A few months ago I rescued an old woody Thanksgiving cactus. I immediately repotted the few potentially viable stems to save them; and, as I had nothing invested, decided to 'experiment' on the thick woody stems. I pinched into the joints of the stems exposing the green underneath. Four months later, I have new growth everywhere!
This message was edited Nov 7, 2010 11:27 AM
The new stems appear very healthy and are quickly filling in what was a sad looking plant. I am excited to see the color of the blooms when they appear!
That's interesting and good to know.
I partially cut back S. XBucklyi that was full of wood last year in the spring, and offered cuttings at Epiforum.com, which were all quickly snapped up. The woody parts of my plants filled with new shoots both from the ends of the wood and in several cases from the wood itself.
That's cool Bespoke! I'll keep that in mind if I spot one in the dumpster. For some reason my neighbors toss out a lot of tropical and holiday plants just after the holidays or during late winter.
Also could someone please explain how to pinch a woody stem? I've heard of the term "pinch" but for the life of me haven't quite understood what that meant.
I would use a knife to make knicks in the wood. I suspect it would be good for rooting under the soil, too.
