Cutting

[Phil traper2]

I asked a lady if I could get a ctrting at the store. I got one, I really dont know what kins a cactus it is, it had a red looking ball on it sort of. Ans little kind of balls growing on it. The lady who wates them pinched of a little red circle thing and gave it to me. Should plant the cutting or but it in water so it would root like Cp cuttings?

--Phil

 

[Tim]

No, you'll kill it. Get some soil and put it in, water once, then wait till it is almost dry before watering again.

 

[larry]

Sounds like your little red ball came from those grafted novelty cactus. Big red ball grafted on top of a plain looking green stem? If that's what you got, your little red ball probably won't grow. I believe they graft the red ball onto the green stem because the red ball cannot photosynthesize. Therefore, the green stem is needed.

 

[Phil traper2]

Oh man. Well for some reason I got a pink ne too and it got so roots little tiny roots. HUH thats weird

 

[timbudtwo]

the red ball is cacti treated with radiation, or so ive heard

 

[goldtrap2690]

well i got a purple ball from my grandpas plants , its growing , rooting and its makeing flowers . no raidation no greenstem , its growing , its like gemmae .

 

[droseradude]

moon cactus. (yes, I know no ones posted here since july)

 

[pond boy]

Well they aren`t iradiated they are just "freeks" that occured in propagation and they cant photosyenthisis,unless you have one of the varietys that have green on their stems as well. The purple ones I believe have some green on them.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Ther original plants were produced from an irradiated seed batch, I remember reading about it. The seed crop produced different chlorophyll free mutant seedlings which had to be immediately grafted onto Cerus stock stems. The colored ball will not survive on its own, so if you have a rooted ball cactus, it is not the chlorophyll free form of Gymnocalicium.

 

[pond boy]

Huh,you learn something new everyday!