I did not expect this...

13 years ago

Hi -

I apologize for the pic quality (my wife has the good camera...) but I am posting this pic because I never expected this grafted cactus to flower like this. I thought the color of the grafted portion was the whole show!

BTW, what the heck is this cactus anyway? Someone gave it to me a while ago, never tried to ID it. I just abuse it, and it chugs along....

Thanks.

Tom

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Comments (13)

AndrewH
13 years ago
Cool, I didn't know those bloomed. :)

The top part is a Gymnocalycium, aka moon cactus. The bottom part that it's grafted onto is probably a Hylocereus undatus, aka dragon fruit plant.
TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, Andrew. I will try to snap another pic when the flower opens more fully...maybe I will have the better camera back then, too.

I just googled hylocereus...looks like it flowers, too. Can it do that with a moon cactus grafted on top, though?

T
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
13 years ago
T,

It's G. mihilanovichii (or something like that), and the stock could flower, too, though you'd want to grow it on its own if that was your intention.
TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, cactusmcharris...I googled some images of it (I am doing a lot of googling tonight, I guess) and it is very variable in color and form, it seems. Wonder if those are different varieties, or environmentally caused...

T
juliebees2009
13 years ago
thats a new one on me i have one also and never saw it bloom maybe they do if they have some age on them. hummm

folks out there i took one of the little red do lolly thingys on top i knocked it off and i let it dry out and have it in a pot to see if it will grow something recon it will?
what ch think?
j. b's
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
13 years ago
JB,

In a word, no- it has no chlorophyl (that's why it's grafted).
tjicken
13 years ago
G. mihanovichii has yellowish green flowers that do not open fully, this is G. stenopleurum (v. friedrichii).
TT, zone 5b MA
Original Author
13 years ago
It's been a few days now...not sure if these plan on fully opening either...

{{gwi:592023}}
sutremaine
13 years ago
What's the temperature where they are? I have a stenoplerum (?) which will open fully, but not without 40C heat.
AndrewH
13 years ago
Grafts tend to suck a lot of energy, I doubt the Hylocerus will bloom with the Gymnocalycium on there.

Hylocerus can grow BIG, if allowed to. There are some very impressive photos at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: vivapitaya.com
tjicken
13 years ago
The Hylocereus will not flower until it grows much bigger, which means that you must allow an offset to grow as much as it wants. Some people claim that this will be detrimental for the grafted plant, as the stock is supposed to redirect much of the "energy" to the new stems. I am not convinced as I have grafted on individual stems of large, multi-branched epiphytic cacti with very good results.
These "moon cacti" have a reputation for being short-lived, so it is possible that it would die anyway before the Hylocereus reaches flowering size.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
13 years ago
And for anyone who wonders what dried dragon fruit tastes like - in a word, awful (and these were Trader Joe's). However, the fresh ones are quite nice.
mi_co
13 years ago
What a bonus. I've never seen one bloom. ENJOY ! Mike