Astrophytum asterias

Astrophytum asterias

Friday 24 June 2011

Cactus / Degrafting

I degraft cactus with 3 methods.
1. Normal one, removing stock completely
2. Remained a short vascular bandle of the stock
Roots come from the vascular bandle initially but own roots of the plant
are back up later.
3. Remained a short stock
Roots come from the short stock, no roots come out from the plant never
except pereskiopsis short stock.
The photo is the degrafting with a short stock. The plant is Echinocactus horizontalonis, 12 cm diameter, sowed seeds on 02/09/2005 and grafted young seedlings.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Cactus / Hanazono kabuto

It is appeared Hanazono character on a quite young plant if it was grafted. On the other hand, you have to wait until the plant becomes a mature age if it was own-rooted.
The photo shows a own-rooted Hanazono kabuto, just starting to show the character, 10 cm diameter. Although yesterday was the winter solstice, this cacti tried to open a flower.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Cactus / Onzuka

I collected seeds of Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka and sowed on 24/08/2008. I grafted several young seedlings.
Cv Onzuka was developped by Mr Onzuka, living in Okayama pref Japan.
He found a very white myriostigma in 1975 and fixed the gene by himself.
Cv Onzuka will be an elongated shape if it was grown own-root/seedlings.
If you want to make a flat Onzuka, you might graft seedling and degraft later.
This is a grafted Onzuka, flat shape, 9 cm diameter. I will degraft soon.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Cactus / polycephalus

This cacti, Echinocactus polycephalus f Las Vegas Nevada is also growing very slowly. I bought 20 seeds and sowed on 31/08/2006. The germination was not too bad. I grafted several young seedlings and remained rest as own-root.

The poto is one of own-rooted seedling, still 3 cm diameter.

Monday 20 June 2011

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

This is an Astrophytum hybrid, ornatum v nudum x myriostigma cv Onzuka.
This hybrid is commonly called as Onzuka Bajyaku.
I sowed seeds on 31/08/2009 and grafted 2 young seedlings.
Only one plant showed Onzuka pattern on the body.

Sunday 19 June 2011

Cactus / Unknown Turbinicarpus

I bought 50 of alonsoi seeds and sowed on 31/08/2006.
I grafted young seedling quite many. Two of them were changed to the plant showing on the photo.
It is Turbinicarpus species but is not alonsoi at all.
Similar problem would be happened from time to time with purchased seeds but it is hard to gess the name exactly.
I creaned remained flowers and took the photo. I could also see some seeds. It might be a self-fertile species of Turbinicarpus, which is not common.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Cactus / retusus

Own-rooted Ariocarpus grow very slowly normally.
If you kept seedlings under soft sunlight and fed water a lot in summer, you can improve the growing speed slightly.
The photo is Ariocarpus retusus v major cv Daruma Royal.
I sowed seeds on 12/11/06 and current size is 10 cm diameter. As shown in the pohto, seedling should be green color. If it was not green, seedlings would grow very very slowly.

Friday 17 June 2011

Cactus / kotschoubeyanus

It is hard to make multi-heads Ariocarpus from own-rooted seedlings.
You may need years of ages but it also is no promise.
When you grafted Ariocarpus, it might be a multi-heads plant.
The photo is a own-rooted multi-heads kotschoubeyanus.
I cut lower parts of a very young seedling and grafted on a Hylocereus stock.
When you cut lower part of the seedling and grafted, the scion tends to be a multi-heads plant.
After the scion was a multi-heads, I degrafted with vascular bandles of the stock. The plant relies on own roots currently.

Thursday 16 June 2011

Cactus / pectinifera

June is out of season for cactus growing in here.
The temperature in my greenhouse was 4.1 'C yesterday morning.
I reduse the frequency of watering and cactus are waiting coming spring.

Mammillaria will be in flower early spring.
Some of pectinifera seedlings have flowering buds.
I sowed seeds on 27/07/2007 and they would be 4 years old very soon.

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Cactus / miracle kabuto seedling

I normally sow cactus seeds in spring and keep until next spring.
1 year old seedlings are repotted to 10 cm square pot, 25 seedlings each.
I have been testing a slightly differnt way.
I sowed quite many miracle kabuto seeds on 25/11/10 and repotted in autumn, 5 months later.
The photo is one of seedlings, 6 months old.
Cactus seedlings will be accelerated the growong speed after every repottings but will increase the chance of loosing.

Monday 13 June 2011

Cactus / New form of asterias

This cacti is Astrophytum asterias cv Ruri kabuto x cv super kabuto.
Ruri kabuto will have azure body color when the plant was mature age.
I try to put white flecks on azure body in the new form.
I sowed seeds in 2006. Appearance of plants are mixed. Some of them have many flecks and others are intemediate or nil.
The photo is the intermediate one.

Sunday 12 June 2011

Cactus / asterias

It is winter from 1st of June in here.
I am not sure why some Astrophytum asterias are in flower.
Last several days, weather was not so good but I could see sunlight a short time yesterday.
Asterias opened flowers at that time.

Saturday 11 June 2011

Cactus / grafting

When you graft a cacti, the scion may show a differnt appearance from the original one. It depends upon the type of stocks.
The growing speed will be higher normally but flowering also depends upon the type of stocks.

The photo is a grafted Astrophytum asterias hanazono kabuto x superkabuto on jusbertii. This stock gives a high growing speed, earlier flowering and many flowers but the appearance is not normall. The white flecks are exaggerated.

Friday 10 June 2011

Cactus / Astrophytum hybrid

I tried to make a strawberry-milk color cactus and crossed Astrophytum myriostigma cv Onzuka x myriostigma v nudum cv khoyo. I sowed seeds on 07/10/09 and grafted 4 young seedlings.
One of them showed once the strawberry-milk color but it turned the color.
The photo shows the current color. I expece some changing in coming spring.

Thursday 9 June 2011

Cactus / macdowellii

This is Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus v macdowellii f albiflorus.
I degrafted sevral years ago and living rely on own roots currently.
It seeme not healty condition showing some blown tubercles but it has a flower. Unfortunately I just have one plant and can not increase numbers.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Cactus / on sticks

Scions I grafted on pereskiopsis in 2009 are in flower.

All scions are Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus. I could not manage well last winter and lost almost all leaves of preskiopsis. It seems the growing speed of scion is slowing down when the stock lost leaves.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Cactus / castanea

I do not collect so many Frailea.
I just collect castanea only and germinate from seeds.
This seedling is very young and very small but show the cristate.
I try to keep and grow this one well.

Monday 6 June 2011

Cactus / kotschoubeyanus seedling

Own-root Ariocarpus is growing very very slowly and called as Living Rocks.
I sowed kotschoubeyanus f Rio Verde seeds on 30/09/2006. Some of seedlings were grafted but I remained quite many seedlings as own-root plants.

Some of plants started to be in flower last year. They are in flower again.

Sunday 5 June 2011

Cactus / varigated Ariocarpus

Varigatin pattern of the cactus is not stable.
You believe a very nice pattern on seedlings but the pattern would surely change during growing.
I found 3 varigated young seedlings of lloydii x furfuraceus and grafted in January this year. Varigation pattern of two scions did not move to tubercles.
I still keep these two plants but I do not have so much hope.
One plant have varigation on tubercles. This will be a varigated Ariocarpus.

Saturday 4 June 2011

Cactus / ritteri

This is a grafted Aztekium ritteri on peskiopsis.
I grafted 6 small pups one yeare ago. They have grown quite well.
I found the size of ritteri pups should be more than 5 mm. If is was less than 5 mm, hard to get successful grafting result.

I added 5 more graftings 6 monts ago. They are smaller but looks all right.

Friday 3 June 2011

Cactus / Cauliflower

I sowed seeds of Ariocarpus retusus v furfuraceus cv Sugri Cauliflwer on 02/10/2010.
I grafted young seedlings on preskiopsis as grafting trial using a wet-box.
The success ratio of the grafting was quite good.
22 grafted seedling are growing well. The attached photo is one of them.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Cactus / Agavoides

This is a grafted Ariocarpus agavoides, 2nd flowering in this season.
I am not sure why but a grafted agavoides shows a very short tubercles.
I collected seeds from these short tubercle agavoides and sowed.
Own-root seedlings whoes parent are short tubercles show very long tubercles.
This means the grafting afects on tubercle length.

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Cactus / Ariocarpus hybrid

I crossed Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus x bravoanus v hintonii and sowed seeds on 07/10/2009. I garafted 12 young seedlings.
1st flowering was last year. They are in flower this year also.
The photo is one of them.