Lophophora's Peyote

lophophora.ca · October 9, 2021, 4:55am

I’m not here to question your intentions, but it depends on what you want.

You can pick up Trichocereus cacti (I think they are named Echinopsis now, but I’m not a botanist) at a local garden centre, they’re common enough an inquiry is not going to elicit any questionable stares or suspicion. Shipping should not pose any problems either but depending on your locality you might have to deal with phytosanitary certification or lose them to customs.

Trichocereus are a pain to keep and grow, Peruvian torch especially as they seem to have double the density of spines. I say this having grown many of them from seed.

Do you enjoy donning leather gloves and having to roll your plants in multiple sheets of newsprint for handling during transplants or grafts? Do you like manouvering top-heavy, spike laden, tipping-prone plants in the garden every time you want to water or observe your plants? Do you enjoy struggling with canopy and light heights to avoid etoliation and ensure even lighting in your garden area?

Are you looking for grafting stock? Buy a blue myrtle (Myrtillocactus Geometrizans). They are prettier, easier to graft, and have minimal spines. Mature specimens have only a small single black spine and can be comfortably handled without special precaution.

For those less interested in horticulture some vendors sell sacks of pre-ground cactus powder, undoubtedly chock full of ground up cactus spines along with anything else that might grace a clandestine enthogen processing facility. It would be more prudent to buy a blender on the way home from a garden centre.

As for vendors I cannot provide any specific recommendation. The prices I’ve seen from most cactus peddlers are enough to make me sick. These cacti are endangered and somebody wants to charge $300 for a 1" cactus, along with the exact geographic coordinates from which the wild specimen was poached? Speaking of course about peyote, as columnar cacti can be easily obtained from greenhouses which are not morally bankrupt.

There are legitimate greenhouses that do deal in seeds, but given the legality of peyote you need to look outside of North America. Pretty sure the dutch are cool with it.

Seems like just yesterday that I got started buying 10 seeds for $30 with a personal cheque through the mail.

ElMasSabroso · October 9, 2021, 5:28am

Love this thread. Thank you for sharing!
Would love to get ahold of some seeds. I was given a button once and successfully grafted it to a T. bridgesii but my Rottweiler pup ate it.
He turned into an epic dog, so no regrets😁

Trowertripper · October 9, 2021, 5:06pm

I have a couple of “san pedro” that were sent to me…not sure if they are the real thing…I have them on the front porch and move them to the green house in fall and back to the porch in spring…its no big deal. I just want o.get the real thing since no one is able to tell.me what these are…

Trowertripper · October 9, 2021, 5:43pm

Trowertripper · October 9, 2021, 5:44pm

lophophora.ca · October 9, 2021, 5:48pm

I must apologize, I can’t offer any help on this front. You might be able to find the answers you are looking for here:

There are only two columnar cacti in my collection, and they are on thin ice as it is. As you may have guessed I am more of a one-trick pony- Let’s just say I have a singular focus.

Trowertripper · October 9, 2021, 5:52pm

ElMasSabroso · October 9, 2021, 5:57pm

Those look like legit San Pedro to me. I’m not a botanist but I’ve been growing them for 20 yrs and have a many varieties. Here are a couple of their flowers. Apologies if this distracts from the thread I’ll happily delete🙏🏼image|375x500

lophophora.ca · October 9, 2021, 6:28pm

This is one of my very first peyotes. Something about their squat, rounded appearance has always appealed to me. I will ask you now to excuse the image quality, at the time this image was taken 640x480 images were the pinnacle of cellphone camera technology- at least as far as I could afford.

Whether it be that I loved this cacti too much, not enough, or just by chance, this little guy started to show signs of rot under one of the lower areoles. I was devestated, but determined. Don’t leave now, there’s a happy ending. This cactus would live.

I felt like Leonid Rogozov without a moment to spare, and it was straight to the operating room. Although I didn’t perform my own appendectomy, but my shaky hands did manage to successfully graft scion to root stock. This was my very first graft.

Though not the prettiest graft, it healed quickly and the elastic bands came off. Both scion and root stock pulled through and my efforts were rewarded only two months later with my first glimpse of a peyote in bloom.

You may recognize this cactus from a picture earlier on in this thead, though it is somewhat less recognizable today.

Old lumpy lives (I would also recognize the name Eileen, as this thing has never stood straight in any pot). Over the years the tufts grew into majestic locks, the ribs more pronounced. Pups have emerged, many of which were removed and rooted.

The time approaches when root stock and scion will be separated, and this little peyote once again sets root. For the time being, enjoy.

Trowertripper · October 9, 2021, 6:32pm

0h how.cool…can I .pm you with questions?

lophophora.ca · October 25, 2021, 4:50am

Have you ever seen such a sight as this?

You have!? Oh, well I guess you’ve seen it all then… No wait, don’t go- I’ll try harder.

How about one of these? Look at those ribs so neatly divided, the areoles so precisely arranged. Surely this can’t be a peyote.

… But it is, I’m certain. Planted it myself.

Reiterating on my long winded rant on taxinomy, phenotypes, and identification of cacti, this specimen makes a beautiful example. Turns out identifying cacti is tricky business. The uniform appearance of the ribs and areoles makes this cactus look as any number of ‘false peyotes’.

Looks can be deceiving. Would you believe these cacti were brothers?

Like peas in a pod. Some cacti grow into such shapes, and some appear to grow out of such shapes. Some cacti will even develop an exotic look after grafting, appearing as a whole new plant.

I see a lot of emphasis on location information in cacti collections, especially in cacti collections that are for sale. I think these rigid definitions have biased perception of taxinomy and phenotypes. I think this because it was a mindset I battled with myself at one point.

It’s amazing to see what kind of variations one can find from a single seed pod, and even more amazing how long it takes to discover these untold wonders.

SaintAliasKnife · October 26, 2021, 1:34am

this is a beautiful thread. loved the flowering pictures. could you recommend a primer on how to?

lophophora.ca · October 26, 2021, 1:41am

Come on, don’t leave us hanging like that!

If you mean growing cacti from seed, I would probably just be reiterating myself.

Basically you follow those instructions for getting started, then wait 3-5 years for the fun part to begin.

If there are any specific techniques I can elaborate upon I am happy to tell you all that I know- won’t even take long, I swear!

SaintAliasKnife · October 26, 2021, 1:47am

yep, I read that post. what kind of dirt and how on earth do I find seeds?

ShiskaberrySavior · October 26, 2021, 1:48am

That’s my question too lol

lophophora.ca · October 26, 2021, 2:50am

I do not hold a high opinion of most vendors:

I’m not a vendor myself, just a private enthusiast.

As for soil, here’s some I have on the shelf.

Says “professional” right on the bag, hope this qualifies me as a professional. You can do wonders with hardware store cactus soil- just not the miracle grow kind.

I’m still trying to concoct my own signature recipe. The best soil mixes I’ve been reading about are much like the average living soil recipes for weed, same amendments and all. Don’t want to reproduce or take credit for anybody’s work but you can look here for some actual professional advice.

Oldtimerunderground · October 26, 2021, 3:28am

I would’ve never guessed. Pretty crazy variation between them.

When your kid grows up I bet it’s gonna trip him out when you tell him some of the Peyote are older than he is

SaintAliasKnife · October 26, 2021, 1:38pm

thank you very much for the rundown. seems to me the safest peyote making process was would be to purchase some seeds online then let them run a few years.

I’ll search for them.

lophophora.ca · November 5, 2021, 5:16pm

I love the soft green of new growth that radiates from between the ribs of a cactus. Perhaps you remember this cactus from the very first post in this thread. It has only been fifty seven days for this once neglected cacti, though still neglected, to show improvement and growth. The ribs are no longer deflated looking, instead looking rich and full like the cheeks of a cherub. Colour has returned as well, no longer looking olive drab, but a lush green wih a subtle purple blush, as the blush of a common harlot.

But that’s not all. Have you ever seen a cactus so fluffy as this? I have before, but only once, and even less frequently in bloom.

This cactus is another struggle in taxinomy. Obfuscated by these gorgeous locks is a cactus, no doubt about it. What distinguishes this cactus from the collection is not the tufts, but the highly defined geographic ribs beneath the soft corona. With each blossom comes the self-pollenation test. Like all others before it, I will tickle this cactus with a paintbrush until I see results.