Showing posts with label Trichocereus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trichocereus. Show all posts

Sunday, April 11, 2010

The killing frost – casualties and survivors

First a bit of background information so that you guys won’t believe that I am completely stupid growing Lophophora and the likes in an unheated greenhouse in Denmark: 1) Most of these plants are “surplus”, i.e. I don’t have room for them anywhere else – lately several plants have been bought specifically for the cold house, though. 2) The greenhouse is located at my summerhouse, left mostly desolate throughout winter, making it difficult to keep it reliably heated. 3) Many cactus species tolerate more frost than is generally assumed; I’m curious which. 4) The winters in Denmark have been rather mild lately, inviting experiments like this.

With this in place I’m ready to recount how the harsh winter, that has just released its cold grip of Denmark, helped me separate the wheat from the chaff (a blatant euphemism for “killing off alarmingly large parts of my collection”). Just to give an understanding of the severity of the winter, the plants saw almost constant frost for more than 10 weeks, with temperatures measured as low as -15 C (5 F) in the area where the plants grow.

Lophophora williamsii var. echinata coming out of winter
Lophophora williamsii var. echinata coming out of winter

Let’s start with one of the success stories. My Trans-Pecos peyote plants are doing quite well, approximately one in eight died and the surviving plants are not too marked by the frost. The plants I'm growing are descending from material originally collected in the Pecos River area, Val Verde County, Texas (JJH 8608293). The Trans-Pecos peyote is the northernmost form of Lophophora williamsii and is also known as Lophophora williamsii var. echinata.

Trans-Pecos peyote surviving the frost
Trans-Pecos peyote surviving the frost

My regular (Mexican and south Texan) Lophophora williamsii plants fared much worse, less than one in ten of the larger plants survived the winter.

One of the few surviving Lophophora williamsii var. williamsii
One of the few surviving Lophophora williamsii var. williamsii

This corresponds well with Del Weniger’s observations:

[Lophophora williamsii var. echinata] can also survive the much more severe cold of the Big Bend. I have several times had the smaller form from south Texas [L. williamsii var. williamsii] freeze in San Antonio, while this form [L. williamsii var. echinata] growing in the same bed showed no ill effects.

In the future I'll focus more on the extreme northern forms of peyote, i.e. plants grown from material originating from Shafter, Val Verde, Big Bend and other Trans-Pecos, Texas locations. The Cactus Conservation Institute has an informative page on the differences in traits between Lophophora williamsii var. echinata and var. williamsii.

Frost killed Lophophora williamsii, Starr County, Texas
Frost killed Lophophora williamsii, Starr County, Texas

As mentioned the majority of my large “regular” Lophophora williamsii were killed by the frost. But many medium sized seedling plants actually survived while the larger plants (of the same variety) and yearling seedlings succumbed. As this pattern seems to be rather consistent for plants of the same variety, I guess I can’t write all “regular” Lophophora williamsii casualties off to genetics. My theory is that this “size-conditioned” difference in survival must be related to how well the plants were prepared for the winter, which again may be closely related to the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the plant.

The surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA:V) decreases with size, i.e. a large plant will have less surface per unit of volume than a smaller plant. If we use a half sphere as a model for a globular cactus we get a SA:V of 3/r, where r is the radius. Consequently a large plant will need relatively longer time (per unit of volume) to go flaccid and prepare properly for the winter (as all excess water needs to be evaporated through the surface (the epidermis)). Similarly seedlings are more prone to die of drought as an increased SA:V means increased exposure to the environment in general.

To play it safe the coming growing seasons I'll stop watering my large plants well before I let seedlings go drought dormant in preparation for the winter, and in general start winter preparations earlier than I have used to in the past.

I might consider crossing the surviving mature (non Trans-Pecos) plants and name the cultivar Lophophora williamsii 'Borealis' ;-)

Frost killed Leuchtenbergia principis – outside the rain is weeping
Frost killed Leuchtenbergia principis – outside the rain is weeping

My largest Leuchtenbergia principis is dead (pictured above next to a surviving saguaro) while 3 out of 4 of my smaller Leuchtenbergia principis plants (GL 770; Sierra de la Paila) are looking happy.

Ariocarpus has turned out to be an unconditional coldhouse success. I expected my Ariocarpus fissuratus plants to make it safely through the winter as they originate from locations like Fort Stockton, Texas (JM 122) and Crockett County, Texas (SB 403), but I had doubts about my Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. macdowellii plants (SB 100; El Pilar, Coahuila), and had accepted that I would probably loose my Ariocarpus retusus (SB 310; Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila). Amazingly they all survived the winter in great style almost looking lush and vigorous, like a winter swimmer surfacing with renewed energy after a cold plunge.

Surviving Ariocarpus, Epithelantha, and Leuchtenbergia plants
Surviving Ariocarpus, Epithelantha, and Leuchtenbergia plants

Epithelantha is another seriously cold tolerant genus. My Epithelantha micromeris var. greggii plants (Cuesta la Muralla, Coahuila, Mexico) all made it; one is seriously damaged, though – it looks like the root is dead while the crown looks fine, so I hope to be able to re-root it. The Epithelantha bokei plants (SB 416; Brewster Co, Texas) also look fine, but due to the extremely dense spination it is hard to say for sure if they are completely undamaged. Strangely the cold has taken the hardest toll on my regular Epithelantha micromeris (SB1327; near Belen, New Mexico) – this variety of E. micromeris is from the northernmost known locality of the species so I had expected the plants to cope better with the frost.

Surviving Obregonia denegrii plants
Surviving Obregonia denegrii plants

Last summer I moved a handful of Obregonia denegrii seedlings (VVZ 163; San Vicente, Tamaulipas) to the coldhouse. I really didn’t expect these plants to be cold hardy, but didn’t have room for them anywhere else. Surprisingly approximately two thirds of the plants survived as illustrated in the above picture (the surrounding pots are not empty, each contain a rather large L. williamsii killed by the cold).

Other success stories are Normanbokea valdeziana, Homalocephala texensis, and Mammillaria meiacantha which all made it through the winter without casualties – the Normanbokea plants are even budding. Acharagma roseana is another species that’s shaking off the winter blues and getting ready to bloom – in general Acharagma seems to handle the cold pretty well, even most of my yearling Acharagma aguirreana seedlings survived. Most Escobaria and Echinocereus obviously had minimal problems with the frost.

Frost killed Lophophora williamsii turning to mush
Frost killed Lophophora williamsii turning to mush

As mentioned above the majority of my larger, regular Lophophora williamsii plants were killed by the frost, but the more tender Lophophora species like Lophophora diffusa and L. fricii are completely eradicated – I’ll probably not experiment further with these species in the coldhouse, the exception maybe being montane varieties of Lophophora fricii.

Dead Lophophora diffusa
Dead Lophophora diffusa

Other species that are completely wiped out include Matucana madisoniorum, an unknown Echinopsis hybrid, Ferocactus glucescens (PP 1354), Lithops lesliei (not exactly a cactus, I know ;-), and Harrisia jusbertii. Surprisingly all my Mammillaria grahamii also died – I had expected this species to be more cold hardy.

Most of my saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) also succumbed to the frost – 4 plants look like they might survive, most of them badly damaged, but it is too early to say.

I need to start building a new collection of grafting stock – all Trichocereus plants that I grew in the coldhouse are dead, including Trichocereus pachanoi, T. peruvianus, Trichocereus 'Tom Juul’s Giant', and a Penis Cactus… they are all gone. Even plants that were well prepared for the winter died, so Trichocereus is definitely not as tolerant to frost as I had expected.

Decomposing Trichocereus plants
Decomposing Trichocereus plants

To put the death toll into perspective this is the coldest winter in 14 years in Denmark (followed by March, a month with the most extreme temperature fluctuations in 14 years, which were not very becoming to my struggling plants either). The frost set in just before Christmas and only lifted again in the beginning of March. The lowest temperatures measured in the area were as low as -15 C (5 F).

Outdoor temperature in late January
Outdoor temperature in late January

Once in a while short bursts of thaw set in quickly followed by frost (as indicated by the above graph), making the conditions even harder for the plants.

Outdoor temperature in mid February
Outdoor temperature in mid February

The temperature measurements come from a semi-professional weather station located approximately 1.5 km (~ one mile) from where I grow my plants, so these temperatures are representative for those that my plants where exposed to.

To end on a positive note I expect the frost to have killed off many pests also (including red spider mites). Also, I got an affirmative confirmation that it is actually possible for peyote to survive rather extreme conditions in an unheated greenhouse in Denmark... and I got plenty of room for new plants ;-)

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Cactus art: Double Cactus / Doppelkaktus

I recently got in contact with the German artist Klaus Weber who works with cacti (among other things) in an artistic context.

Double Cactus by Klaus Weber
Double Cactus by Klaus Weber

Klaus would like to exhibit a Double Cactus in New York, i.e. a piece consisting of two San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi) plants grafted together to form one, mirrored plant similar to the ones pictured in this post. Unfortunately Klaus has encountered problems with bringing the plant(s) into the US from Germany and consequently he is looking for a US resident who can help him recreate the grafted cactus piece “in situ”. If you (or anybody you know) are a skilled grafter with the inclination to collaborate with Klaus on creating a Double Cactus in the states, please get in touch with me.

Another Double Cactus
Another Double Cactus

I'm especially infatuated with the last picture – the cacti that sort of grow into each other, reflected in the mirror they sit on, go perfectly with the pillar that transcends smoothly from the “actual” world into the reality behind the looking glass.

The pictures are used with the kind permission of Klaus Weber.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft – 4th anniversary

June 7 my grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa plant could celebrate its 4th anniversary on top of its Trichocereus bridgesii stock. After four years the main head has grown to a width of 6 cm (~2.4'') and the scion is more than 14 cm (>5.5'') wide in total.

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa grafted on Trichocereus stock
Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa grafted on Trichocereus stock

Unfortunately the plant was maimed by spider mites last year. I didn't check my plants for mites before leaving them unattended for several weeks during my summer holiday. When I returned the damage was done and much of the plant ended up severely scarred.

Spider mite damage with new growth
Spider mite damage with new growth

Fortunately the spider mites stayed off most of my other plants, and the scarred epidermis of the grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa will soon be replaced by new growth.

To avoid spider mites I'm now showering my plants as often as the weather and my patience permit ;-) Any remaining mites are sprayed with isopropyl alcohol on sight. So far this treatment has kept my plants safe from mites, but the big test will be the coming hot summer months where the plants are left on their own to a great extent.

Lophophora caespitosa scarred by spider mites
Lophophora caespitosa scarred by spider mites

As always I’m fascinated with the explosive growth induced by the Trichocereus stock – for comparison you can check the posts on the same plant one, two, and three years ago.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft

I’ve been pretty busy lately and completely forgot to post on the 3rd anniversary (June 7) of my Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft. The main head is 5.5 cm (~2.2'') wide and the total width of the scion has increased to approximately 13 cm (~5.1'').

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft
Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft

The Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa scion is grafted on a Trichocereus bridgesii stock and was repotted early this spring (hence the supporting props).

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft - main head
Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft - top view

I’m fascinated by the explosive growth induced by the Trichocereus stock (for comparison you can check the posts on the same plant one and two years ago) but the appearance of the plant tends to become increasingly freakish.

The plant doesn’t bloom with the same vigor as it grows – until now it’s only flowered once.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The power of grafting – 3rd anniversary

Today one of my Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) plants is celebrating its 3rd anniversary as a scion grafted onto a Trichocereus pachanoi stock. The plant has set 4 offshoots and grown to a width of 7.3 cm (~2.9''), 3 of the offshoots are wider than 4 cm (~1.6'') while the smallest just exceeds 2.5 cm (~1'').

Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)
Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)

The plant set 9 flowers last year and has already displayed two flowers this year. The dried fruits resulting from last season’s flowers are clearly visible in the above photo along with the withered remains of the two “fresh” flowers from this week. The photo below was taken a couple of days ago while the flowers were still at their peak.

Two early Lophophora williamsii flowers
Two early Lophophora williamsii flowers

Usually I assist the plant with its self-pollination but this season I will not interfere. I’m doing this to test to which degree the plant will be able to set seed without any help – of course I can’t do anything about the thigmotropic reactions of the stamens or insects taking liberties with the flowers ;-)

A couple of days ago a flower bud also appeared on the largest of the offshoots and it will probably bloom within a week; unfortunately I will not be home to witness it. If all the offshoots begin to flower and the main shoot continues to flower in its usual pace, I’ll soon grow more seeds than I’ll ever need.

Offshoot setting a flower
Offshoot setting a flower

Since last summer the Trichocereus pachanoi stock has also been allowed to grow an offshoot. Usually I remove these from stock plants in order not to starve the scion, but this one appeared almost at soil level and I decided to let it grow and later graft one of last years Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) seedlings onto it (these seedlings are the result of self-pollinating the above plant, i.e. technically they are clones of the mother plant). I had planned to do the graft today, but I’ll leave for the Netherlands tomorrow and decided to postpone doing the graft till I’m back.

Trichocereus pachanoi stock with offshoot
Trichocereus pachanoi stock with offshoot

I was in doubt whether or not to include the last photo but decided to do it anyway. I’m fascinated by the dreamy image of the flowers backlit by the soft light of the setting sun, filtered through the foliage of a sprawling Bowiea volubilis. My girlfriend finds the picture boring and “too green” – but who is she to trust, she’s not into cacti ;-)

Flowers backlit by the setting sun
Flowers backlit by the setting sun

For comparison you can check the posts on the same graft written one and two years ago.

Update - April 28, 2007
Fortunately I made it home from the Netherlands in time to experience the pup unfold its first flower. The flower is not as sturdy as those of the main shoot, but what’s to expect from a novice ;-)

Flowering Lophophora williamsii pup
Flowering Lophophora williamsii pup

Today I also removed the dried fruits of last season’s flowers and freed the seeds.

9 dried Lophophora williamsii fruits
9 dried Lophophora williamsii fruits

Close-up of dried Lophophora williamsii fruit
Close-up of dried Lophophora williamsii fruit

The result of the harvest was approximately 100 seeds.

Home grown Lophophora williamsii seeds
Home grown Lophophora williamsii seeds

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft

Two years ago I grafted a 2 cm (~0.8'') wide Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa cutting on a Trichocereus bridgesii stock. The main head has now grown to a width of 5.5 cm (~2.2'') and the total width of the scion exceeds 10.5 cm (~4.1'') – unfortunately the plant hasn’t flowered yet.

Grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa
Grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa

I’ve given up keeping count of the number of offshoots; the plant is virtually exploding with growth.

Trichocereus bridgesii is an exemplary stock plant; it’s long-lived, fast growing, not offsetting and almost spineless.

Last year I also posted a picture of the – then much smaller – Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft. A photo of the flowering plant can be found in this post.

Friday, April 21, 2006

The power of grafting - IX (full circle)

It’s time to shake off the dust of the prehistoric peyote buttons from the previous post and get started with the new growing season. Two years ago today I grafted a 50some days old Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) seedling onto a (then extravagantly oversized) Trichocereus pachanoi stock.

Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)
Grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx)

The plant has set 3 offshoots and grown to a width of 5.6 cm (~ 2.2'' – excluding the offshoots) and a height of 4.8 cm (~ 1.9''). It’s currently busy increasing the number of ribs from 5 to 8 (or maybe it goes directly for 13 ribs... it’s a bit hard to tell at this stage).

For comparison you can check this photo of the same graft one year ago.

Full circle
The plant flowered 4 times last year – all flowers were self-pollinated. The resulting fruits contained 22 seeds that were sown April 4, but until now only 5 have germinated and out of these only 3 seedlings are thriving. Yet another illustration of why inbreeding should be avoided.

Lophophora seedling grown from self-pollinated seeds
Lophophora seedling grown from self-pollinated seeds

I find it quite amazing that grafting enables you to go full circle from seedling to seedling in two years.

A more detailed account of the plant’s flowering and fruit setting can be had by following the “previous” links.

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Saturday, October 29, 2005

How the Penis Cactus got its name

Yet another slightly off topic and probably not entirely politically correct post, but I couldn’t help noticing the similarity of my monstrose Trichocereus bridgesii (Echinopsis lageniformis) and its more famous namesake ;-)

Penis Cactus / Penis Plant - monstrose Trichocereus bridgesii
Penis Cactus - monstrose Trichocereus bridgesii

According to Uhlig Kakteen the German name for this cultivar is ‘Frauenglück’, IMHO a more poetic description than the English moniker.

Penis Cactus / Penis Plant - monstrose Trichocereus bridgesii - The Full Monty
Penis Plant - The Full Monty

These days I maybe ought to have put a “Warning: Explicit Language” label on a post like this.

Monday, August 22, 2005

The power of grafting - III

My grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) is flowering again (and yet another bud is in the works). Once again I had to self-pollinate the flower since none of my other plants are blooming.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii
Flowering Lophophora williamsii

Growth will tear us apart
The scion is growing so hard you can practically hear the epidermis squeaking. A couple of days ago it gave in to the pressure and burst – maybe triggered by the plant “rearranging itself”, starting to grow more ribs. The scion has grown to a width of 5 cm (~1.97’’), excluding the offshoots.

Bursting Lophophora williamsii.
Bursting Lophophora williamsii

The Echinopsis (Trichocereus) pachanoi stock refuses to give up the fight and is stubbornly growing yet another offshoot.

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Monday, July 25, 2005

The power of grafting - II

In less than one and a half years my grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) has grown from a minute seedling to a mature plant, flowering for the first time. The Lophophora scion is 4.85 cm (~1.9’’) wide and has grown 3 offshoots; the flower is a typical pinkish white with a somewhat darker midstripe, and is 1.8 cm (~0.7’’) wide. None of my other plants are currently blooming so I attempted to self-pollinate the flower.

Flowering Lophophora williamsii graft
Flowering Lophophora williamsii graft

The Echinopsis (Trichocereus) pachanoi stock is striving to get a life of its own – since the previous post I’ve removed two offshoots. Even though it slows the growth of the Lophophora scion down a bit, I let the shoots grow for as long as they don’t intimidate the scion. The removed shoots are rooted and will be used for future grafts.

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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Exploding Lophophora Inevitable

The main head of my grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa is now 4.5 cm (~1.77’’) wide – the total width of the scion is 7.3 cm (~2.87’’). The plant was grafted one year ago as a 2 cm (~0.78’’) wide cutting taken from the plant shown in my profile photo. Unfortunately the mother plant caught rot in the wound and withered during winter. The scion is grafted on a Trichocereus bridgesii (Echinopsis lageniformis) stock.

Grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa
Grafted Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa

Maybe the Andy Warhol/Velvet Underground inspired title is a bit corny – but it seemed fitting for a plant exploding with growth ;-)

Follow this link to see the state of the Lophophora williamsii v. caespitosa graft one year later.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

The power of grafting

One year ago today, I grafted a 50some days old Lophophora williamsii seedling on a well established Trichocereus pachanoi stock. The Lophophora scion has now grown to a height of 3.3 cm (~1.3’’) and a width of 3.2 cm (~1.25’’). The barrel shape is not very becoming to the Lophophora, but hopefully it will flower soon.


Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) - One year old graft

The grafted Lophophora’s siblings (all sowed February 29, 2004) still growing on their own roots are all less than 1 cm (~0.4’’) in both height and width.

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