This KK339 Blue Clone is a fast growing cactus and one of the fastest in my garden.
But first, what exactly does “KK339” mean, and what is it’s relevance when identifying a particular type of cactus?
To put it simply, KK339 refers to the Chan Chan area in Ecuador. It means the seed that this cactus clone was grown from, came from this area in Ecuador. Therefore, there are several clones that are commonly circulated that are referred to as “KK339”. Most of them are a dark green colour, are quick growing and can get quite large and fat.
In this particular case, the one I have is a nice blue one, which is a fast growing cactus and is possibly much less common than the green clones.
An important observation about fast growing cacti.
When I purchased this cone as a cutting, I also purchased a Matucana Pachanoi clone at about the same time from the same eBay vendor. The Matucana clone was listed as very fast growing, while the KK339 had no mention at all about growth rate.
In reality when the two were propagated and planted into the garden, the Matucana clone was very slow to grow roots and put on growth in the garden. Whereas the KK339 has just powered on. So my conclusion is that local climate weather conditions do play a large role in how fast a particular cactus will grow. Both these cuttings came from around the Sydney area, which does have, much warmer summers than Melbourne. So I believe climate can play a major part, when it comes to how fast a cactus will grow.
The “Blue KK339 Clone”
So here in Melbourne this KK339 Clone is quite a quick grower. The other interesting observation about this clone is that it’s possibly not very common. I haven’t ever seen it for sale anywhere else online. Therefore, I decided to go ahead an take some cuttings.
So the experiment here is to compare the growth rates over time.
Will the 2 mids outgrow the tip which is grafted onto the PC? Bearing in mind the PC rootstock is established while the 2 mids are growing roots and pups?
How will the Spach rootstock compare?
So in effect, we are comparing 3 different types of rootstock. KK339, PC and Spachianus. In somw respects, it’s not an equal comparison but nevertheless, it will be interesting to update this is Summer!
How did the original KK339 perform?
So as you can see, the KK339 stump has produced 6 pups. As a comparison, the Matucana Pachanoi hasn’t put on much growth at all, despite supposedly being the quicker grower. It’s likely it needs a warmer climate to reach it’s true growing potential. Melbourne’s weather, last summer was very cool, so hopeful next summer will be warmer and it’ll reach it’s potential
In conclusion
Climate is likely to be a major factor when it comes to growth rate in some cacti. There is obviously other factors, such as fertiliser, water, planting aspect etc. But these can always be controlled. However, you can’t change your local weather, so if you’re looking for a fast growing cactus then I would try and source your material locally, otherwise you may not get the results you’re after.
To be updated!!!
