I'm pretty sure they grow much faster on a graft. The top cactus doesn't have to waste energy on growing and keeping roots. All energy goes to growth of the actual cactus.

A person can grow more unstable type plants too. I watched some guy on YouTube graft a cactus seed. It wasn't like he just stuck a seed to a freshly cut cactus. If it were only that simple;). He had to carefully cut the seed coat off and graft the tiny almost non existent embryo/endosperm. That's crazy!

I totally agree with you I'm not into grafted plants either. Some are nice;). Crenda, has a beautiful grafted Euphorbia. It's so beautiful I don't even notice the graft. There was a grafted Opuntia clavarioides I almost bought at a show, but I just could not get pass the bottom graft. Tbh it just bugged me;).

Ychol1, I believe I spelt their name right. Grafted an areole of one his rotting cactus so he could save his cactus. I was amazed on how fast that thing grew in just months! If it was a rooted cactus there would be no way a cactus would grow that fast. This would be something I would be interested in doing. If one of my fav cactus rots I may try it out;).

I do remember the areole graft post. That was absolutely awesome of him. Can a green cactus stay grafted indefinitely? Can I slice the top off and root it like I would with a normal cactus? The reason I was attracted to the cactus was because of the number of pups it had which got greedy plant hoarder in me interested in it. I was hoping to propagate it.

I'm not sure if they can stay grafted forever. I've never owned a grafted cactus. Besides the good ol' Moon cactus, which got my first one when I was like 15.

I can imagine the more cactus involved the more problems that could occur, but that's just my guess I have no clue if they can survive decades;).

I don't see why the green cactus that are grafted on top couldn't root on their own. I know the grafted cactus I almost bought can survive without the bottom cactus. I've read they can be separated or cut.

There are a few more reasons green cacti are grafted. Some plants that are very rot prone are grafted to get around that problem. A serious collector will then graft it onto a rootstock that is better suited to the top one than the cheaply available Hylocereus. They can remain grafted indefinitely, or even be re-grafted onto another rootstock. I have a rare Aztekium that was sold grafted to make growing it easier. The more that survive, the better. Some cacti are also grafted because that way they produce more pups. “Milking cows” for the grower. And some people like look of the big clusters of pups that are produced far more quickly than when you grow them on their own roots. I have two clusters of Sulcorebutia. I don’t particularly like the look, but this way I at least got the plants. Next year I will try to root some pups.

You can cut the top off a green graft and treat it as a cutting.

I have a Aztekium ritteri that is grafted. I gather that these are more difficult to grow and grow more slowly when they are on their own root, although my grafted one is not exactly setting any growth speed records :-) The graft on mine is so short that you can barely see it.

So I gave in and went back to the store and decided I want to take the chance on the plant given the inputs I received

@stupidlazydog, thanks for the input. I realize I need to keep it on the stock for now. At least when things go south in the future, I can just cut the top off and root it like I would a regular plant. Thank you guys!

I'm curious now:). What cactus is grafted?

Of the two I pictured, the Aztekium is grafted, but the understock is so short that you can barely see it. You can't see it in the photo.

How long has the Aztekium been sitting in that stock?

I have a Toumeya papyracantha that is grafted - basically outside of habitat this species is very difficult on its own roots.

Chris, I don't know. I got it last spring.

How does being grafted change the care regimen? I'm especially curious about having an arid cactus grafted onto a Hylocereus stock.

Spanish Fly, do you have a picture of your Toumeya? It looks interesting.

Liz

I would think that rootstock needs to be grown under best conditions for that plant. Grafted plant lives off it...not that I know for sure thou!

What a a cute little Noto;). So soft and fuzzy looking:). Without a doubt you could separate these two. That's if you want of course:).

I want separate them eventually as I feel the stock is a ticking time bomb. LOL

gdinieontarioz5 , it is the one on the left. A monospecific genus, it comes from New Mexico and Arizona, where it grows among grasses which it mimics with its papery spines for camouflage. Grown a bit this year since the pic was taken in March.

Thank you. Very nice cluster!