cactus hybrids

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:07 am

I crossed some Opuntias yesterday for anyone who wants some seed.

I crossed this cactus with phaeacantha pollen.
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... a49609.jpg>

I crossed this macrhorhiza with the red flowered Opuntia
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 33906b.jpg>

I crossed this phaeacantha with the red flowered Opuntia
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 97acbc.jpg>

Here's a photo of the red flowering hybrid (O. humifusa x phaeacantha 'red')
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... M02222.jpg>
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... M02232.jpg>

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:16 am

Nice work!

I would love some!

Let me know if there is anything you
want from my yard-Tetrapanex-etc and I will go out and dig it up

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:33 am

I love the color, I would love to make a trade if you want?

I have few nice one's.
What ever you just let me know.

Here is a blog of some hybrids I found in my yard.
http://unkowndestination.blogspot.com/2 ... owers.html

And here is a nice Opuntia someone gave me.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:59 am

Yikes! Tim I may want some seed, but am also running out of room! I crossed some basilaris v. aurea (O. aurea) with a hardy phaeacantha that I have, and also made some other hybrids, none as interesting as that. I'm still waiting for the Clyindropuntia to bloom so I an try some hybrids on those!

Love the cactus hyrbids, we really need to get some of those less hardy giant plants crossed onto smaller hardy ones. I'm planning to use macrorhiza and humifusa with some pollen I collected in Cali (basilaris v. basilaris, robusta...) to see if I can't get some seed set.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:43 am

Paul,
That should make some interesting hybrids.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:01 pm

Hi Aaron,

that pinky-purple hybrid cactus flower is great. It sure seems to have at least polyacantha genes in it. Not sure what else. That's why I love hybrids so much....you never know what you'll end up with.

Hi Paul,

it would be very cool to hybridize a big engelmannii type with a humifusa type. The engelmanii types bloom much later than the hardy humifusa types. Blooms are much less frequent on the engelmaniis too. I should try to store humifusa pollen.......and move my engelmanii too since my southern Mag is starting to shade it too much.........probably no blooms this season. Perhaps I should cut down the Mag?

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:18 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:Hi Aaron,

that pinky-purple hybrid cactus flower is great. It sure seems to have at least polyacantha genes in it. Not sure what else. That's why I love hybrids so much....you never know what you'll end up with.

The pink/purple one in the above pics as far as I know is all polyacantha, but in the link are two O. macrocentra/polycantha hybrids. When I first spotted them in my garden I was happy to see two O. macrocentra seedlings, but as they grew bigger that was when I could tell the had been crossed.

Only time will tell how the will be in form, they sprouted last year.

PS they seem to take the most from the donor pollen. Does this sound right to you.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:47 am

YES cut down the Magnolia!

I had grown a bunch of engelmanii seedlings with that cross (and fragilis and macrorhiza) in mind. The seedlings persisted for ~ 3 years but have all now died out. Damn.

engelmanii x a hardy phaeacantha would also be a good cross.

Interesting about the crosses Aaron, wonder if the pollen parent form can be exploited to expediate the growth form I am looking for? If only Opuntia fragilis was useful as a maternal parent. Damn. Any blooms on you chloroticta this year?

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:53 am

Hi Aaron & Paul,

in the O. humifusa x phaeacantha 'red' hybrid cross I did back in 2002? This was the humifusa pad:

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... ellow2.jpg>

The O. phaeacantha 'red' was this plant:

<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... 02_jun.jpg>
you can see I marked one of these fruits....
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... _sept7.jpg>

The hybrid looks like this:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... M02222.jpg>

The pads of the hybrid are intermediate.....kinda like macrorhiza! Hmmmmmmm.
The pollen donor gave the flower color. But the lack of spines came from humifusa. It's difficult to corrolate since I don't have many to compare.

My memory is so bad too.......I think the humifusa was the seed producer.......I'll have to check my old records to see who was the pollen donor.....perhaps humifusa was the pollen donor....then the flower was from the mother and humifusa cancelled out the long spines.....either way it's still cool to see the intermediate traits.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 11:38 am

Paul Ont wrote:Any blooms on you chloroticta this year?

I only have one seedling chlorotic, but I can see if my friend still has his big plant or pads left (it fell over I think?)

I started 2 seedlings last winter, but one I did not water enough and the othe something eat half of it and it is very small, maybe a 1/4 inch high. I so hope it makes it because my guess is it will be a hybrid and should be a better hardy sp.

Only time will tell (if I can keep it alive).

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:44 pm

Hi Aaron,

those O. chlorotic seeds you sent never germed under the same conditions as other Opuntia seeds........not sure why since Opuntia grow like weeds here. I still have the container out in my garden hoping one will germ........with all this rain perhaps it will happen soon!

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:48 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:Hi Aaron,

those O. chlorotic seeds you sent never germed under the same conditions as other Opuntia seeds........not sure why since Opuntia grow like weeds here. I still have the container out in my garden hoping one will germ........with all this rain perhaps it will happen soon!

They are not easy starters, kind of like cholla (hard to start)! I put the seed on the surface and kept them moist by a window, I had a few germ but they dry out very easy. So by late spring I only had two left and now one.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:52 pm

Hey Tim,
I took some pollen off a O. basilaris and crossed it with a polyacantha as soon as I did the flower started to cose a little.
Just have to wait and see.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Tue Jun 26, 2012 6:52 pm

A flower closing up fast is a great sign that the pollen 'took'. I always look for that in the Yucca hybrid crosses I do. If the Yucca flower opens up fully the 2nd night I know the cross was not successful.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:44 am

It may not have worked, the flower was open again.

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:05 pm

Tim, that O. humifusa x phaeacantha hybrid looks awesome! Is it a little more moisture-tolerant than a regular O. phaeacantha?

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:17 am

Hi Cameron,

that hybrid cactus has been growing (from seed) since 2002 or 2003. No issues yet. It will have loads of seed.....I can send you some in September.

Hi Aaron,

if you collect the hybrid seed and grow it out you'll know if it's a 'real' hybrid in 3 to 4 years! LOL

Cactus hybridizing is not a fast sport.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 9:30 am

TimMAz6 wrote: Hi Aaron,

if you collect the hybrid seed and grow it out you'll know if it's a 'real' hybrid in 3 to 4 years! LOL

Cactus hybridizing is not a fast sport.

So true.

Hey I'm having a hard time to get my yuccas pollenated, how far do push the toothpick in and how far do put the pollen in?

PS thanks for all the pollen.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:15 am

hey guys- Just noticed a lot of moths on both of my blooming Yucca (recurvfolia x filata and filamentosa)... Must be the same moth species that pollinates the recurv and filamentosa!

Will try hybridizing this pm. Wish me luck!

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 11:03 am

Can you get a close-up photo of the moths Paul?
It'd be good to see.

Mine aren't anywhere near bloom yet.

Barb

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:45 pm

Hi Aaron

Push the pollen into the opening as far as it will go without using too much force. Some species push in further than other species. It appears most east coast Yuccas won't form seed pods on the flowers which open first.......not sure why.

Hi Paul

Good luck hybridizing! Your results get better by killing more beetles! LOL. and pollenate before 7am or after 8 pm. PS, pollen was mailed out.....you should have real soon.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:20 am

Tim- Excellent! I hope it arrives soon so I can use it this season. Crossed the recurv x filata with pallida (Frank ON pollen) and rostrata. I then crossed pallida on filamentosa and recurv x filata on filamentosa... The pollinated flowers really lend themselves to the surgical tape, you just push the pollen in then tape over the end! Hope some of them take. Do you ever take the petals off the flowers when pollinating? We do this when crossing Rhodies, so I did the same with Yucca.

Also pollinated macrorhiza with SW pollen slurry (all my gelatin capsules burst so the pollen all mixed together, pollen was from basilaris v. basilaris, chloroticta, and robusta) as well as C. whipplei x pollen slurry (it had bigelovii and echinocarpa pollen)... Not sure what to expect.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:27 am

Hi Paul,

keep us updated on your Yucca hybrid attempts. You have some great crosses......hope they take. I never tried taking the petals off.....let me know how this technique works for you. My biggest problem is the beetles! I hope you have less beetles than me. I examine every flower I attempt to pollenate for 'holes' in the petals. If I see 'holes' I don't pollenate since the flower was impregnated with the beetle larvae.

Yucca moth from this morning:
<img src=http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/ ... c3732d.jpg>