Peyote growing: Newby advice please....

[Nanook]

Hey all...
Although im not new to Peyote...Im new to growing and could do with some advice....
I got my first button at about 3cm.......Now i heard that they grow VERY slow......but i half a cm normal for 4 years growth??
(EEk...And ive not even got to the tricky stuff yet!!!)
Do i need to think about different soil/growing medium....or maybe lights, as im in the greyest overcast town in europe (for example...its mid-summer and i havent seen sun in 3 weeks......)

Any basic hints n tips would be much appreciated...
Cheers,
N

[laughingwillow]

Don't sweat the light.  Lw doesn't like much direct sun. While they thrive in the desert, they are usually found growing beneath plants providing shade.  Well drained soil is a must.  And don't water too much. (Although if'n you've managed to keep it alive for a few years, you must be doing something right.)

lw

[Nanook]

cheers...
so that rate of growth is normal??

[jikuhchagi]

yep. Some people wiill graft them to get a much faster growth rate, but if you don't know what you are doing, you risk killing it.

[Nanook]

erm.......

so point me somewhere where i can learn.......??

[Kada]

that is slow for peyote in cultivation.  i think the reason why most people say it is that slow is because they don't have very good light/environment for them, usually because they are (unfortunately) forced to grow indoors.  but 2 cm is doable in a year in better conditions...to a point.

if you want them faster, cut the tap root, this will force more little roots t grow, which allows them to take in more water.  i have not had great luck with commercial fertilizers but the last year have been trying commercial bird poo (supposedly for cacti...?) and they are growing like stink!!!

i use a finish sand base mixed with some grit.  perhaps the size that will go through an 1/8" screen but not a fine mesh, if that makes sense.

for grafting, if your plant is already planted and settled in than grafting is pretty easy.  go buy a grafting stock (the bottom part).  look for an actively growing columnar cacti, i like Myrtillocactus geometrizans personally, and it is very common/cheap!  many other types are usable as well, people here will probably recommend san pedro as well.  with a 3" scion (top of the graft...your peyote) you will want a good sized root stock (bottom).  try and find a stock that is around 12"+ tall and 2" ish thick, if you can.  you can tell they are growing because the top (new growth) will have a different colour than the older growth at the bottom (usually more silvery/bright).

You will need a thin sharp knife, tissue paper, 70%+ alcohol (iso/ethanol are ok, get it at a drug store or something), electrical tape.  

make sure everything is clean.  take some tissue and put some alcohol in it and wipe down your table and knife.  alcohol is nicer than fire sterilization cause it evaporates fast and leaves no residue.   fire is hot and you need to wait for the blade to cool.....then bad things can land on it and its dirty by the time its cool.  my opinion....

but let the alcohol evaporate (5 seconds?) before cutting, it will harm your cactus as well....

start by cutting your grafting stock at a wide place in the NEW growth.  make the cut level/flat.  then bevel the ribs.  meaning on an angle from where the skin starts cut down the ribs 2" or so.  so it appears pointed a little bit but flat of top.   on the top cut another little sliver, a few mm thick, and leave that on top.  this way your cut underneath will not dry out when you are screwing around with the peyote.  drying out is not the best thing.

snow cut your peyote above the ground leaving a few areols on the roots so it can pup again.  make sure you cut it flat.

you will notice on your cacti there is a ring of small dots.  these carry the water/nutrients to the plant.  all plants have these and cacti are easy to see and generally in a circle.  take off that sliver on the root stock and place your freshly cut peyote top onto the root stock.  line up these rings on the 2 cacti, this way the bottom can pass nutrients to the top cactus (very important).  

now take a tissue and fold it up into a square big enough to cover your peyote top.  grab your electrical tape and tape over top of it while putting a little bit of pressure on the cacti (you want them to be firmly pressed together, no air inside).   i put 2 pieces of tape over the top going in different directions, making a plus sign if viewed from above.  now wrap some tape around the cactus stock where the tape from above is.  this will stop it from unsticking or sliding around.  place it somewhere in medium light (i use flouros) and high humidity.  fungus can be a problem so keep up a good air flow.  i keep mine around 70% humidity for one week.  if the cactus tissue appears well healed and dry carefully remove the tape and very slowly acclimate it to outside (i take 1 month to do so).

have fun, it's pretty easy once you understand the principles of it.


happy growing

[JRL]

"Lw doesn't like much direct sun. "

I thought you were talking about yourself in the third person.

[Nanook]

cheers buddy.....

[laughingwillow]

LOL Nope... I'm lw.

lw (as opposed to Lw)

[neonfyr]

yes, don't use regular soil or even cactus bag mix

use sand, grit or other stuff without much organic material that can hold water against the plant and encourage rot.

The same is true of Bridgesii cactus too - they are vulnerable to rot - because they are native to dried regions, like Lophora.

-Matthew-

[Wakinyan]

Don't worry about it. Grafting cacti is about as easy as slapping two pieces of bread together! I will add a few bits of advise though. Do not use electrical tape! It can pull your graft apart if you are fairly new at grafting and you are....
 Instead you can use parafilm or co-ban self adhesive wrap available from your local wal-mart in most instances. I prefer co-ban for larger 4cm scions and up and parafilm for smaller scions myself. Other than that though..don't try to get a perfect match on those circles the first time. Just set the scion on top and slightly off to the side. You'll have it grafted in no time flat without the risk of the electrical tape as the co-ban comes off pretty easy. I still use a small razor though to slowly nick the co-ban free from a few places and take my time as impatience will ruin all but the best grafts. 30-60 days is generally adequate time for the graft to form, but if you want to know for sure....wrap the co-ban with a second wrap of parafilm and when it bursts...the graft is ready to be set free.

[Anonymous]

nice post kada.

[Mescalitto]

I know a lad who has got a Lopho to 7cm in just under 2years!!!, It sounds like bull but its true . He uses lights and keeps the plants growing 12 months a year with no dormancy. This speed of growth does affect the mescaline content as the harder you treat em the more potent they are (A lot like chilli's).
He waters his twice a week as the lights dry the soil out fairly quickly so watering rarely isnt an issue as long as you can provide the heat to dry out the soil quickly. Use of the wrong types of feed can cause splitting of the plants body so dont experiment with feeds you havnt used before (if your not sure then dont bother). Check your plants roots now and again for root mealy bug too. I had them fairly recently and if they go unnoticed the plant will literaly do nothing all year no matter how much you water it as they feed on the new roots. It can be cured with a quick dose of Meth's (Methyl Hydrate) applied to the offending area and it kills em on contact.
 The best growing medium i have found for Lopho's is equal parts of:  Horticultural Grit, Horticultural sand and John Innes number 2 (a loam and peat composite or soil based growing medium)
you can use pearlite as a grit substitute as it aids drainage but it does also hold water too for short periods so carefull.
 I grow these plants in the dimly lit north of england and i water roughly once every 3 - 4 weeks (When not sunny) and every 2 weeks (mid summer) I stop my watering from mid September until mid-late March to give the plants sufficient dormancy. Fertilise with a formulated cactus feed on the first watering and  this will aid flowering later on. I do find tho that the john innes has adequate nutrients to last for the first year at least after potting.
To say that Lopho's dont like too much organic matter isnt 100% correct. After 1 year depot your plant after using the above mix and the roots will be clinging to the largest chunks of organic matter in the soil, once you shake the sandy soil away, all thats left is the organic matter that the roots are clinging too. I know the UK's largest grower of cacti and he uses peat with a bit of grit and garden lime and he grows damn fine Lopho's, Tho my results with peat based potting mediums have been less favourable. I found that compared with the mix listed above the two different mixes had no differing affect on the plant until about 0.5-1cm in size  when the growth of the ones in peat based soil just stopped and the others just kept going from strength to strenght.
At the end of the day you will find which one works best for you , every grower has a different mix. Lopho's are tough and forgiving little plants and as long as they are not in acidic or overly wet conditions they will usually keep going.
                                 Best of luck bud & happy growing.