I've yet to see this one asked and I was curious....

As a noob, a few weeks back I dicsovered that T.Pachanoi SP's are typically now PachaNOT's. That aside, when it comes down to the magical potency of cacti, alkaloid content and potency varies greatly to my understanding.

I have two cuttings of SP cacti that are 12" in length each. I've never dosed cacti before and I was assured by a reputable seller that these ARE the real deal and I should be very pleased with the end result as they sit right now after questioning them on my learning of Pachanot's. Do I believe them? Yes, I do trust them, they're great people and great to do business with.

But, let's say they're duds. Or hell, lets even say theyre not, but if I were to attempt to root and grow these cuttings further, is there any specific technique to promote alkaloid content and potency? For example, providing the cacti with a specific nutrient or element in feeding/watering?

There actually is a topic on this located somewhere how to increase potency, your not the first to ask hah. Ranges from stressing the cacti out, nutrient makeup, and even injecting cacti with tyrosine(or something). As far as I remember there are a lot of things you could do to "possibly" up the potency but none have really been proven to work. Its all about the cacti's genetics.

I might try to find the thread later, but do some searching.

Rather than torturing cacti to increase potency, I would suggest treating them well so they grow quickly and happily. You will be rewarded.

Its likely you still have the pc pachanoi (pachanot), unless you got it from a private collector or a snail mail order. That doesn't mean it's bunk and only good for landscaping, though - a decent pc sold by an entheo vendor is just probably around .3-.5% rather than, say, 3+% for the best real-deal sp. Depending on the girth of the cutting, a foot may still give you a mild trip. As far as increasing potency, no consensus but I'd say just grow it in good conditions and give it nutrients so it grows and you have more cactus to work with. Or just put them both into a tea and do some research before your next purchase (if they are pc - two feet of legit Pedro, which it's unlikely that you have, might be more than you bargained for). Have a look at Trouts notes to start, and use this comparison to see whether you have real South American pachanoi or not: http://largelyaccuratein...LAIM/pedro/pedro_02.html

Thanks folks!

Id like to ask a question here since I already stared this, rather than start another thread.
My 2 cuttings have been sitting in the box they came in for about 3 months now. I have my pots, bag of perlite and bag of cacti soil which I just got today finally.

I read a pretty straight forward How To on the shroomery for rooting a cacti cutting and it says that you need to slice off the bottom of the cacti and let that callous over for about 2-3 weeks and then plant.

Since my cuttings were already cut and have calloused over when they were shipped to me, can I just plant them? Or do I need to actually slice a thin layer off the bottom and start over forming a new callous?

Link for Shroomery Rooting thread
http://www.shroomery.org/forums...flat.php/Number/13583817

It's ready to plant into dry medium.

As long as they're not rotten, they're good to go!

Woohoo!

And when it says mix in 50% perlite, does that mean like pour soil in, pour perlite in, and then kinda mix it up so that its all one mix homogenous mixture? Or is it supposed to be layered? like 50% of the pot should be perlite on one layer, then soil is the next layer?

Is it supposed to be tightly packed?

1:1 ratio mixed, doesn't need to be packed.
Don't breathe in the perlite.
Check for roots every week or two, then water very lightly when they pop.

Ok cool, of course when I opened the Perlite bag a nice puff of it came flying out of the bag into my face


best way to check for roots = pull the cutting out of the soil?

That would be the best way to rip any new roots off the cutting

If you are rooting them in pure sand it's not a problem to lift them up and have a look, but a mix based on potting mix will have a lot more resistance when you try to pull the cutting out and could damage some roots.

Just have patience and keep it dry for at least a month. When you start watering it let it dry right out between waterings until it has a good root system.

If you're checking every week I'd say yes just pull it out and see if root buds are there.

If you leave it alone for a long period of time like a month or more. I'd just tug on it lightly and if it feels like its grabbing on to a bunch of soil. I'd assume there are roots. Then lightly water to "tease" more root growth.

There comes a point where you could damage developed roots if you're not careful when pulling on the cutting. That's why I prefer to use loose soil while rooting.

BTW it seems like I've had quicker success with placing an unrooted cutting in a bright area but out of direct sunlight. I'm also guessing that rooting will be easier during warmer times of the year.

Experiment! There are many different ways to root a cutting. Some people won't even pot up their cutting in soil until their cutting starts rooting OUT of soil.

Oh I would never water an unrooted cacti cutting

Good luck!

Thanks folks!

2 last questions.

Of my 2 cuttings, this is the one I want to root. This part isnt squishy or weird, its firm and calloused feeling. I dont know what cacti rot looks like. Is this rotten?? My other cutting is firm and has no brown on the callous.


Second question, when it comes time for me to remove what I want to utilize for various rainy day purposes how exactly do I do that? Do I need to cut a "lower" section and then replant the top portion where the sections converge at the crown and then let that callous and root that?

I wouldnt leave the rooting in the pot, and then cut from the top down... Id remove, cut from the bottom up to a portion near the top, yes?

Im not sure if that's rot but it wouldn't hurt to re-cut it so you get a clean cut. Use some 70% + alcohol to wipe the cut then re callous.

So root your cutting and harvest the tip. I personally would root the tip also so you have another plant.

Then the base should pup and the you can harvest those and replant or what ever your heart desires.

It would be wise to hold off on consuming too much of this cactus yet.
try to get to a point where you can have a bunch of tips growing so you can be self sustaining within a couple of years.

Just my humble opinion

BTW of course you would choose a nice potent cactus > weak one to be self sustaining.

Good luck

Pardon me Im going to kinda of reword that and see if I get it all lol.

So when you say root, and then harvest the tip, meaning use the tip to replant? Or use the tip section for rainy day activity?

Does the piece thats already rooted grow a new tip? It doesnt right?

That picture looks a little rotten. If it's mushy at all do not use it, it should be hard. It's possible the dark markings are activated carbon but it's hard to say, I would cut the bottom half-inch off like boogerz suggested personally.

In the future when your cacti have grown you can harvest the top 6" or 12" if you want, let it scar, and then replant or consume.

The parts of the cactus that you cut forms pups, or new tips over time. One cactus can form one, two, three, four, five, or maybe even six if it's big enough.

Cacti are evergrowing machines and you can do whatever you want with them! You can probably find a pictorial to get a better idea, like here. It may seem confusing at first but you'll get it.

Cacti are resilient little buggers. You can cut the tip off and reroot it, or you can cut the tip and use it. The "stump" (lower part which is left behind) will sprout new pups. As long as the roots are intact and a few inches or so of the green flesh remains to take in light, it will continue growing.

Ok great thanks so much for the info house and entheogenerator. I was unsure if a new tip would form if I didnt root a section with the original tip haha.

It is firm, its not mushy at all. I already rooted it haha Im anxious to get this thing growing. Its been several months already though, I suppose whats another few weeks to let it recallous. I could always try rooting my other cacti I suppose since it has a callous with no brown at all.