Is Eileen big enough yet?

[AndyAmine.]

I have a nice T.Bridgesii "Eileen" tip cutting that seems to have rooted in nicely after a few months, so now what I really want are some little Eileen babies.

Is she big enough to take a cutting from to induce pupping?

[mescalito]

I've got a few pachanoi chunks a LOT smaller than that and they still put out a few pups.Though I would leave a fair chunk behind so you have more aerioles for more pups.

[gerbil]

Personally i'd leave it be for a bit longer, let it establish some more, grow some more then lop it IMO.

I've only had limited experience lopping masses into tiny bits for mass propagation, but find thicker healthier more vigorously growing specimens to be alot less hastle that really small chunks.

IMO i'd rather had 2 thick healthy bits (stock and cutting) to keep as the basis for further propagation later on rather than lots of small bits from the very start.

It's up to you in the end, but with more loved specimens, i'd lean towards the slower more cautious approach.

I like your self watering pot, I need to get some of those or start designs on a hydro watering system.

[zee_werp]

Yeah, she totally needs a little longer. And if you want it to really produce some decent puppage, put it in a rediculously oversized pot with a really rich (but still well drained) soil mix. Trust me on that one.

[AndyAmine.]

And if you want it to really produce some decent puppage, put it in a rediculously oversized pot

I thought it already was?

Unfortunatly I cant really have super rich mix's here, I get really bad warm humidity where I live along wiht heavy storms that flood out my balcony in 5 mins flat and constant problems wiht fungus gnats so generaly I need to have really loose free draining mixes that have a minimum of bark/compost and I compensate with liquid feeding.

My mix's are mostly composed of Searls Seed raising mix, coco coir, washed river sand, perlite, Dolomite, Gypsum and slow release nute pellets.

For me, Searls Seed Raising Mix is the only potting soil I can keep around my place wihtout it becoming infested with Gnats in a matter of days.

I suppose this would be less of a problem for cacti because it gets wet a lot less often.

Jst to clarify, I wasnt going to try and make lots of small cuttings, jst one, about 1/2 the length of the cactus to induce pupping from the base.,

Its all good, I have anothe rEileen on the way so I will wait until the end of the growing season.

[zee_werp]

Good idea, theres really no point in taking a cutting now since it will stop growing pretty much immediatley when theoretically that thing should put on a lot more growth over the summer and not to mention build up a stronger root system.

How big is it? Its hard to tell from the pics. It only looks about 20cm tall though to me.

[Rev]

the economical way is to wait

rule of thumb is to make cuttings at the end of the growing season

so for you early to mid june

this way its warm enough to callus fats and by the time september rolls around they are ready to root

if you take cuttinsg now youll miss growing time = cm = more pups n cuttings later

the richer the soil the faster they pup. keep the food and water up to it

they are gross feeders

when forced like that they often pup early and often near the base

[mescalito]

Humidity plays a big role here and seeing as you are in a humid area I'd go with Rev and Gerbs suggestions for sure.

Out here callous' happen overnight

When you decide to trim her up let the tip callous to form a new mother plant and either make more chunk cuttings from or alternatively 'throw' the middle bit away

[chilli]

the economical way is to wait

rule of thumb is to make cuttings at the end of the growing season

so for you early to mid june

this way its warm enough to callus fats and by the time september rolls around they are ready to root

if you take cuttinsg now youll miss growing time = cm = more pups n cuttings later

the richer the soil the faster they pup. keep the food and water up to it

they are gross feeders

when forced like that they often pup early and often near the base

Plus, I have heard that they will pup more quickly and proliferately if it is cut when actively growing... can anyone confirm / deny this?