Seedlings on seedlings.

[Simon]

I share this method of grafting that I've been working on for a while. It has ok results. The advantage is that you can graft young seedlings and the stocks only takes a couple of months to produce. Also no annoying spines like on pereskiopsis. Both stock and scions are around 8 weeks old.
Probably not suitable for variegates though..

First cut roots off H.justbertii seedling stocks.

Next rub off the spines.

Then cut roots off scions.

Then rinse with water, dry them, and rub with alcohol to sterilize.

Cut scion and stock and stick together.
These are the left overs..

Put the grafts in a food container with a moist tissue to create humidity and cover with food wrap. After this wait about a week for the grafts to heal. Take the tissue out after a day and  put holes in the food wrap to gradually ventilate the container. Treat the finished grafts as small cuttings. Pot them up and cover the pot with clear food wrap with a few ventilation holes so they don't dry out too much before roots grow. After 3 weeks roots should be enough to just treat them like normal H. justbertii seedlings.

After 1 year...

[danskibsted]

Thanks for sharing you experience with this method! It is very inspiring to see your pictures.
So you actually sow both seedlings and stocks at the same time?
How is your successrate with this method?
Have you tried to leave the roots on the harrisia seedlings?
Dan

[vitostarkiller]

Amazing results Simon!!

you've inspired me and I think I'm going to try it soon. Thanks!!
I would like to complement Dan's question: why do you cut the roots of the harrisias?
I bet using Opuntia compressa you could even save the left overs!

Thanks in advance for your answer

Victor

[fanecchissimo]

wonderful work.


Which is the % of success with this method?

[dag]

amazing !

[Simon]

Well I would have to say that the method is still in the research and development stage and that is why I posted it here so others can try it and we can share our experiences. Last year I did 25 of them and had 23 survive but one of them failed to grow well so 22 out of 25. I was happy enough with the results that I will do a hundred or more this year. It is a good method because stock preparation is quick. Grafting is fast. Growth is much quicker than own roots. It only takes up the same amount of space as seedling production but you can see the potential of seedlings for breeding sooner. I re-grafted the nice plants from last year onto large stocks when they were around 3cm diameter. Larger stocks will make them grow faster. The parts left on the original seedling stocks are now producing offsets that I will also re-graft.
I cut the roots off to prevent dirt being a problem. At first I washed the roots but it took longer and there was not much difference in the time it took to re-establish.
Best to sow the harrisia about six weeks to a month earlier for fast growing species like astrophytum. Harissia seedlings are quite slow and small but once they get going they grow well.
There are a few tweaks. Like letting the stocks and seedlings be dry for a few days before grafting so they stick better. I will know more about the method in a few weeks after doing this years lot.
Please try it and post your results here...

[danskibsted]

Thanks for sharing your information Simon. 22 out of 25 is very good, and alot higher than what I expected.
I will sow plenty of harrisia seedlings together with my other ariocarpus and astrophytum seeds, so I will give this method a try and post the resulst here in about 2 months...
Dan

[fanecchissimo]

wonderful %.. i will maybe give it a try this winter!

[cortona]

were do you guys find harisia seeds in large numbers? can yo just give me a tips or two?

[andrea.a]

Thank you for pics and suggestions, I'll try some seedling on seedling graftings, the results are beautiful, better looking than graftings on pereskiopsis.

Andrea.

[danskibsted]

I tried this method for the first time today. I used younger plants than simon, but besides from that I did exactly as he has shown in this thread. The plants are 5 weeks old jusbertii and 2 weeks old ariocarpus cultivars/hybrids... The small grafts seem to roll around very easy, but besides from that the grafting operation was easy.
I have plenty of more harrisia seedlings... if this turn out possitive, I will produce some more.







Wish me luck!
Dan

[Karlet]

Hi Dan, nice job! The method you used is called "hypocotyl graft" and I tried it years ago. The beauty of this type of graft is that with the growth no longer distinguished the stok, and the plants seem to own roots. Let us know how to proceed!

[danskibsted]

Thank you Carlo. How was your success rate when you tried the method?
Dan

[Karlet]

At 10 I had managed 7. The hardest part for me was the vegetative growth after grafting.

[andrea.a]

Any new pic from Dan?

Andrea.

[danskibsted]

Any new pic from Dan?

Andrea.

Hi Andrea,

I will take some pictures again soon. The plants are now established in their pot, and has just started to grow. I still have 6 or 7 live plants from the original 8 grafts.
Dan

[andrea.a]

Thanks Dan, it is very interesting for me.
Andrea.

[kachan]

Hi all!

My experienсe.
ario on fero

[bouldering]

Dan, can you share your results? I'm very curious how it worked for growth - any differences between grafted/non grafted plants? What do you think about making that with Aztekium ritteri and for example Stetsonia coryne (I don't even know if it can be used as a stock)?

[danskibsted]

Sorry for the late update.
The grafts worked fine, and the ario's started to grow after 1 month. Then I got problems with sciara flies, so I spray all plants with an insectiside. After 14 days all plants started to rot and die:(
I have made some new attempts 1 month ago. So far the results seem good. I will post some pictures when they start to grow.
Dan