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#1
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Red cactus
Complete gardening newbie here.
Several months ago I bought a small cactus plant from my local garden center here in Yorktown, VA. It has 5 cactus. Or at least 4 cactus and 1 other kind of plant. On top of a light green stalk was a bright red cactus... and it has now gone all brown. The stalk doesn't feel alive to the touch, either, and looks kind of dessicated. I don't actually remember what the plant thing looked like, just that it had nice purple leaves, which are now all crumpled and defunct as well. My question is have these things actually died? (The other three cactus in the pot still look nice and green and alive). Or have they gone dormant. When I first noticed the red one had lost its color a few weeks ago, I tried to water it...didn''t help. Prior to that I'd never watered the pot at all. Ihttp://www.geocities.com/nocturne_cvs/ExRedCActus.JPG is a photo of it. The cactus in the middle is the ex-red cactus. Any help appreciated. |
#2
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Red cactus
"Every time" wrote in message news:d90243d3-de52-412b-b151- Several months ago I bought a small cactus plant from my local garden center ......snip........ Prior to that I'd never watered the pot at all. I think you can safely call the red (grafted) one dead. Cactus plants survive on very little water, but they don't survive on no water. http://www.cactuscollection.com/info/cacti/grafted.html -- Toni Hills of Kentucky USDA Zone 6b http://www.cearbhaill.com |
#3
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Red cactus
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:06:35 -0700 (PDT), Every time
wrote: Complete gardening newbie here. Several months ago I bought a small cactus plant from my local garden center here in Yorktown, VA. It has 5 cactus. Or at least 4 cactus and 1 other kind of plant. On top of a light green stalk was a bright red cactus... and it has now gone all brown. The stalk doesn't feel alive to the touch, either, and looks kind of dessicated. I don't actually remember what the plant thing looked like, just that it had nice purple leaves, which are now all crumpled and defunct as well. My question is have these things actually died? (The other three cactus in the pot still look nice and green and alive). Or have they gone dormant. When I first noticed the red one had lost its color a few weeks ago, I tried to water it...didn''t help. Prior to that I'd never watered the pot at all. Ihttp://www.geocities.com/nocturne_cvs/ExRedCActus.JPG is a photo of it. The cactus in the middle is the ex-red cactus. Any help appreciated. Maybe. Make sure it gets some sun each day and water it once a month, but no water during the rest period. Make sure it has fast drainage and dries out in a day or two after watering. Rot kills a lot of cactus plants, and kills quickly. With no sun or bright light, back off the watering. Clay pots are much better than plastic pots with cactus and succulents. Perhaps the grafted center plant was already in trouble when you bought it. Use cactus fertilizer cautiously, and only for healthy growing cacti. |
#4
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Red cactus
On 10/24/2008 8:06 PM, Every time wrote:
Complete gardening newbie here. Several months ago I bought a small cactus plant from my local garden center here in Yorktown, VA. It has 5 cactus. Or at least 4 cactus and 1 other kind of plant. On top of a light green stalk was a bright red cactus... and it has now gone all brown. The stalk doesn't feel alive to the touch, either, and looks kind of dessicated. I don't actually remember what the plant thing looked like, just that it had nice purple leaves, which are now all crumpled and defunct as well. My question is have these things actually died? (The other three cactus in the pot still look nice and green and alive). Or have they gone dormant. When I first noticed the red one had lost its color a few weeks ago, I tried to water it...didn''t help. Prior to that I'd never watered the pot at all. Ihttp://www.geocities.com/nocturne_cvs/ExRedCActus.JPG is a photo of it. The cactus in the middle is the ex-red cactus. Any help appreciated. Nurseries often sell plants contrived by grafting a colorful cactus on top of a plain cactus. Such grafts often do not survive very long. In any case, they are artificial freaks. Made-up pots with cactus and other plants are also common. Too often, the combination is not compatible. Sooner or later (more likely sooner), some of the plants will die. Either the cactus dies from too much water, or the other plants die from too little water. If you really want to grow cactus, try my do-it-yourself potting mix at http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html. Note the proportions indicated for cactus. The key is that this mix will give the excellent drainage required by cactus even if you over-water, but it will still supply moisture if you forget to water. I've had excellent results with this mix for growing ephiphyllum (a cactus). I also did well with Christmas cactus until until the Great Freeze of '07 killed it. -- David E. Ross Climate: California Mediterranean Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19) Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/ |
#5
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Red cactus
The bright red and bright yellow, orange, black, white, variegated,
striped or blotched barrel cacti (most commonly Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) have no chlorophyll production of their own and HAVE to be grafted onto a green cactus to live parasitically. The host is usuall Hylocereus trigonus. The variegated (such as the streaked multicolored 'Hibotan Nishiki') and the black cultivars do produce some of their own chlorophyll and can be babied to survive without a host, but it's harder. For variegated cultivars, the more green in the mix the more likely they are to survive without a host cacti, whereas the ones with almost no green streaking will be hardest to grow separate from a host; they all grow better as grafts. There's a "half and half" cultivar (of Obregonia denegrii) completely green on one side, completely yellow on the other, and it seems to grow pretty "evenly" as the green side disperses chlorophyl to the entire barrel. Such as these are usually not really growing on their own roots but are root-grafts onto a sturdier cacti so as not to be so delicate, yet with no host plant above the roots. Virtually all these cultivars remain pretty small. The ones that grow slowest tend to become the hardiest, and those which have a sudden growth spurt or produce lots of baby barrels around the sides too quickly do less well. Newly obtained chlorophyl-free grafted cacti can initially be delicate compared to a cactus that feeds itself with sunlight, and it's essential that the green cactus under it never end up in shade as it has to feed itself and the colorful graft. Some production growers attempt to minimalize the size of the host so that the cactus almost looks like it has no host, but these are more apt to have the chlorophyl-provider become overshadowed in time, and the graft will thrive until its host is no longer getting sunlight. When they survive, the red or yellow or other colorful top will outgrow its host, and produce many little barrels around its own side. If the host plant remains TOO stunted it may be necessary to remove some of the baby barrels from the graftee, which can each be grafted to the top of another cactus. The grafting process can be VERY effective and result in swifter growth for even some regular green cacti, tiny dwarf varieties that don't do well in captivity on their own roots will grow larger, faster, and healthier atop a host cactus. But they are also often sent too quickly to market and haven't been hardened off after spending their lives in ideal conditions for mass production, so can take all ones skill in not overwatering but not letting them shrivel and fade. But they'll have been growing atop their host since they were seedlings and by the time they're a size to send to market, they've definitely "taken" and can eventually be as hardy as the hardiest cacti. The variegated and black and even occasionally the fully red grafts are capable of blooming, but that's never certain. -paghat the ratgirl In article , "David E. Ross" wrote: On 10/24/2008 8:06 PM, Every time wrote: Complete gardening newbie here. Several months ago I bought a small cactus plant from my local garden center here in Yorktown, VA. It has 5 cactus. Or at least 4 cactus and 1 other kind of plant. On top of a light green stalk was a bright red cactus... and it has now gone all brown. The stalk doesn't feel alive to the touch, either, and looks kind of dessicated. I don't actually remember what the plant thing looked like, just that it had nice purple leaves, which are now all crumpled and defunct as well. My question is have these things actually died? (The other three cactus in the pot still look nice and green and alive). Or have they gone dormant. When I first noticed the red one had lost its color a few weeks ago, I tried to water it...didn''t help. Prior to that I'd never watered the pot at all. Ihttp://www.geocities.com/nocturne_cvs/ExRedCActus.JPG is a photo of it. The cactus in the middle is the ex-red cactus. Any help appreciated. Nurseries often sell plants contrived by grafting a colorful cactus on top of a plain cactus. Such grafts often do not survive very long. In any case, they are artificial freaks. Made-up pots with cactus and other plants are also common. Too often, the combination is not compatible. Sooner or later (more likely sooner), some of the plants will die. Either the cactus dies from too much water, or the other plants die from too little water. If you really want to grow cactus, try my do-it-yourself potting mix at http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html. Note the proportions indicated for cactus. The key is that this mix will give the excellent drainage required by cactus even if you over-water, but it will still supply moisture if you forget to water. I've had excellent results with this mix for growing ephiphyllum (a cactus). I also did well with Christmas cactus until until the Great Freeze of '07 killed it. -- visit my temperate gardening website: http://www.paghat.com visit my film reviews website: http://www.weirdwildrealm.com |
#6
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Red cactus
Thanks, both, for the comments and suggestions.
I'll try to rescuscitate it... But on theother hand it does look kind of cool as it is now... |
#7
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Red cactus
"paghat" wrote in message ... The bright red and bright yellow, orange, black, white, variegated, striped or blotched barrel cacti (most commonly Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) have no chlorophyll production of their own and HAVE to be grafted onto a green cactus to live parasitically. The host is usuall Hylocereus trigonus. That's very interesting. I see how such a plant can be propagated but how did it originate? CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) say that: "The first known colour mutant of a cactus was found in 1941 in Japan. It was a red coloured seedling plant of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii without chlorophyll (the pigment that gives the green colour to plants). It was kept alive by grafting, as it would not have been able to survive otherwise." This sounds strange. How did it even get to be a seedling? Was it saved while still growing on the stored energy of the seed? I don't know much about cactus but I would think you would have to be dead lucky. Perhaps it wasn't a seedling but a bud sport and somebody spotted it and started grafting. David |
#8
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Red cactus
In article , "David Hare-Scott"
wrote: "paghat" wrote in message ... The bright red and bright yellow, orange, black, white, variegated, striped or blotched barrel cacti (most commonly Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) have no chlorophyll production of their own and HAVE to be grafted onto a green cactus to live parasitically. The host is usuall Hylocereus trigonus. That's very interesting. I see how such a plant can be propagated but how did it originate? CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) say that: "The first known colour mutant of a cactus was found in 1941 in Japan. White ones appeared from a comercial grower in 1940, pink or yellowish red in 1941, red ('Hibotan') in 1948, and a bright variegated red ('Hibotan Nishiki') appeared not from a seedling but an offset of one of the first 'Hibotans.' All the others were found among seedlings, all from the same Japanese grower who dominated the market, Eiji Watanabe, who had first noticed variegated seedlings in 1938 and began working with them immediately. The very oldest variegated lineage still exists, it's 'Unjo Nishiki,' "streaked colors atop clouds," and it can grow without grafting at all though it should be grafted. The history wasn't written down for a couple decades and could be iffy. There was a lot of hybridizing going on which Watanabe didn't record for posterity or intentionally kept to himself. It was a red coloured seedling plant of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii without chlorophyll (the pigment that gives the green colour to plants). It was kept alive by grafting, as it would not have been able to survive otherwise." This sounds strange. How did it even get to be a seedling? Was it saved while still growing on the stored energy of the seed? I don't know much about cactus but I would think you would have to be dead lucky. Perhaps it wasn't a seedling but a bud sport and somebody spotted it and started grafting. David As seedlings they get all their energy from the seed itself and don't need photosynthesis for a bout four weeks. In the early '50s, it was usually four-week seedlings that were grafted, carefully chosen because from seeds you don't always get a cactus like the parent. Amateur growers do more with tiny offsets, but more advanced amateurs even do cross-breeding regimens hoping for a dream-discovery among seedlings. Commercially today they're mostly cloned by tissue-culturing, as it's hard to get good blooms hence seeds from the mutants, and tissue culturing results in thousands and thousands of plants of predictable appearance. Even the offsets aren't predictable for color (I saw a 'Hibotan' with little baby yellow barrels attached), so tissue cultured specimens are nearly always what you see in stores now. -paghat the ratgirl -- visit my temperate gardening website: http://www.paghat.com visit my film reviews website: http://www.weirdwildrealm.com |
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