Evil Genius Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) Hi Guys, have one of my manical phases today so felt like posting some more help for people who have difficulties with grafting. This technique is pretty much hardcore and stockunfriendly but the stock usually takes it very well. As i already mentioned elsewhere, pressure is THE Key to grafting. If you lose many graftings and dont know why, its either because you dont put enough pressure on the grafted plant or because you use dirty tools. For this technique you need a toothpick made from wood, some rubber bands, a razorblade and a knife. Everything works pretty much similar to normal grafting. Go get yourself a healthy and well watered stock and cut it AT THE TOP because small stumps dont grow very well and the same principle applies for a grafted plant as well. Flatten the edges, use the razorblade to cut off the plant you want to graft, stick the toothpick through the grafting stock, take the rubber and use it to fixate the grafted plant on top of the grafting stock. Done. Sorry for the bad pics. Had some food on the stove and wanted to get this done quick. Edited May 21, 2012 by Evil Genius 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted May 21, 2012 wow so does the hole in the stock stay there or does it heal over? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted May 21, 2012 It pretty much heals up but you´ll always be able to see where the scar is. Wouldnt recommend doing this with a stock you really like though. Its a very agressive way of grafting but it will reduce your losses to almost zero. Dont use this tech with very small seedlings because the pressure from the rubber can rip them in half. I usually use this for 2 yo seedlings or adult plants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted May 21, 2012 Forgot something important: This technique is EXTREMELY recommendable for Areole Grafting! Its one of the best way´s of mass producing cacti from areoles. Using this technique you can produce something like 20 pups from one plant within a very short period of time. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortly Posted May 21, 2012 I cant wail till the days start getting longer to have crack at this tech with some areole grafting, it looks like it might be the bomb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonstn Posted May 21, 2012 EG you are the Frankenstein of cacti All he needs is some rubber bands around his bolts Like the look of it though, seems like it'd be easier then fishing line and weights or similar. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woof woof woof Posted May 22, 2012 "darned evil tech" evilG! I like it. So many creative ways. my personal fav is saranwrap (plastic wrap) grafting. No need for a humididty tent. Graftstock preferably the size of a thumb with roots. join graft and stock and then candy wrap them together in plastic wrap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philocacti Posted May 22, 2012 Can't wait to try this tech out, How deep do you stick the toothpick in the stock? Does the toothpick penetrate the core? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted May 22, 2012 About 6 cm deep from the cut. But this depends on how tight you want the rubber to be. There´s a limit of what pressure a seedling is able to take and im sure you´ll soon find out what fits your tech the best. Toothpick goes completely through. Performed something like 20 of these graftings this week. All look well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted May 22, 2012 The only time I did this, my stock developed nasty black infected spots where the toothpics were, I thought the grafts were doomed for sure. I actually used metal pins, thick ones which I had (semi) sterilised. I vowed to never use this method again. BUT, since the scars healed up quite well I guess I'm open to trying it again. I think the trick would be to put the tooth pics a fair way below the graft. at lest 2 inches in my opinion. And an obvious question: would tooth pics harbour bacteria worse than sterilised pins? Here's a pic were you can easily see the scarred depression in the Opuntia. It's already gotten a lot better by the time I took this shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted May 23, 2012 Hi Halcyon, in my eyes a wooden stick might be closer to a natural cactus spine than a sterile metal pin. Its surely possible the stock gets an infection over this but it is not the way it usually goes. You only leave in the toothpick as long as necessary and the stock recovers pretty well from it. At least the ones i made. Will make some more updates about them in the future. At this point, it seems like one of the best and most reliable ways to put pressure on an important graft. I wouldndt do this with a stock i absolutely want to preserve though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halcyon Daze Posted May 23, 2012 in my eyes a wooden stick might be closer to a natural cactus spine than a sterile metal pin. A excellent book I have actually recommends using cacti spines for this very purpose. I'll have to harvest a few psycho0 spines and give it a go. Maybe a quick dip in metho first? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
