仙人· 掌中月

仰慕了很久，终于探悉伊人的芳名，仙人掌中月。
仙人掌中月，是嫁接仙人掌，跟仙人掌花是不一样的。
那是意外收获，在韩剧『The Slingshot』里看到一幕韩国花农们培育的小小仙人掌，顶着艳丽夺目的彩帽，匆匆一瞥，赶紧倒带看清楚，不正是前阵子垂死在办公桌前的心爱宝贝吗？
回到旧东家，在四面墙的办公室里放了十株迷你仙人掌，旨在鼓励自己像它那样，在沙漠中靠少少的水份存活，可惜不到几个月，它们在没有透气窗户、空气不甚流通的空间一一倒了下去。
心痛，却只能一株接一株地收拾残局。
怪只怪自己没好好研究过它的存活方式，连名字也搞不清楚，直到韩剧字幕亮出“Grafted Cactus”（嫁接仙人掌）的字眼，有迹可寻，才找到这个美丽的名字“Moon Cactus”，我将它译为“掌中月”。
据说这是采用两种仙人掌科植物嫁接而成，下半部的植物茎有叶绿素，通过光合作用提供接合体的养份和水。韩国所生产的掌中月，占了全球总产量的98％。
曾经拥有，记忆永远美丽，掌中月的神秘面纱解开了……。

Q: Could you give me any information on a "Moon Cactus"?

These are actually what are called a grafted cactus. That is, attaching one type of cactus to another to grow as one. This is actually done with a lot of different kinds of cactus for various reasons, but the one referred to as the "Moon Cactus" (just a catchy marketing name) is done as a novelty to keep the top, brightly colored one alive.
It couldn't survive by itself because it doesn't have any chlorophyll - the stuff that makes plants green and makes food for them. These wild color variations are artificially induced by irradiation I believe. The top cactus is a desert cactus - Gymnocalycium mihanovichii. The bottom one is a jungle cactus, usually some type of Hylocereus. The bottom one has the chlorophyll and the roots to provide all the needs of the top plant.
98% of all of these colored novelty grafts are produced in Korea; they have the whole technique down to a fine science, and they produce millions of them.
If you have or get one, put it in a location where it gets bright indirect light, or even in a window that gets a few hours of direct sun - preferably morning or late afternoon sun that isn't too harsh. Hotter sun closer to midday could burn the plant. Water the plant thoroughly, and don't water again until the pot is fairly dry about down to a depth of 1" in the soil. It will benefit from an occasional fertilizing with an all-purpose liquid houseplant food diluted to half strength. This can be done once a month in place of one of the waterings during its growing period - usually during late spring to late summer.

Q: Would you please explain grafting moon cactus pups on other cacti?

This is a fairly involved undertaking; not actually difficult but very precise.
The cactus that is usually used for the bottom part is a Hylocereus or a similar type jungle cactus. The top of one of these is cut off, and another type of cactus is also cut and placed on top.
This is the tricky part: you need to know a bit about each plant's vascular system - the part that gets the food and water around in the plants. It's not unlike trying to re-attach a severed limb. You have to be sure that the veins and nerves all line up to heal together. Typically the two cactus should be somewhat of the same diameter to help in the process.

参考资料：
嫁接是很普遍的仙人掌栽植方式，却也是很有争议性的种植方式，喜欢嫁接的人几乎无物不接，但排斥的人却认为这样违反自然，到底是怎样的种植技巧竟能引起如此广泛讨论！
仙人掌嫁接是剪取一部份含有生长点的仙人掌组织固定於另一棵仙人掌上，使其组织愈合生长在一起，嫁接在经济作物及园艺上应用广泛，但仙人掌的嫁接方式和其他植物习惯的方式不同，一般植物多用斜接，但仙人掌却大部分使用平接。

这样色泽缤纷的迷你仙人掌，是嫁接仙人掌。

这是仙人掌花，美得令人眩目。