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chilli

Irritating Question Compendium

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Hi everyone.

This is my first post in this forum, but I have spent some time trawling through old posts to try and find answers to my questions. However, it has been difficult to obtain some specific info I would like, and even more difficult to collate what I have managed to find and make it applicable. This situation is further exacerbated by the fact that everyone seems to disagree. Rather than liberally pepper (pollute?) the forums with various questions, I have gathered them all together to make it easier (for me), and would really appreciate it if anyone with answers to any or all of the questions would take the time to share their knowledge with me :D

I have a single 12" long, 4-5" wide cutting of T.Pachanoi and a 3'6" long cutting of the same width with a growth tip.

1. What is the most productive way to plant my cuttings? Upright or sideways? What if I don't know what way was originally up?

2. What is the smallest size I could safely slice these cuttings to and still expect them to root and grow pups? (Eg. will half a foot grow as reliably and quickly as a whole foot?)

3. How many pups might I reasonably expect to sprout from each of these cuttings? Does putting them upright or sideways make a difference?

4. How long will these cuttings take to root, and at what rate will they grow? (Eg. How tall will they be in 1 year?)

5. Do pups grow faster than seedlings? If so, how long will it take for planted pups to root and grow to 1.5 feet?

6. If I plant seeds now, how long will it take for Pachanoi to grow to 1.5 feet? How long for Peruvianus?

7. I have heard seedlings grow faster once they reach 5cm... how long do Pachanoi/ Peruvianus take to get this big from seed?

8. Can someone give me a sufficiently detailed account of the differences between the strains of Peruvianus available for sale on Shaman-Australis? (ie. not just the fact that they come from different areas, but personal or secondhand knowledge of their alkaloid levels and growth characteristics, germination rate, etc?)

9. What is the point of grafting?

10. The climate here at the moment is warmish sun and cold air 50% time, overcast the rest... it doesn't rain that much, and the humidity is average. In addition, my yard has lots of big trees, and gets only a limited amount of direct sunlight... would it be best to grow my cuttings outside or inside under fluoros? What would be the best growth medium for each scenario (sand, coir

etc).

Phew... well there it is, and anyone thinking about making snobbish comments about the fact that this is discussed elsewhere, while providing absolutely no new information, please re-read the first paragraph carefully :mad:

Thanks everyone!

Edited by IllegalBrain

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Chilli , some of this was covered recently on another forum : 'Ethnobotany Australia' (google it) The site was hacked a few days ago and is down at the moment but i believe it will be back online soon.

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Hmmm... Well thanks 2B, I will try and check it out, but the only 'net access I have is at the Internet cafe, and it is becoming expensive.

I think your comment come dangerously close to fitting the description of those anticipated by my closing paragraph... :D

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1. Upright is the way to go, if you dont know plant sideways, its ok to, just takes longer to grow

2. If you take mid section cuttings id recommend around 8-10cm cuts, is it the "golden rule" that should be followed here guys?

3. Expect 1-3pups...i normally get 2, if cut on an angle the more probable of getting less pups,

4. anwhere from 4weeks to a year? Just be patient

5. Yes pups grow alot faster than seedlings

6. Awhile, i guess 3 years but i dont have that much experience

7. Well my first attempt and their about 1 year old now and almost 5cm, but i guess the more experienced you are the faster they will grow

8. cant answer this one well at all, ive just heard that dont waste your time with peruvianus if your hungry...

9. To speed up growth! Grafting is a exceallant way to speed up the slower types of cacti ie: loph's turbinicarpus (sp?) you can also graft trich seedling to get faster growth

10.I guess id have to look at your yard to tell you, or see how many fluoros youve got going :P i'd opt for outside for cuttings or mature specimens...

I usually use a 2/3 commercial cacti mix with 1/3 normal potting mix with sometimes a couple handfuls of vermiculite, and some seasol everynow and again

thats what id do, wait for someone more expierenced to clean up any of my mistakes though,

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Glad i could help ?

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1. basically personal preference (others would disagree im sure) cuttings with growing tips dont seem to do well horizontaly IME

2. dont go below 6in. no, but it will still be ok if you callous it nicely

3. impossible to say. the more time the more pups, and it also depends on what cuttings you take from them. its been said that horizontal provides more pups, makes sense

4. depends on conditions, i water after 2 weeks in fairly dry soil. warm weather a must

5. yes, i think. never grown from seed

6. quite a fucken while

7. fucked if i know

8. not me

9. faster growth, its fun, it looks cool (others aswell im sure)

10. prolly outdoors, cant say without seeing. dont know how humid it is over there, but it seems to encourage black rot - careful

11. light, well draining, allows plenty of oxygen (i use debco cacti and succulent mix, i think its better to make your own tho)

oh and in response to your last little statement down the bottow - UTFSE - not being rude but this has all been answered many times before and in ALOT more detail than i could remember or be fucked with, and these are just my opinions they are not gospel or guaranteed to work or be correct or anything else. they are just what i remember (or think i do) or what works for me.

good luck

oh yeah, spines on pachs tend to point slightly upwards

[ 29. September 2005, 07:09: Message edited by: dracos6 ]

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Nothing like jumping in and just having a go yourself.

To many variables to give accruate answers to a lot of your questions but Faslimy is over there and he'll probably chip in some info.

10-15cm is OK for a cutting and the spines/areoles should be facing slightly up when you plant them.

3 years is probably about right to get to 1.5 feet from an unrooted cutting.

I'd invest in a chainsaw.

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Many of these can be answered with "it varies"

Take number 7 for example

Yes it varies.

In some cases the answer is 6 months, in others its about a year, and even then there are so many other aspects.

Here is the easy answer:

There is no easy answer.

I really can't answer most of the questions without some contradictions to the opinions of others arising in some areas. Much of it is about preference.

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Thanks everyone for your answers...

As I stated in the opening of my first post, I had already spent a lot of time trawling through the answers on this site and others, but I was a bit confused by the contrary opinions, but it looks like its a case of "different strokes for different folks," and everybody has their own preferred methods.

My biggest problem was related to how long it would take to grow some "usable" material, because I will be leaving here in 15-21 months, and I wondered if it was worth trying to grow anything in that time, or if I should just make the most of what I've got...

On that note, allow me to ask two more questions...

1. If I make some 15cm long, 12cm wide cuttings, dry them off and plant them, will any pups that grow have a good chance of getting to a significant size by the time I leave in say 18 months?

2. I have heard that the process of rooting can reduce the alkaloid content, and I have heard some people say that new growth has higher alkaloid levels, while others say it is higher in old growth... can anyone lend their subjective opinions on this issue?

Thanks again everybody, all your input is really appreciated.

Edited by IllegalBrain

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Generally the longer the cacti has been sitting there the higher the alkaloid content, look at lophs for example...

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Isn't the harsher conditions better for alkaloids rather than water bloated cal. nitrate pumped style plants ?

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Why not opt for bridgesii?

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quote:

2. I have heard that the process of rooting can reduce the alkaloid content, and I have heard some people say that new growth has higher alkaloid levels, while others say it is higher in old growth...

 


It varies :P

In some conditions new growth can be near maximum alkaloid content, in other conditions alkaloids build to the maximum content over time. It seesm that there may be turnover for alkaloids so content can change over the course of a day. Trichocereus are notably different that Lophophora in several alkaloid aspects so Loph examples don't apply so well to Trichs.

Older growth in ideal conditions may be the most potent. Several growers have reported that conditions that support optimum growth support optimum potency. Anecdote implies stronger alkaloid concentrations in late summer and fall for Trichocereus.

I am much more concerned about getting good growth results than I am alkaloid content. I do love bridgesii plants myself, they can look very nice. I love the longer spined ones the most.

[ 30. September 2005, 19:42: Message edited by: Archaea ]

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