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Cancerian's Cacti Propagation Notes |
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Written by Nate
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Tuesday, 22 February 2005 |
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Page 2 of 5
Offers more thoughts on growing conditions:
 Oh, if you have a grow room for MJ, you will find that grafted and rooted peyote will grow VERY rapidly. A friend in Canada took some buttons of mine and I was shocked to see how large they had grown under Mercury Halide lighting. Peyote loves temperatures around 100 degrees F. and do well if watered sparingly. It's tempting to over-water them when you see them plump up, but keep in mind the issue of root-rot. Also, if growth is too accelerated, the interior tissues will grow faster than the cuticle, causing nasty splits that are unsightly and make the cacti more vulnerable to fungal attacks. Grafting and good light are great... just don't get greedy with the new growth.... everything has an optimum limit for growth. I can't stress how important it is to have a well draining soil. Peyote love soil thats more rock than loam.
As far as varieties... YES there are several varieties of Peyote out there.... more than the 2-species system, so popular in America, currently recognizes. The most potent will be Lophophora williamsii and its sub-varietals.
L. diffusa and L. fricii (fricesii) contain almost no mescaline, but are still lovely additions to a sacred garden. I'll get more photo examples up soon.
Touches on grafting and stock
ANYWAYS..... It's true that Myrtillocactus geometrizans is just as good a rootstock as San Pedro. There is little or no exchange of alkaloids between the graftstock and rootstock anyway, so it's really a matter of personal preference. Both rootstocks are resistant to root rot and can handle "wet feet" better than most cacti. Both grow dense, efficient root networks that literally pump water and nutrients into the graftstock. Even though I have had success with Myrtillocactus, I prefer to use San Pedro because I "feel" that the spirit of this plant is more synergistic with the spirit of the Peyote. It's an entirely subjective and arbitrary choice on my part, based on a feeling that I get from my plants. I like the idea of having one medicine plant grafted to another medicine plant... they grow a little faster in my opinion too... it's like the two plants WANT to grow together. Try grafting with both and see what you think.
 "This is a peyote graft that I did a few years back. I used tape to hold it in place and the top cuticle of the young button was torn off when I removed the tape. The peyote eventually healed over and grew to be rather large. I eventually gave it to an Oglala Souix Medicine Man who led a sweat for us last year. Anyhooz, this is why I back my tape when I use it to graft now."
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