varigated button cacti

[planthelper]

hi!

i have beem sowing out various button cacti, and i was amazed how many of them showed a lack of chlorophyll.

i would not be surprised, if a lot of growers, totaly overlook those ones.

this could be, because most of the time those individuals, are smaller in size, and they die fast aswell.

they are the opposite of what, our eyes want to see, and for this reason we overlook them.

i suggest, to look out for them every second day, in the seedlings tray.

you have to look out for, "small and (pale) white".

as said they are at time overlooked...

once you spotted one, they come in two forms, squishy - soft, and a bit firmer.

non varigated (normal) seedlings compared to those ones are crisp.

one has to graft them soon, as allmost all of them will be doomed, unless grafted.

1,select an albino seedling, make sure that on the day you remove the cacti, the soil is not too wet, otherwise a lot of soil will stick to the root.

2, prepare your work place. tools/things needed:

two razor blades, i use blades removed from throw away razors, they are exreemly thin and small. you can't cut a small sicion with a big razor!!

metho, toilettpaper,

hand mister,

albino button cacti,

pereskiopsis stock, rooted in small pot,

softdrink bottle humidety dome,

steady hands!

3, prepare your peres, use the razor blade, in an upward fashion, and slice off the topmost areoles. but don't worry about the areoles on the VERY top, because you will cut them off anyway for the grafting cut.

choose a peres (obviously a peres with a very slim tip) which will fit perfectly, diametre wise, onto the button cacti, at the later stage.

when i have to put the razorblade away, i stick it into a fat peres leaf, like that, it stays more sterile, and can be picked up again with ease.

Edited December 3, 2011 by planthelper

[tipz]

Whats the youngest seedlings you would use this method with PH ?

I have quite a few albino - possibly varigated seedlings . They are like you said considerably smaller but i am scared they are still to small even for the above method. These ones are three weeks old.

[GoOnThen]

Check out the grafting comp thread Tipz most of us started grafting when the seedling were only about a week old

You can defiantly graft at that age the hard part is handling the tiny seedling

I find if they are elongated they are easier to graft at that size

Cheers

Got

[planthelper]

Whats the youngest seedlings you would use this method with PH ?I have quite a few albino - possibly varigated seedlings . They are like you said considerably smaller but i am scared they are still to small even for the above method. These ones are three weeks old.

 

3 weeks sounds right, the problem is the albinos often don't seem to get any bigger, as you know already.

imagen you rounded matchstick, which is sliced about 2mm thick, thats how big the scion is, if you have small hands, than i guess it's easier for you.

Check out the grafting comp thread Tipz most of us started grafting when the seedling were only about a week oldYou can defiantly graft at that age the hard part is handling the tiny seedlingI find if they are elongated they are easier to graft at that sizeCheersGot

 

goonthen, what you say, is only true for non albinos, my thread deals largly only with the subject of grafting albinos. albinos never get old enough, to become elongated.

grafting albinos is difficult, grafting normal seedlings is child play, in comparesment.

[planthelper]

4, pull out the albino, using a very, very soft touch. you can dig them out aswell, using a label or dibble stick, but if you dig, more soil will stay with the selected albino.

if the cacti is just a little bit dirty, than i don't clean it, if a lot of soil sticks to it, than i clean it, using water (mister) and toilet paper. if you cleaned with water, let the cacti dry up completly, before grafting.

if it's just a bit of dirt on one side, than i will slice towards the dirt, meaning, i avoid carrying the dirt over the cut.

5, cut a fat peres leaf for the juice,

cut the top of the peres, apply the juice, grab the albino, cut it in a fashion that, "the scion stays on the razor blade, like a patty on a spatula". than hold the razor close to the stock and slide it onto the very same. than you quickly check for allignment, by looking at the union crosswise. if it needs re adjusting, i ever so gently move the scion into the required direction, so i obtain a perfect fit.

im right handed, i support my right hand with my left hnd a bit, this makes my hands much more stable, and make the tricky job, easier.

6, now move the graft to a very save location, where it will not be disturbed. if i graft normal cacti, i never use a dome, but for albinos, i do. they can be made out of a softdrink bottle.

7, check on the graft, at least once a day. make sure all is ok! sometimes the scion falls off over the first night, and you can regraft, but the scion would be very small already by than. sometimes the osmotic pressure of the peres can lift a scion.

the good thing is here, that if you fail, it's totaly ok, because basicly you tried a life saving operation,the patient, without the procedure will die.

i use a fresh blade taken out of a throw away razor, and this broken in halve. if the razor is too big, you can't cut tiny seedlings.

if i re use the razor i wipe it with metho (toilet paper) and than mist the blades with water.

if i get gunk onto my blade, i cut with the blade thru a fat peres leaf and it cleans it.

i have always the work station set up nicly with all things and tools in reach. i always have a second peres, in reach aswell, in case i stuffed up with the first.

i place them indoors behind a window which has a bright aspect, but recieves no direct sun.

Edited December 3, 2011 by planthelper

[2Deep2Handle]

I put down some trichocereus spachianus down about 3 weeks ago, the most most powerful one out of the lot is an albino.

Is it strange that it is growing better than the rest? there are 3 or 4 others also showing signs of lack of chlorophyll, but no where near as distinct and healthy as this one in particular.

What should i graft it to?

Edited December 3, 2011 by 2Deep2Handle

[2Deep2Handle]

cmon guys ive got opuntia, peres, trico strock, cereus, hyclocereus.

Which will work best for this tiny little fella?

thanks

[Stillman]

not that I am an expert on grafting but little seedlings like that would probably go best on peres...from my reading not from personal experience.

[GoOnThen]

At that age I would defiantly go with pere

My first graft I did was a albino trich which reverted to having a slight variegation.

Cheers

Got

[2Deep2Handle]

thanks guys will have a crack at it later in the week.