an entire pedro to do it. my 'bump' is measurably bigger now. i'd say another two mill wide...woot! i was honestly surprised to find i had fusion in a couple days, i might try making some frankencacti here soon if i can.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 5, 2007 A double pup graft? Now that would be very nice to see, but as they grew, wouldnt they effectively push each other off the pach? Or am I visualising it all wrong? I would love to get enough loph biomass to graft onto a big peres so it had the christmas tree effect as has been previously discussed. I think that'd be sweet as :D Sounds like she could bust out in the next week or two! I cant believe your button is already pupping! Was it a pup itself, or seed grown? Also, roughly how old? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted February 5, 2007 A double pup graft? Now that would be very nice to see, but as they grew, wouldnt they effectively push each other off?? i don't think grafts work that way. and if they did 'push each other off', i dont' see any reason i couldn't start taking pups off if they got too top-heavy, which was my thought with this first one. i'm thinking small pups (2cm) on a wide pedro base (9cm), follow? Sounds like she could bust out in the next week or two! I cant believe your button is already pupping! Was it a pup itself, or seed grown? Also, roughly how old? yeah that would be kinda neato. it was a pup itself. i have never grown cactus from seed successfully ( yet!). the mother plant was suggested to be about 15 years old or so. nice specimen i picked up in a queensland nursery for....sit down....$12. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 5, 2007 i'm thinking small pups (2cm) on a wide pedro base (9cm), follow? Ahh, yes, this could very well prove to be an interesting project... Perhaps when we gather enough stock, it could prove to be a great online project such as our standard grafts Lets hope we can get these ones to pup like crazy to allow such adventures the mother plant was suggested to be about 15 years old or so. nice specimen i picked up in a queensland nursery for....sit down....$12. *Stutters and mumbles before falling to ground in a bumbling heap* OMFG!!! You lucky, lucky, lucky bugger!!! I can only hope one day I run into such a bargain! Well I hope one day I can actually find one in a nursery! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nil Posted February 5, 2007 i didn't even mention they had two there. deceased estate. the lady 'charged me a bit more' for those two as they were 'rare types'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 5, 2007 Now you're just teasing Evo Have you got any pics to help rub it in a little? lol Was your old avitar one of them? If so - nice! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
