SWIM has a fairly large cactus cutting which he is planning to consume in the near future. He has placed it in the sun the last few weeks to increase its potency. In that time, it has grown a small extension as seen in the picture below.

SWIM is wondering if this extension would be viable if potted. The part in itself is about 3 cm, which might be a bit small, so he is planning to cut it from its base as shown, wait until it has grown hard and then pot it.

Would this work?

I've potted similar cuttings and they did fine. Just make sure it callouses over completely before you put it in your substrate.

Check the Pron Shots thread if you want to see an example of one of mine. If you look closely in the large white pot (page 5, about half way down) you can see a little guy very much like the one in your picture. It's taken some time to get going, but it's putting on weight pretty quickly now. Still a ways to go though .

-JM

i doubt that small of a cut would grow fast, even if it did make it..


how could the plant possibly produce more alkaloids just setting out in the sun?
is that "coatl" talk, that everyone seems to take as gospel?-

where did this lame roumor spread from?
healthy, well fed cacti contain far more mescaline than under fed cacti!
you might have a higher % of mescaline in a dehydrated cacti, but only cuzz it weighs less
i know lots and lots of serious cacti freaks, none would say a stressed plant is more active!

So if anything, the fresher the better right?

lots of variables, ive seen very fresh new growth be potent, and old 1/2 rotting growth be equally so. if you want more alks than just mesc, fresh is probably best,

but i dunno, more testing(real scientific testing) needs to be done

basically stressing ends up stunting growth, limits biomass--less mass=less mescaline overall

in the average year, a grower treating the cacti well, will have way more mescaline than one treating the cacti poorly.

besides, they are special plants and deserve respect and look so much nicer when treated right imho

The way I understood it is that the alkaloids have evolved as a defense mechanism. An animal eating a cactus and totally tripping balls will seriously reconsider eating it again. So it wouldn't be illogical if during hot periods with water scarcity, the plant would increase its alkaloid content to protect itself better from being eaten for the water it contains.

interesting notion, been around for a long time, all subjective opinion.
zero proof that alkaloids are produced in a cutting, just due to solar exposure.
more likely a combo of solar exposure, nutrients, water, photosynth, none of which happens very well when the plant isn't rooted. or growing...just my o2

dear nexians

today I felt the power of the cactus

I am awed

respect to all who have gone before me, and best of luck to all who will go after

words are still beyond