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| (above) these are the ones
for sale to my Google Checkout
customers. You wil be very
pleased! |
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These plants, under greenhouse
conditions
(lots of water & food), can out grow
their own neck support. You can deal with that
by up-potting several times to deeper
containers. That means you bury the
thin neck (no, it will not rot). You can harvest the top to root as
a new plant. The remaining base
(always leave about 12" or more) will
grow offset tips, etc.
However, if you use a large enough
container the roots will develop so the neck can swell to become
thick enough to support itself.
See examples.
This is a seed grown Peruvian torch.
These were germinated in 2006 with seeds purchased
from Peru. My skepticism regarding seed
is not mere paranoia; a thousand so
called "San Pedro" seeds that
are now 3 years old
all have long spines just like Peruvian
Torches.
From this experience, and the
warnings of others, I pay no attention to the
seed seller's claims for
the "exact name". You have to wait years to see what
it becomes; at least 3 to 4 years.
Longer to obtain flowering.
There are readily
identifiable varieties such as San Pedro, Bridgesii,
Peruvianus KK242, Macrogonis, and the standard
Peruvian Torch (like the ones here). Because
there are so many differences in the
cactus collected in various remote
Peruvian valleys I ignore claims for "exact
names".
Actually we are talking about second or third
names; such as Trichocereus Peruvianus
v. [collection site #].
EXAMPLE: Trichocereus Peruvianus v. KK242
(3 names)
The problem with collection site numbers
(such as KK242) is that we have no "second opinion" that
the seed really is what is claimed.
EXAMPLE: When
you breed animals it is common to
document the pedigree of the parents
back 3 generations.
But with cactus you'd want to see a
photo of the parent plant, and be
assured that there was no nearby
cactus that could have cross pollinated
it. Or you'd want to see plants
grown from the seed, etc.
The classic Peruvianus named by the old
farts (and long dead) Britton & Rose in
the 1920s can still be readily
identified because the geographic
location is fixed with
photography of the plant coupled
with actual samples of the spines.
There are dozens of other varieties
found in isolated locations about Peru &
Bolivia.
It is now 90 years later and Karel Knize
claims his KK242 seed is the same
Peruvianus of Britton & Rose. I am not
disputing that but can't prove it unless
I grow seed and see what it becomes.
Again, that takes many years.
Many people have found errors
in KK seed just as I have.
Worst was that KK held up both of my
minimum orders (I was testing him as a
vendor) by wanting more money from
me - writing that "You know I sell
wholesale quantities, too?" But my
orders were a test - I wanted to make
the minimum order to see what his service
was like. The answer - it was dreadful. Slooowww was only the beginning.
The second year I ordered from KK he
must have been angry with me (this gringo
from California). None of that seed
germinated! I think he microwaved it or
some other way sterilized the seed.
Several of you have emailed me to share
similar bad experiences with KK. Maybe
he was OK once, back in the day. But not anymore.
I purchased seed two successive
years from Karel Knize. Each experience
was unpleasant. The second year NOT ONE
SINGLE SEED WOULD GERMINATE out of
7,000.
Karel Knize was tested and
failed. My advice is not to do any
business with him whatsoever. Your
results may vary. |
