Inyan Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 When my neighbors kids flip my Zelly seedling grafts up in the air I wave my hands up in the air cause I just don't care. My seedling grafts can take abuse hon, and if you don't believe it. Yo, I'll post it. So, check out those baby seedling grafts before... No growth as they are still wrapped up in that protection film. Not a peep, not a crack, so let me hit you with the facts. Grafted 27 September. Flipped 01 October. This I know, for my posts tell me so. Now, let me hear it if you want to see those seedling grafts after the flip. My seedling grafts only got one thing on their mind and its getting sprung. So You can do side bends or sit-ups. My grafts are down with all of that. Cause my grafts can take it all And my grafts just won’t quit Not even sure if my grafts ever heard that word… quit So, shake that graft. Shake it all day long like Donkey Kong. Cause this grafts got back that just won't stop. From her scion to the stock she's sticky sweet She may even have just one areole at times, but that has never stopped her. No this grafts just too legit to quit. Method: Make Labels Select good actively growing grafting stock Make sure you have some sharp razor blades and some grafting tape. This stuff is going to cost you roughly 1 cent per graft you make and after spending $5 dollars on a roll your going to be able to make 540 grafts give or take. Your going to want to make 1 inch ribbon curls. 1 inch, not 2 as your going to stretch those babies out. Twist don't pull the leaves off of your Pereskiopsis. Then wrap that section with your stretched out parafilm/grafting tape. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 Soak and clean your seedlings in water Remove the top from your stock Pereskiopsis with one long stroke of your razor blade. Avoid sawing back and forth Cut your seedling in half without sawing it back and forth or applying pressure. You want to draw your blade in one long smooth motion through your seedling. Place that fat boy on top and off center of the stock/scion Cover your seedlings up before they catch cold Gently wrap covering around and down sides of Pereskiopsis. This action will gradually draw your parafilm tight and is all that is needed to prevent your seedling from coming lose. If you try to apply pressure chances are great that you will smash your seedling and ruin your graft. The 1 penny method to grafting that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Daze Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Post of the year award goes to you Inyan. Champion effort When's the kids funeral? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 @Halcyon Daze As much as I might like to retaliate in theory, I could never do so. While she has been found rummaging in my cars on several occasions, she also lost a brother to suicide. Call me soft all you want, but I give kids like that a pass as they have enough stuff to deal with. On a positive note, most of those grafts were unaffected other than the labels being flipped out of their containers as well. I did find a few where the stock itself was snapped in two on some others from the fall, but considering those grafts posted were less than a week old when the incident happened I think the fact that many are now growing strong is mighty damn nice. Sure a few are stunted in their growth and some may yet fail, but I like what I'm seeing overall. I'm still waiting on that areole graft to take off for instance. Looks like the penny I spent on making each of those grafts was worth it though if you look at the after pictures scion growth. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Daze Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) Losing the labels is a prick of a thing but , philosophically speaking, if you can't enjoy an unlabeled cactus then something's wrong. Just call them 'Zelly Hybrid' A-Z They would be a bit like the 'J' label cacti. The J has nothing to do with parantage but everyone knows they are a quality range of clones/parents. Edited October 31, 2017 by Halcyon Daze 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migraineur Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 How old is she and why did she do this? Did you tell her parents or have at least some words to her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 19 hours ago, Halcyon Daze said: Losing the labels is a prick of a thing but , philosophically speaking, if you can't enjoy an unlabeled cactus then something's wrong. Just call them 'Zelly Hybrid' A-Z They would be a bit like the 'J' label cacti. The J has nothing to do with parantage but everyone knows they are a quality range of clones/parents. @Halcyon Daze I can definitely enjoy a specimen regardless of its parentage. I look at grafting as a chance to speed up the selection process. Those that don't have the traits your after get culled. Those few that surprise you are what its all about. If they are indistinguishable from the rest in form, strength, flower, etc. then there is not much reason to keep them around. I want specimens that have the strength to really grow phat and fast. @migraineur She is 16, smokes cigarettes, and one of her siblings committed suicide. So, I cut the girl some slack. I honestly can't recall ever talking to her parents about finding her in my cars, barn, etc. I talk to her when I catch her and its not all too often. As for why she did something like this... probably the same reason she destroyed my other neighbors plants. I just don't believe beating a child like that or getting them into trouble is going to solve anything. I think she has real issues and real emotional pent up crap that needs to be dealt with and right now, she is doing that where she can get a reaction. I give no reaction... she will go elsewhere. Regardless though, I can't stay mad at a child like that. Plants will heal and the very few grafts that did not make it through the upheaval were just seedlings not even grafted for a week so I didn't have a lot of time to get attached to them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 I like to focus on the good things in life. Today, I would like to share one way I do my assembly line grafting. Note: I prefer to graft when my seedlings are at least this size I select some grafting stock and get those centers wrapped . I prefer to have most if not all that I plan on grafting pre-wrapped with parafilm/grafting tape like this as it makes it easier for me to only focus on one type of action if it is possible to do so and here it is possible to do so. Now, for those of you with butterfingers, shaky fingers, or perhaps you simply have big hands... I don't care what your excuse is for losing those tiny seedlings when trying to cut them this will help... I call it my criss cross or sandwhich and once you have your seeding in place like this you can take your hand that is not holding your camera as mine is and slice it straight through with your razor. Pick up your seedling on your razor and slide it to the tip and use the rest of your blade to slice through your Pereskiopsis. The rest of the procedure is the same as above. The nice part of doing your grafts this way is that you can do your pre-wrap to as many or as few stock plants as you would like and simply leave them be for the day, a week, it really doesn't matter. When your ready to begin your grafting the tedious part of removing your leaves and wrapping will have been done so you can focus on the two fast cuts you will need to make through the seedling and the stock and the one cover piece of parafilm. Important notes here: At least semi-rooted Pereskiopsis is preferred here and preferably showing some signs of active growing. Always work from the middle row to the front and flip your tray around rather than trying to reach over another graft. That is a sure fire way to crush your grafted seedlings as you move your clumsy wrists over them. Don't forget to label. Your memory will fail you if not after the first set of grafts... after the first few hundred and several weeks.... just make it easy and label them. All of the grafts you see here were done in a matter of minutes, I really should time myself one day to get that exact. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chupacabra Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Very informative posts on grafting technique Inyan. Thanks for taking the time to post up your process. Looking at your pics has nudged me closer to trying my hand at grafting. I just need to get some peres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 @ChupacabraAnyone old enough to hold a blade under adult supervision is old enough to become proficient at grafting in a few weeks time. I 100% know that as I've taught children 5 and up how to graft everything from cacti to trees. I wish you luck with your endeavors and if you need any help or have any questions on any grafting technique you've seen me post feel free to ask. The most common mistakes I see when people are first starting out grafting is applying too much pressure or using a sawing rather than a slicing motion through their stock and scion. Always try to get through the scion or stock in one fluid motion without applying undo pressure. I always tell everyone not to put all their eggs in one basket when learning to graft. Let your grafts teach you how to graft if you don't have an instructor. The best way to do this is to graft just a few each day. Take notes on which grafts fail and try to determine why they fail. You will rapidly become proficient if you make as few as 5 grafts in a single day over a period of 2-4 weeks. I try to spend a few minutes on average grafting each and every day. I will also add, that while I can do string grafting, cling wrap grafting, rubber band grafting, co-ban grafting, etc... it is best to use the best if you want to minimize your failures and improve on a particular grafting style. While any grafting style will work and will work great as you perfect those techniques... why waste time? My grafts average 1 cent or less on average and I really can't see spending more time or less money on them than I currently do unless it is simply to maintain my skills at other types of grafting which I do enjoy doing as it reminds me just how much I prefer my own methods, but it also lets me know I am capable of doing any style of grafting given the time and patience to learn it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 Thought I would share this here as it is another way I pre-prep my Pereskiopsis for grafting. This batch of Pereskiopsis is being soaked in a 5 gallon bucket for 24 hours. After that, I will prep them with parafilm for grafting. This enables me to get a rest in before doing multiple grafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 I haven't posted in this thread in a bit, but here are a few more Zellly hybrids before and after pictures and a few extra's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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