A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Cactus

Does anyone know what the name of mu catus is. It's one of those ones that has the bottom part green and then it's a bright red ball thing on the top? I've seen a lot of them but I received one for a present, and I want to look up it's care guide but I dunno the name.
Thanks Am

Hello Amber,
I think this may be your cactus
Gymnocalycium graft (moon cactus)
Hope this helps

YES! that's the one...perfect...now to find how to keep my moon shinin...lol. Thanks phoenix

The more light it recieves the better it will retain it's color. Your very welcome. I'll look up some more info for you

Amber,
they grow best with at least 4 hours of direct sun daily,but will bright indirect light is ok too. In winter water just enough to keep plant from shriveling;allow soil to dry thoroughly between waterings from spring thru autumn,watering only when top of soil feels dry to the touch. Fertilize annually each spring with a high phosphorus fertilizer such as 15-30-15,following label instructions;DO NOT fertilize newly potted plants the first year.
To repot:pot in cactus soil or equal parts os sharp and and commercial potting soil,adding 1 tblsp of ground limestone and 1 tblsp of bone meal to each gallon of mix.
Hope this is helpful

THIS CATUS IS CRAZY!! Does anyone else have one? In reading it says I should graft it onto another one soon. How the hell do you do that!! What have I gotten myself into!! lol, nah, I'll be okay.

Well I must say phoenix, you are MOST helpful. That's more info than I got. All I found out is that the top part in grafted on to the bottom part and that I should re-graft sometime...was a little TOO technical...do you know anything about this grafting stuff phoenix? Thanks for finds more info for me...I at least know what window to put it in now...thanks again. AM

Yes I do know a little about grafting.
The best time to do it is in the spring.
There are a few different ways to go about it.
There is the Flat graft,seedling graft,the side graft,the cleft graftand the stab graft.

I think the one you have is the flat graft. I'll try to explain it best I can.
To make a flat graft slice off a healthy scion (top of cactus) of a diameter to match the stock (the piece being grafted on) then bevel the cut end of stock slightly. Remove the top of the stock and bevel the edge downward so stock and scion will stay snugly together.
When both pieces are ready,remove a final thin slice from each part. Press the pieces together with rings carefully matched. (rings liek you see when a tree is cut down) Drape strings weighted with hardware nuts or fishing weights over the top of the grafted pieces. Keep the plant dry and out of direct sun until the parts begin to grow together,then remove the strings.

hope you are able to follow that

To add to the mix - you can think of yourself as having two cacti, because the rootstock is also a living plant. If the top part should ever die (and I hope it doesn't) you can grow the bottom on. The bottom is likely to be a shortly columnar cactus (Stenocereus griseus and Harrisia justbertii are often used). If the top is alive and it sends out shoots from the bottom, cut them off. I read somewhere (I no longer remember where or how much I trusted the source) that the top part is its vivid color due to irradiation or some process we normal gardeners can't reproduce and that it will slowly fade no matter what you do. Good luck. PLEASE let us know how it's doing in a few months time. I've never heard about these in the long run and I'm very interested. Thanks. MEP

Sure Margaret, I definately let you know how it goes. I don't think I'll be grafting for a little bit yet. The reason the one web site said to graft was that the catus it's grafted onto is not a hardy catus, and it would be better to pick a harderier one to ensure the top one lives. OH, and the kind of graft phoenix described IS how mine is grafted... (which is a relief for when I DO go to do it)
When I graft it onto another one, I would like to try to keep the bottom one too, do you think how it's cut at the top will effect it any?

The growth point was taken off so it'll send out a side shoot sometime.