My rootstock is rotting and I was wondering if I can propagate or graft my pups onto any kind of cactus or if it has to be on one specific kind? I really want my plant to continue growing, but I don't know how to save it. Someone help me please.
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What you're asking about is called 'grafting' and yes, it can be done but it has a low percentage of being successful.
Some cacti will graft to other types while others just shrivel up and die - at least that has been my experience.
A lot depends on how healthy the pups are and if they have been removed from the mother plant properly.
I would suggest you read about propagating your pups before you decide on another method as this will save the exact same plant that is dying.
There are several steps that many people do not know about when propagating cactus and tend to have a lot of failures.
Information from the Cactus Society:
" Offsets/pups are easy and fast as long as you take clean cuts and allow the offsets to callous before rooting."
Pups should be cut on an angle so they will dry properly or if cut or laid out incorrectly the cut could rot and pup would have to be thrown away.
You must allow the cut end to callus fully before rooting. This may take a few weeks or one month, depending on the conditions in your home. You will know that the offset is ready for rooting when the cut end is dry, hardened, slightly shriveled, and whitish."
If there is any part of the parent plant on the offset/pup, be sure to cut it off. Otherwise, it will start to rot, and that may affect your pup severely.
cactusway.com/
www.youtube.com/
If you're still set on trying to graft your pups to a different type of cactus then you can read about how to do this or watch a YouTube video as the instructions are lengthy and must be followed to the letter or it will be a complete waste of time.
www.sublimesucculents.com/
www.youtube.com/
Please be sure your cactus pups are planted in the correct type of container and soil and not the soil from the pot that has the original plant. It must have excellent drainage so prepare or buy the best and water only when needed.
There are times when you may be busy and find a pup that you just refuse to throw away and you just lay it on top of the soil with the mother plant. Sometimes one of these will just take root and grow but you cannot count on this being successful.
There are a lot of good videos on this. However, and I will defer to cybergrannie--who I hope answers this because she is a cacti guru--there are some cacti where you can't graft a graft (meaning, and I hope I am saying this right, sometimes the pups are grafts and you can't regraft).
If you show a photo, that might help.
Then we can find you specific YouTube videos if it is one that can be propagated!
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