This spring I started my “virgin batch” of Lophophora alberto-vojtechii (San Luis Potosí) seeds. L. alberto-vojtechii is a recently recognized species that is not yet commonly cultivated, consequently the seeds are sold at rather steep prices – I bought my 10 seeds for 16 euro (~20 USD) from Köhres-Kakteen.
Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling
Unfortunately the germination rate of the L. alberto-vojtechii seeds was rather bad - only one seed in ten germinated. The seeds were sown at the same time and have been growing under exactly the same conditions as the peyote seedlings described in the previous post (which had a good germination rate by the way). So either the quality of the Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seeds were not optimal or they have different germination requirements than L. williamsii (I have to say that in general my experience with Köhres’s seed is good)
Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling, top view
The seedling looks exactly like a regular peyote seedling except that it is lacking the tiny, plumose spines, but given the fact that I only have one seedling it’s too early to say if this is a general trait or not.
As mentioned above the species was only recently described and there are some doubts if it’s a good species or not - it’s going to be interesting to see more plants appear in cultivation. That being said, several authorities are vouching for Lophophora alberto-vojtechii as the fifth species of Lophophora: George Hinton collected the type specimen (and keeps it in the G. B. Hinton herbarium filed under number 28642) and in a recent presentation on Lophophora population genetics Martin Terry also treats L. alberto-vojtechii separately from the other species.
Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling with spent seed
In the above picture the spent seed can be seen at the foot of the seedling (which is also at the very limit of my macro lens’s capacity ;-)
The plant was started from seed April 5, 2010 and the pictures were taken June 14, 2010 – exactly 10 weeks later (approximately two months after the lone seed had germinated).
Expecting more seedlings to have germinated, I had planned to graft some of them but now I’m having second thoughts, not wanting to risk my sole L. alberto-vojtechii seedling.
Catálogo de las plantas vasculares del Cono Sur : v. 107(1) 2008 (added:
04/12/2024)
-
*By:*
Belgrano, Manuel J.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion (San Isidro, Argentina)
Missouri Botanical Garden.
Morrone, Osvaldo.
Zuloaga, Fernando O.
*Publica...
1 week ago
Hi, I'm growing some alberto-vojtechii plants from seeds, and the germination was no good, from 10% to 45% only (I sow 3 times with differents kind of soil) . I'm hoping to obtain some fresh seeds from the two bigger plants, 1 and 1,5 cm, if I have good luke they can flowered these summer.
ReplyDeleteJack from Valencia
That's very interesting information. How many plants are you growing - and are they grafted (you mention they may be flowering this summer)? Can I ask from where you obtained your seeds (I'm always looking for new sources ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to ask what soil type gave the best germination rate? Could you outline the main differences between the soil types you tried?
ReplyDeleteI buy the seeds from koehres like You, the best range of germination I obtain was with a mix of clay soil, river's sand, and grit (silical grit for acuarius). The grit is 2-3 mm, and I put it on the surface of the pot where I put the seeds. The worst germination I obtained was using sand on the surface, it have the tendence to farming a crust impending the normal development of the roots. After I lost some plants for a fungi attack, including a variegated alberto vojtechii, and also for a formation of some green-alga. So I decide to grafted some plants, but not all succesfully. So I spend a lot of money to have 5 plants only. 3 plants are grafted on selenicereus grandiflorus, that is very good because is not necessary to re-graft, and 2 on own roots. If you send me your e-mail I can send you some photos. jacopo_13@yahoo.it, and excuse me for my bad english, it is a lot of time I don't write it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for supplying these additional details, it's great learning about your experiences - I'm sad to hear you lost your variegated Lophophora alberto-vojtechii seedling; that would have been a scoop!. I would very much like to see your photos and an email is in the post ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have 3 L. alberto-vojtechii seedlings growing (and 3 seeds that I've not sown yet). Was thinking about grafting one or two but am waiting on some decent stock. I actually knocked my container after planting the original 5 seeds so only got 1 to sprout but then added 2 seeds and got them both to sprout. It's exciting that you've got pictures of them growing on Selenicereus!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear from all you successful Lophophora alberto-vojtechii growers - even though I'm a bit envious on your germination rates ;-) Where did you get your seeds?
ReplyDeleteHello from Germany,
ReplyDeletei ordered 10 seeds L. alberto-vojtechii from Gerhard Köhres about 2 weeks ago.
9 of 10 seeds germinated and now i have 9 little alberto-vojtechii.
I highly recommend Köhres Kakteen, i have always a germinating-rate between 80 and 100%!
Best wishes
Bernie
Very interesting blog! I always search it for Lophophora information and photo's when needed.
ReplyDeleteI'll sow some L. alberto-vojtechii next year myself, but before that, I would like to know what's the best soil to use. I always have a nice germination with Lophophora williamsii, but this one seems to be a little harder.
Have you tried this specie already for a second time?
@Bernie: what kind of soil did you use?
Greetings,
Gypscoprotheres