test tube pereskiopsis ready for grafting/ micro grafting, note the roots.
cacti can be grown hydroponic/aeroponic. any cacti can be grafted to test tube pereskiopsis.
trichocereus works well and is a good way to start cacti grafting. (see trichocereus forestry service)
leaves are optional, i start with leaves, then , when grafted , i remove them.
advantages of test tube cactus..............
water, uses very little , water change weekly is fine, note water level in pic above.
light, density of pereskiopsis and graft means lights can be smaller, a tray of 60 grafts requires only 40 watts CFL and 20 watts LED combo.................
its low water low light, low heat.
now remember rangers its cacti, if a test tube cactus dries out, its not really an issue, its a cactus.
just add water and your fine. ACTUALLY I LET MINE DRY OUT EVERY SO OFTEN AS THEY ACTUALLY SEEM TO LIKE IT!
test tube cacti have alot of advantages, peeps are into alot of hydro systems, test tubes dont need the water treatment facility., the air exchange on tubes is excellent, believe it or not , as directed they dont sour, and there are no insetcts or fungi.
a decent airflow takes care of the rest, i often will 'swirl a rack around mid week on the wekly wate r cycle, but its not needed.
i know its nuts..........
look closely at the pic..........nice green healthy test tube pereskiopsis,
were using a 10-10-10 mix as directed , and mostly distilled water....pereskiopsis are salt tolerant , but know one knows for sure......so distilled water over time beats that.
as for density, we figure the max would be about 288 per sq. ft............144 is more reasonable, that allows for standard grafts to the test tube cacti.............grafts can get up to large marble size or greater in micro graft systems. ( were working on a mind blowing aztekium project )
a 2 sq ft system in racks could do 288 test tube cacti with ease,................
using about 100 watts combo CFL and LED, and about 1 gallon of water A MONTH!
on a ranger / forester scale. one could build upon models where one could generate thousands of test tube cacti in 2 yrs or less from seed.............
cacti clones thrive in test tubes.
now peeps, some words on tubes...........if ya use tubes, build some racks, show some imagination.
get some cheap tongs or giant tweezers to lift tubes from racks to empty the water.
i refill tubes by hand with a large plastic kitchen syringe.
assembly line , once a week its not a time killer...............they will go about 2-3 weeks with water unchanged, slowly drying out, they are still good for weeks if water is added again, so like unless someone had millions, hand water is feasable for hydro cacti.
now review, pereskiopsis grafts are an effective fast way to grow cacti.
test tube pereskiopsis beats most common grafting problems and allows for density of grafts, and more efecient use of water and power.
bugs and fungi and pests are excluded...............
and, of course the speed , your mileage may vary, but it its possible to go seed to golf ball in under 6 months.................seed to marble in 30-40 days is possible.
its fast, outside on larger pereskiopsis , its a little faster................the euros are big on this.
dont underestimate the tubes, under optimum conditions id say they are essentially as fast as outdoors............
ok rangers, fall back , review, for those not into tubes, one can use anything, and i recommend that you look back on the bucket pereskiopsis forests, or use some imagination and build tube like hydro systems................
pereskiopsis forestry and bonsia grafting is a state of mind peeps....
peyotepink , expect more in the new age.........
scroll down and be sure and see the "anne halonium" links to our euro friends..............
