Question on cuttings

[alucinare]

Now i'm just a newbie at this game so i was wondering if anybody can give me advice on how to perform a cutting of a San Pedro cactus? or maybe direct me to an informative site?

thanx!

[teonanacatl]

search on here and ethnobotany-australia.net , heaps of good info on taking cuttings

[waterdragon]

it's almost impossible to fail. slice a piece off and allow the cut to dry then stick it in a well drained mix ie lots of sand/gravel. or just lay it on its side and forget about it for twelve months, pups will appear and grow. keep them away from frosts. i've seen cactus sections dumped beside the road resting on rock start to throw good pups.

[Guest electro]

just cut the tip off a cactus (or if yur more patient and want to wait for a pup to form from any other part of the cactus then take a but that is not the tip)

let the wound heal (callous) in a nice cool dark environment - make sure there is airflow - i stick em in the corner of a room on a bookshelf out of sunlight (2 weeks min)

and stick it in the ground right way up

[mescalito]

If she's in the ground and exposed to rain then cut on an angle so water doesn't collect at the cut and consequently let mould/rot finish her.

[toby]

earlier this season i had pretty dehydrated pup about 20cm long i was going to give to someone but it got lost amongst a pile of clothes,

I found it about a month later with juicy white roots popping out everywhere!

[alucinare]

Heh i can only imagine what else you lose in piles of clothes!

So just say i cut the tip of a planted cactus will it continue to grow or just scar up and stop growing?

[Salvi]

It will continue to grow, however that column will cease growth. It will have to pup to continue. Most likely it will pup at the highest aereole after cutting.

[M S Smith]

Here's is some info I pulled together from multiple postings I made elsewhere. It deals with cutting in a manner that will help produce the largest number of pups from a single column. Sorry the photos aren't included.

Any clippings I take I set them on their side in a dry room temperature room with good circulation and diffused sunlight. If outdoors in more humid conditions I will face the cut end in the direction of the sub so that fungus has a harder time taking hold. Once it callouses nicely in a few weeks I take it and stand it upright out of soil, but not flush with the ground as doing so, especially if the callous isn't good enough, can lead to fungal infection. Once it starts to show root formation I then plant in in soil and water. Once its forming roots you pretty much know the callous is complete. I used to cut, callous, and then stick in soil, but I found that occassionally it didn't callous enough and so rot hit the sub-soil stock of the plant.

~Michael~

***

Many say that a tip should be cut off at a 45 degree angle to prevent water settling in the sunken in cut and causing a rot problem, but what I have noticed is that when you do so the plant usually sets a single pup out of the top-most areole (usually one towards the top of the angle cut). What I have also noticed though is that if the cut is straight across and their are a number of upper-most areole of equal distance from the tip then all of them will produce a pup. It sort of tricks the plant into not knowing what is the upper-most areole so the plant starts a pup at each of the areoles that are an equal distance below the cut. And I have never ever had a plant die from any sort of water settling in the sunken in horizontal tip, and this even though I grow in the open air and live in an area with quite a bit of rain and often have rain water sit on the plant.

***

Auxins appear to be the hormone you mention. And yes, pretty much any cut plant, cacti included, will form a new apical (highest point) meristem before throwing out shoots from lower down on the plant.

This principle is the reason I do not cut columns at an angle, for if you do so then you will have the newest column arise from the upper-most areole. If you have a six sized short spined T. peruvianus you will have every other rib have an areole at the same latitude. So if you cut perfectly horizontally between the areoles you will have three areoles of six at the exact same height in relation to the cut line. Then the plant can be tricked into producing three limbs instead of one. See the short spined T. peruvianus below which set three pups at identical times though at slightly uneven speeds.

And though it has been said to cut a plant at an angle to avoid water settling on the often sunk in cut I have always cut straight across and even in my environment of regular rains, sometimes even for a week straight, I have never ever had a plant get sick from it. Once they callous over good enough they are impervious to water.

***

Try to cut horizontally without cutting across any areoles if possible, while also trying to leave 1/2 to 1 cm between the cut and the upper-most series of areole.

If you have a six ribbed plant you will have 3 areoles at one height and 3 at another. Start the cut immediately below one of these sets of areoles at your selected height and simply try to get the line from one side of the cactus to the other perfectly flat so that the knife exits at the same point below the areole on the opposite side from which you started. The second set of areoles should now be the upper-most ones and all equidistant from the cut. When planting the column be sure that it is planted as straight as possible in the pot and be sure to have the pot on a flat surface when growing so that you don't artificially create a "high point." The three upper-most areoles should now be at identical heights to trick the plant into producing multiple limbs.

***

I have discussed elsewhere my technique of cutting straight across and how it in many, if not most cases, allows for the production of multiple pups. This as opposed to a angular cut which often leads to only one pup from the highest point.

Here you can see that I cut my 6 foot short spined monstrose T. peruvianus in a somewhat straight way and in this photo you can see the two pups on the upper right and left hand sides and two others starting to press through the areole a little farther down. On the opposite side not seen here are two other pups, along with another areole that is splitting vertically and will likely also set a pup. That is a total of 7 pups coming from one plant after a cutting. I contribute this to two factors, 1) the straight cut, and 2) the season of the cut itself. This latter effect on pupping is to me quite simple. If the plant is cut at the height of its summer growth period its high degree of energy is radiated outwards into multiple areoles.

***

Here is an stump of a six ribbed standard short spined T. peruvianus that was cut straight across and produced three limbs from every other rib.

The tallest of these three limbs was cut towards the end of last season in cooler weather, while the other two shorter ones where cut about 2 weeks ago in nice warm weather. Notice how there are now three pups coming out of each of the two smaller limbs while the tallest one that was cut last season hasn't produced any (it now is producing the beginnings of one pup). The base plant is also producing one pup and showing signs of another which I haven't indicated with an arrow in this photo.

I have another large stump of a seven ribbed standard short spined T. peruvianus that I cut (straight across) a few weeks go and believe it or not there is every indication that it is producing a limb from every rib. About 5 have show obvious pups, and a couple others are showing the tell-tale vertical areole splitting that seems to be prevalent when this species pups. I'll get a photo of this last plant up soon as it is mind blowing.

***

You mention a top callous, which I suppose means that the active growing tip has been removed. Generally pupping comes from the upper-most areole after a tip is cut off. Just like plants have nodes, and following the clipping, the new shoot comes out of the upper-most node, a cactus' areoles are like those nodes. But because a 6 ribbed plant, if planted vertically, and then cut straight across, will leave one with three areoles equally distant from the cut and all being equally considered the upper-most node(s) then all three might well possibly produce a pup. Occasionally such straight cuts (being sure not to cut across any areoles) will even produce more pups than the number of upper-most nodes. Here is a 6 ribbed plant that produced a pups from each areole that are equal in height to each other and equally distant from the cut.

[ 30. January 2005, 12:56: Message edited by: M S Smith ]

[planthelper]

where you live horizontal cut's might never lead to rotting, in our climat they will..

anyway both worlds can be unified by:

first cutting horizontaly,

and than cutting a few v shaped downhill sections, which will help to drain off the water imediately. naturaly those angled v shape cuts are to be located between the areoles supposed to produce pups.

[M S Smith]

Wow Planthelper, yes, wonderful idea. I suppose that you could cut downward until the lip of the cut presents a horizontal ring around the plant so that the same effect as I described happens. Thanks, your idea (is it yours?) will certainly be kept in mind in my future write-ups.

Here's the temps, rainfall amounts. etc., in metrics for my region. How's it compare to where you are? Ah, just summer temps (June through August) and rainfall for my area I suppose as it is about 3 c today.

I really wish the US would go metric.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_gu...tml?tt=TT001110

Thanks again,

~Michael~

[ 01. February 2005, 08:53: Message edited by: M S Smith ]

[strangebrew]

Thanks for that info Michael.

I've immediately gone and cut up a few pieces I had lying around to try for some triples! :D

I like to "pencil" cut, but I've never done it with your idea in mind.

BTW here's the temp. conversion table.

C 0° .5° .10° 15° 20° 25° 30° .35° .40° .45° .50° .55°

F 32° 41° 50° 59° 68° 77° 86° 95° 104° 113° 122° 131°

[ 01. February 2005, 11:44: Message edited by: strangebrew ]

[planthelper]

your idea (is it yours?)

yep,

just reading your posts dear mr. ms smith,

obviously brings the best out of me. :D

michael, i remeber often the time you showed us the loph graft, you were dying for a smoke,

you lit the rollie, but had do extinguish it after 3 tokes, because, our excitement demanded you to talk, instead of smoking.

i think it was one of those cases when, your body own chemical produced high, surpased even the tabaco habit.

i mean, seeing you putting out that smoko, and deciding to go on talking without a nicotin break, is someting that i often think back of...

concludes, exchange of knowledge (good time) = more powerfull than addiction.

hope this makes sence somehow, i like memories, they are like wine (edit,well some of them) and kratom leaves, they get better, with time...

[ 03. February 2005, 15:42: Message edited by: planthelper ]

[M S Smith]

I can't tell you how often reminisce on my time in Australia.

Believe it or not, I went to Australia with a few packs of filtered Marlboros and now, back at home in the cold, I hand-roll my own additive free unfiltered. Tobacco in this form is so much more psychoactively pleasing and even feels cleaner both for my body (I smoke 3 or 4 a day compared to 10 to 15) and for the environment. Here in the States people throw their butts on the ground and out the car windows. I do occassinally, but feel like I am littering when I do. But at least I know that when I do they will decompose quickly since there is no filter. One of the many things I learned in Australia is to keep Tobacco away from the Brugs and other Solanceae.

That straight cut method does seem to be something that I am the first to actually write about and tell others of, but I'm not sure I am the first to practice it for propagation...maybe, but do you really think? It has been confirmed to work not only through many plants in my own collection, but by others who have done the same.

Thanks, you've made me feel good.

~Michael~

[planthelper]

with small cacti i would still cut with an angle, but specialy with big cacti stumps, i would allways cut straight and than carve 1 up to 3 v shaped water draining cut's, gargols/gargoyles (spell? medival waterspouts!) cut's, to give all areoles=apicals an even FAIR start, simple as that...

apical dominance has been well documented, this is just an other case of it.

yeah, smoking natural tabaco is much more satisfying, and using no filters or just some paper as filter, is super cool for the enviroment.

yes we people here say, bin ya butt - don't throw it!

those film containers come handy as "pocket ash trays".

------------------------------------------------

...some people say, turtles eat cigi butts (washed away by water) by mistake and die...

[ 04. February 2005, 14:17: Message edited by: planthelper ]

[strangebrew]

Speak of the devil! Here's some 3-way action starting to happen!

It was a log but I guess standing it upright would be the go now.

Another log.

I don't really understand what happens with apical dominance in regards to logs. They seem to set their own rules.

I had a rooted one that repeatedly only pupped from the bottom! :confused: After a couple of years of putting up with this bad habit, I returned it to an upright position and it has since been behaving itself.

[alucinare]

Right, i see. Thanx for the advice. Now the areole on a cactus is those spikey parts right? Now i'm assuming these 'pups' can either be cut of to produce new plants or kept on the cactus.

geez those pups are strange looking lil thangs.