How to Graft Cactus

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Cactus are an evolutionary miracle - they have survived in an inhospitable world for thousands of years by adapting to their environment. You can make grafted cactus by joining two separate but compatible varieties of cactus plants. [WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF GRAFTING?]

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Graft cactus plants between May and October.

Step2

Choose a cactus as a stock plant (the bottom portion of the graft) and slice off the top with a sharp knife [HOW TO DETERMINE WHERE TO CUT?]. Leave the cactus in the container.

Step3

Slice off a section [HOW BIG?] of the variety to be grafted on top of the stock plant. Gymnocalycium, or ruby ball, is an excellent choice for grafting [OTHER THAN THIS ONE EXAMPLE, HOW TO DETERMINE GRAFT COMPATABILITY? IS IT JUST SIZE, OR ARE THERE OTHER CONSIDERATIONS?]. Ruby ball is bright red/orange and very showy. The top part of the graft is called the scion.

Step4

Join the two pieces together by lining up the two cylindrical parts, the scion and the root stock.

Step5

Match the cambium layers (the vascular system of the plant which is located just under the skin or bark) on at least one side of the graft.

Step6

Hold the graft in place with one hand and place rubber bands around the grafted scion, and across the bottom of the container to support the graft while the cut edges heal.

Step7

Leave the rubber bands in place for at least 24 hours.

Step8

Remove the rubber bands, but be very careful with the grafted cactus until the wounds heal completely, usually in 2 to 3 months.

Tips & Warnings

Be careful not to over-water cactus.
The bottom portion of the plant used for the scion will sprout new plants along the cut edge.
Cactus spines are its leaves, and they contain their own water in a reservoir which is the trunk of the plant.
Handle prickly cactus carefully. One way to handle them is with a collar of newspaper. Wrap a narrow band of folded newspaper around the trunk to lift the plant when out of the container or to transplant.