Lophophora from seed

Tomorrow my work is taking me to the USA for 9 days, so I decided to sow my Lophophora seed a bit earlier than planned. 30 seeds of each of the species mentioned below were sowed.

• L. diffusa (RS 1193; Peña Miller, Queretaro)
  
• L. williamsii (La Soledad, Coahuila)
  
• L. williamsii (RS 428A; Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila)
  

The seed were handled as described in “Growing cacti from seed”. Later in spring I'll sow another batch of Lophophora seed in a cold house. | next >

Return of the red bastards

I recently lost all of last years Lophophora fricii seedlings (and a lot of the L. diffusa and L. williamsii seedlings as well) because of too prudent a watering scheme – or so I presumed.

To my dismay the withering of the surviving seedlings continued, even after generous waterings. After a closer inspection of the seedlings, using a x10 magnifying lens, the reason became clear: a bunch of red spider mites were feasting on the plants.

The plants were promptly sprayed with insect soap and the treatment will be repeated in a week. It probably won’t kill off all of the spider mites, so the battle is now on. Last year I fought the spider mites using soap, predator mites, cinnamon and garlic brews, and by raising the humidity levels and increasing the air circulation – apparently some survived.

I wonder if I would have been able to save my L. fricii plants if the mites had been discovered sooner.

Obregonia and Ariocarpus from seed - II

Two days ago, at the beginning of the weekend, there were not many signs that the Obregonia or Ariocarpus seed would germinate. Tonight more than half of the Obregonia and a few of the Ariocarpus seed had germinated.

The seedlings still have a pale, yellowish hue - hopefully they will take on a healthier chlorophyll-green in a couple of days.

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Strombocactus from seed - II

A week after sowing the seed the first couple of seedlings have appeared. Small green “blobs” the size of (extremely small) pinheads.

I expected the seedlings to be very small, but these seem infinitely fragile. Hopefully they will survive the first critical period.

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Obregonia and Ariocarpus from seed

It’s probably too early in the year, but today seemed like a good day for sowing:

• Obregonia denegrii (VVZ 163; San Vicente, Tamaulipas)
  
• Ariocarpus fissuratus (PP 176; Big Bend, Texas)
  

The seed (30something of each species) were handled as described in “Growing cacti from seed”.

I’m holding my Lophophora seed back – I’m planning on sowing an indoor batch in early spring and a cold house batch in late spring.

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Strombocactus from seed

Another first for me: Strombocactus from seed. 60something dustlike seed of Strombocactus disciformis ssp. esperanzae (RS 547; Xichu, Guanajuato).

I decided to sow in the same growing medium I'm using for my mature (limestone-loving) plants, i.e. equal parts of:

• Coarse, loamy sand
  
• Limestone gravel
  
• Milled sphagnum moss peat
  

I'm usually not sterilizing my growing medium before sowing, but in this case (extremely small seed and slow growing seedlings) I filled a pot with the compost and let it soak for a couple of minutes, put the pot in a plastic bag (not closed tightly) and brought it to a controlled boil in the microwave.

When everything had cooled down I sowed the seed (using a moist toothpick). The seed were placed directly on the surface of the compost and not covered. The pot was then sprinkled slightly with water and placed in the plastic bag with a bit of water at the bottom. Finally the bag was sealed closely and placed in a heated windowsill.

Now I just have to wait...

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Sclerocactus from seed

January 09, 2005
Today I sowed my first Sclerocactus seed. I'd ordered some S. whipplei (SB472; Navajo Co, Az) and S. parviflorus (SB592; Torrey) seed without realizing they allegedly are very difficult to grow from seed.

I'm following Steven Brack's basic germination tips and his detailed instructions for Pediocactus, Sclerocactus and Toumeya. The seed are grown in a cold house and hopefully the freezing/thawing cycles in Denmark are sufficient for it to germinate.

Köhres's Lophophora information page

I just noticed that Köhres has updated his Lophophora information page.

A lot of Lophophora photos ordered by state, location and species can be found by selecting "Bilder am Standort" (photos from the growing locations) and then "Los geht´s". This takes you to a map of Mexico where you can select a specific state. From the state page you can select a location (from the "Standorte" list). If more than one species grow in a given state, e.g. Coahuila or San Luis Potosi, the locations for the species are differentiated using color.

A very impressive site.

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A field of Cylindropuntia bigelovii photographed during a recent visit to Joshua Tree National Park.

Unique search string: snyrf smldsfiope

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Growing cacti from seed

Most cacti are easily grown from seed - and with a little patience and care they can be grown into beautiful plants.


Lophophora williamsii seedlings (VM 534k; El Oso, Coahuila, Mexico)

I'm growing my Lophophora, Obregonia, Acharagma, Ariocarpus and Strombocactus in more or less the same way (Strombocactus being the exception).

Growing medium
Till now I've used a finer compost for sowing but this year I decided trying to sow in the same growing medium I'm using for my mature (limestone-loving) plants, i.e. equal parts of:

• Coarse, loamy sand
  
• Limestone gravel
  
• Milled sphagnum moss peat
  

I'm usually not sterilizing my growing medium - just filling a pot with the compost and letting it soak for a couple of minutes before sowing. In the case of Strombocactus (extremely small seed and slow growing seedlings) the compost is sterilized by bringing it to a boil in the microwave (put the pot in a plastic bag before placing it in the oven - let the compost cool completely before sowing).

Sowing
The seeds are placed individually (using a moist toothpick) directly on the surface of the compost and not covered. The pot is then sprinkled lightly with water and placed in a plastic bag with a bit of water at the bottom. Finally the bag is sealed closely and placed in a heated windowsill.

Hardening off seedlings
When most of the seed have germinated and the seedlings are well established it is time to introduce them to the harsh world (usually 4-5 weeks after sowing - but Strombocactus should be left considerably longer). This is done by puncturing the sealed bag to make the “atmosphere” less humid. The punctures are gradually expanded until the bag can be completely removed after 1-2 weeks. Until the roots are well established the seedlings must not be left dry for extended periods - this winter I almost killed off last years stock of Lophophora fricii seedlings by leaving them dry for 5 weeks!

Links
The British Cactus and Succulent Society has a page on how to grow cacti and other succulent plants from seed. Steve Brack's Mesa garden has a list of basic germination tips.