Technically, you can use almost any cactus to graft another one onto. The diameter of the core has to be similar, but you can graft a Mammillaria onto a Suguaro. There used to be a Russian guy, Peter Lapshin who had a site and covered grafting with pics of his creations. A search for him might enlighten you, just reading his site is interesting. As I recall, he mostly used Pereskiopsis, but sometimes other genera. I'm not sure why you have trouble with Pereskiopsis. They like a wide pot, lots of water when they have leaves, and dry when they lose the leaves. They do get big fast, and I'm not sure how you grow them in a house. If there is a botanical garden around, maybe you could donate one, then volunteer to prune it for them. I did that with P. grandifolia. They grow fast into a shrub and need frequent pruning to keep them under control. What species are you using? I haven't grafted for a long time, used grandifolia.

Can anyone tell me how to productively grow Pereskiopsis S. ? I rec'vd a few cuttings this time last year to use as grafting stock. The original cuttings have been used to grow more cuttings, which are subsequently rooted and used as graft stock. Also, cuttings from failed grafts have been used to grow more cuttings. Now, a year later, my 'mother' plants are bushes with many branches, grey skin on the lower stems, and production of cuttings is much slower. Mother plants are in 8" round pots, in 50/50 composted topsoil and Perlite. Plants are watered twice weekly, being fed Scott's 20-20-20 at half strength every other watering. I re-potted in December. The next time I harvest cuttings from the oldest plants, the oldest plants will be retired. There's got to be a more productive way of producing cuttings. Any suggestions ?

You might get a better response if you posted this on the C&C Discussion Form. It is much more active.

Dan, I brought out the big guns - a chemical called Cygon 2E. Guaranteed to kill all, including me if I am not careful. :-( I also use Kelthane. (Another chemical I don't want the cat to drink.) The mites that I cultivate do not produce any webbing, hence i swore I did not have any but I sure had the damage. Using a fairly good microscope, I finally saw the little monsters. They have their favourite plants to ruin. Al