Lophophora williamsii and Obregonia denegrii from seed

Today I sowed this years first batch of seeds - 30 each of:

• Lophophora williamsii (VM 305k; Sierra de la Paila, Coahuila)
  
• Lophophora williamsii (VM 183k; Hipolito, Coahuila)
  
• Obregonia denegrii v. prerovskyana nom. prov. (KMR 38; Cinco de Mayo, Tamaulipas)
  

Allegedly O. denegrii v. prerovskyana has smaller tubercles than the typical form of the species and long cream/pink flowers - I'll find out for sure in 10 years time ;-). The seeds were bought at Kaktusy Ryšavý and sown in a mix consisting of equal parts of limestone gravel, loamy sand, and regular soil. Last years crop As described on the Growing cacti from seed page I'm sowing my seeds in pots placed in plastic bags. Usually the pots are removed from the bags after some weeks but last years Lophophora seedlings have spent a full year secluded in the bags! Lophophora williamsii seedlings (RS 428A; Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila) It's amazing that cactus seedlings can thrive for a year in the humid environment of a sowing bag (notice the green stuff among the seedlings - it's moss!), but it seems to become them well. Lophophora diffusa seedlings (RS 1193; Peña Miller, Queretaro) The benefits of growing in bags are many, e.g. you don't need to water often and most pests like red spider mites are avoided (on the other hand you have to be careful not to let in sciarid flies). On the downside, the plants seem slightly leggy - probably because they haven't been fully dormant throughout winter.

The power of grafting – VIII

My grafted Lophophora williamsii (SB 854; Starr Co, Tx) is growing its last fruit this season. The fruit looks ripe and fat so I'm hoping for lots of seeds even though the flower was self-pollinated.


Lophophora williamsii - ripe fruit

Yesterday I harvested the dried fruits produced by the plants second and third flower – both of these flowers were also self-pollinated (I didn’t have a whole lot of plants flowering last year ;-)


Lophophora williamsii - harvested fruits

The fruits are approximately 1 cm (~0.4'') long, only the upper half is containing seeds. The yield from these fruits, each contained 6 seeds, is much better than from the first fruit I harvested.


Lophophora williamsii - seeds

If the seeds are viable I hope to come full circle, growing new seedlings in less than two years after the mother plant was sown!

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Strombocactus Carnage or: How I Opened the Bag and Let in Death by Sciarid Fly

Until lately my Strombocactus disciformis ssp. esperanzae seedlings were thriving and slowly growing in the safe and secluded environment of a plastic bag. Recently I checked the plants and found dried husks and seedlings without roots.


Strombocactus disciformis remains

When I opened the bag a couple of sciarid flies soared out. The soil was sterilized before use so I expect the flies must have entered one of the times I aired the bag.


Sciarid fly (fungus gnat)

Sciarid flies as such are not dangerous to the plant but their larvae will feed on root hairs, enter the roots or even attack the crown or stem of the plant. In the future I’ll take heed when airing my seedling bags and avoid organic material in the soil (the larvae of most species are scavengers, primarily feeding on decaying organic matter).

Today only one seedling is still alive and it is not doing well – the few seedlings surviving the attack also had to cope with the abrupt introduction to the harsh environment outside the bag (the soil had to dry out completely to kill off any remaining larvae).