How about those cactus seedlings?
Feb. 21st, 2024 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickRegular readers are probably aware that I am growing cactus from seed. I've covered that. But perhaps you would like to know more?
I started with a packet of 50 random cactus seeds. Sowed 11-1-2023. It was my first try and it was a variety packet from a non-specialty seed source, so... results were not great. I got maybe fifteen of them to sprout, but I only have 8 left as of 2-21-2024. They've been transplanted out of their seedling tray into a more appropriate pot to grow on a bit. (Cactus are not fast plants, as a general rule.)
After that, I bought some seeds from a specialty grower (Thanks, Mesa Garden!) and tried again, with a slightly better process and stuff. Better process, better seeds, better results.
These were sown 12-5-2023, mostly packets of 20-30 seeds.
Astrophytum capricorne, catalog #49, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Astrophytum ornatum, catalog 68.4, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Stenocactus lamellosus catalog 299.3, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mixed copiapoa seedlings, no ID except genus. 14 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mixed echinopsis seeds, no ID except genus. 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Echinocactus grusonii, catalog 169.9, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Astrophytum caput-medusae (from Etsy seller GrowMargo), 10 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
(No, I have no idea what I'm going to do with all of these. I suppose that attrition will take care of at least a few of them. Anyway, I am unworried because this is a problem for Future Me.)
So I got some more seeds and sowed them on 1-3-2024. These were, again, all sourced from Mesa Garden and they're all mammillaria except for one agave. Agaves are not cactus but they are cactus-adjacent and have spikes. I like spikes.
Mammillaria candida catalog 590 SB466, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria crinita catalog 615.1, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria dixanthrocentron 624.72 3 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria grahamii 667.3, 10 seedlings as of 2-21-2024 (There is a fungus gnat problem, I had 19 of them. I am working on the fungus gnat problem.)
Mammillaria magnimamma SB9 catalog 747, 18 seedlings as of 2-21-2024, fungus gnats
Agave neomexicana 1892.9 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
And another batch on 1-13-2024, Mesa Garden. Mostly copiapas which are finicky.
Copiapoa cinerascens 84.277 10 seeds, 1 seedling as of 2-21-2024
Copiapoa calderana 84.423 KK199 10 seeds, 5 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Copiapoa haseltoniana 84.48 KK1780 10 seeds, 1 seedling as of 2-21-2024
And these guys were the 20-30 seed packets. Don't know what happened with fulviseta, maybe it's just fussy.
Rebutia flavistyla 1195.54, 30 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Rebutia fulviseta 1195.63, 4 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Conophytum longum 1799.122 EH567, 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024 (This is not a cactus, it's a mesemb. It came as a freebie from MG, who sometimes gives freebies when you buy stuff.)
And 1-26-2024 I sowed some stuff from Rob Romero, who sells as ThreeDeserts on Etsy
Escobaria missouriensis subs. navajoensis, 30 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria heyerdi subspecies macdougalii, 40+ seedlings as of 2-21-2024
These did really well. Fantastic germination.
And (yeah I might have a problem but cactus seeds are cheap as shit, most of these are like a buck and a half, two bucks a go.)
I just sowed some more on 2-17-2024. Some of these were from Phoenix Desert Seeds, some from Mesa Garden.
Titanopsis primosii PDS, 25 seeds, sprouts on 2-21
Lithops wernerii MG 188, sprouts 2-21
Conophytum marginatum MG 1429.81, sprouts 2-21
(The above three things are not cactus. They are mesembs, South African succulents. But they're cactus-adjacent.)
Astrophytum myriostigma MG 57, sprouts 2-21
Mammillaria longimamma MG 737.4
Thelocacus hexadrophorus PDS
Turbinicarpus sp Negrita PDS, sprouts 2-21
Brasilicactus haselbergerii v. weiss PDS
Coryphantha radians MG 125 SB 679
I have another tray of seeds to sow (three kinds) but I'm out of room on the heat mat, so they will have to wait for a while.
Here are some Q's that I am certain you would Frequently Ask if you thought about it for a bit and had any, y'know, interest.
How long does it take for something to happen with cactus seeds? Assuming I'm meeting their needs (heat mat, moisture levels, light, etc.), I generally get something before the first week is over. Astrophytums are particularly rapid from seed, I will almost certainly have sprouts in three days. It's kind of shocking how quickly they come on. I would definitely recommend Astrophytums for people just starting out with this, they are readily available as seed, they're super rewarding, and they are very quick to get underway.
How big are cactus seeds? They are not big. Astrophytum have nice large seeds, but others are quite small. Mammillaria seeds are kind of tiny (smaller than a grain of salt) but mesemb seeds resemble tiny grains of dirt. It does not look like there is a plant inside of these seeds. I do not plant them so much as gently tap them out of the envelope over the surface of the substrate. They sit on the surface of the substrate and I sprinkle turface over them and let them get on with the business of growing.
When do they start looking "like cactus"? Usually at about a month old they start to develop spines and things. They're still clearly infants, but they aren't stupid green balls anymore. At a month old, you can usually tell that they're supposed to be cacti. Different species grow at different rates, but so far everything I have that is a month old has a start at spines and is recognizably a cactus-like plant. They are not big cactus-like plants, but they are definitely headed in a cactus-like direction. Like, even a kid could guess that these were cactus.
Here are some pictures so that you can see how they get on.
Escobaria missouriensis subs. navajoensis, sown 1-26-2024, so about a month old:
Stenocactus lamellosis seedlings, sown 12-5-2023. so about 2 months and two weeks old:
I started with a packet of 50 random cactus seeds. Sowed 11-1-2023. It was my first try and it was a variety packet from a non-specialty seed source, so... results were not great. I got maybe fifteen of them to sprout, but I only have 8 left as of 2-21-2024. They've been transplanted out of their seedling tray into a more appropriate pot to grow on a bit. (Cactus are not fast plants, as a general rule.)
After that, I bought some seeds from a specialty grower (Thanks, Mesa Garden!) and tried again, with a slightly better process and stuff. Better process, better seeds, better results.
These were sown 12-5-2023, mostly packets of 20-30 seeds.
Astrophytum capricorne, catalog #49, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Astrophytum ornatum, catalog 68.4, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Stenocactus lamellosus catalog 299.3, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mixed copiapoa seedlings, no ID except genus. 14 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mixed echinopsis seeds, no ID except genus. 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Echinocactus grusonii, catalog 169.9, 23 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Astrophytum caput-medusae (from Etsy seller GrowMargo), 10 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
(No, I have no idea what I'm going to do with all of these. I suppose that attrition will take care of at least a few of them. Anyway, I am unworried because this is a problem for Future Me.)
So I got some more seeds and sowed them on 1-3-2024. These were, again, all sourced from Mesa Garden and they're all mammillaria except for one agave. Agaves are not cactus but they are cactus-adjacent and have spikes. I like spikes.
Mammillaria candida catalog 590 SB466, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria crinita catalog 615.1, 22 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria dixanthrocentron 624.72 3 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria grahamii 667.3, 10 seedlings as of 2-21-2024 (There is a fungus gnat problem, I had 19 of them. I am working on the fungus gnat problem.)
Mammillaria magnimamma SB9 catalog 747, 18 seedlings as of 2-21-2024, fungus gnats
Agave neomexicana 1892.9 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
And another batch on 1-13-2024, Mesa Garden. Mostly copiapas which are finicky.
Copiapoa cinerascens 84.277 10 seeds, 1 seedling as of 2-21-2024
Copiapoa calderana 84.423 KK199 10 seeds, 5 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Copiapoa haseltoniana 84.48 KK1780 10 seeds, 1 seedling as of 2-21-2024
And these guys were the 20-30 seed packets. Don't know what happened with fulviseta, maybe it's just fussy.
Rebutia flavistyla 1195.54, 30 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Rebutia fulviseta 1195.63, 4 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Conophytum longum 1799.122 EH567, 17 seedlings as of 2-21-2024 (This is not a cactus, it's a mesemb. It came as a freebie from MG, who sometimes gives freebies when you buy stuff.)
And 1-26-2024 I sowed some stuff from Rob Romero, who sells as ThreeDeserts on Etsy
Escobaria missouriensis subs. navajoensis, 30 seedlings as of 2-21-2024
Mammillaria heyerdi subspecies macdougalii, 40+ seedlings as of 2-21-2024
These did really well. Fantastic germination.
And (yeah I might have a problem but cactus seeds are cheap as shit, most of these are like a buck and a half, two bucks a go.)
I just sowed some more on 2-17-2024. Some of these were from Phoenix Desert Seeds, some from Mesa Garden.
Titanopsis primosii PDS, 25 seeds, sprouts on 2-21
Lithops wernerii MG 188, sprouts 2-21
Conophytum marginatum MG 1429.81, sprouts 2-21
(The above three things are not cactus. They are mesembs, South African succulents. But they're cactus-adjacent.)
Astrophytum myriostigma MG 57, sprouts 2-21
Mammillaria longimamma MG 737.4
Thelocacus hexadrophorus PDS
Turbinicarpus sp Negrita PDS, sprouts 2-21
Brasilicactus haselbergerii v. weiss PDS
Coryphantha radians MG 125 SB 679
I have another tray of seeds to sow (three kinds) but I'm out of room on the heat mat, so they will have to wait for a while.
Here are some Q's that I am certain you would Frequently Ask if you thought about it for a bit and had any, y'know, interest.
How long does it take for something to happen with cactus seeds? Assuming I'm meeting their needs (heat mat, moisture levels, light, etc.), I generally get something before the first week is over. Astrophytums are particularly rapid from seed, I will almost certainly have sprouts in three days. It's kind of shocking how quickly they come on. I would definitely recommend Astrophytums for people just starting out with this, they are readily available as seed, they're super rewarding, and they are very quick to get underway.
How big are cactus seeds? They are not big. Astrophytum have nice large seeds, but others are quite small. Mammillaria seeds are kind of tiny (smaller than a grain of salt) but mesemb seeds resemble tiny grains of dirt. It does not look like there is a plant inside of these seeds. I do not plant them so much as gently tap them out of the envelope over the surface of the substrate. They sit on the surface of the substrate and I sprinkle turface over them and let them get on with the business of growing.
When do they start looking "like cactus"? Usually at about a month old they start to develop spines and things. They're still clearly infants, but they aren't stupid green balls anymore. At a month old, you can usually tell that they're supposed to be cacti. Different species grow at different rates, but so far everything I have that is a month old has a start at spines and is recognizably a cactus-like plant. They are not big cactus-like plants, but they are definitely headed in a cactus-like direction. Like, even a kid could guess that these were cactus.
Here are some pictures so that you can see how they get on.
Escobaria missouriensis subs. navajoensis, sown 1-26-2024, so about a month old:
Stenocactus lamellosis seedlings, sown 12-5-2023. so about 2 months and two weeks old:
