Growing Cacti From Seeds, Microclimate, Watering, Lighting, Picking - 1

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Seed propagation of cacti

When you start collecting cacti, it is not always possible to purchase ready-made grown plants of the genus or species that you are looking for. As a rule, the vast majority of cacti in our flower shops are from Holland. And they are often hybridized seedlings, in this case there can be no question of the species purity of plants.

And then there is only one way - to buy seeds and start growing the desired type of cactus with your own hands from scratch, that is, from a single seed. This is how you can collect a good collection in a few years, including even very rare species.

Seed propagation of cacti is a rather troublesome business, but sometimes this is the only way to get the desired species. In addition to arranging a mini greenhouse, this breeding method also requires careful records, accounting: what is sown and under what number, indicate the sowing date and the number of seeds, when and in what quantity they rose, pick dates, etc.

But first of all, you need to decide: where to buy seeds? You can look for them in cactus clubs that are in large cities. You can use the Internet and order seeds even abroad - from experienced and well-known European cactus growers. Such seeds, of course, are expensive, but the guarantee of obtaining high-quality seed is high. But the easiest and most affordable option for beginners is to buy a seed mix from the store. They are inexpensive and just right for practicing this painstaking business.

I'll tell you about my method of seed propagation of cacti.

When to sow them? To obtain successful seedlings, two main factors are necessary: heat and light in sufficient quantities. If there are fluorescent lamps, then you can sow at any time of the year. I don't have them, so I am guided by the amount of light and heat outside the window. In our middle zone, quite suitable conditions come from the end of February. March and April are also favorable for sowing seeds. The cacti sown during these periods will already be fully grown and strengthened by winter and will no longer need greenhouse conditions. The plants depicted in my photographs (see photo) were sown on February 14, and by the age of three months they had already reached a diameter of 7-8 mm, and spines of almost the same length were sticking out in different directions.

First of all, you need to prepare suitable soil for sowing seeds. It should be loose, water and air permeable, and poor in nutrients. Because it is in poor soil that the root system of cacti develops better. The best option is store-bought soil for cacti and coarse sand in equal parts. You can bring the proportion of sand up to 70%, it won't get any worse. The soil must be steamed for half an hour, then sieved through a colander. Mix with steamed sand. Put large components of soil and sand on the bottom of the planting dishes for drainage, and place the soil mixture on top and tamp it.

I will explain how I sterilize the soil mixture. I pour some water into the bottom of the pan. From above I set a colander on it, covered with a thin cloth, on which soil is poured. Cover tightly and put on a small fire. After boiling water for half an hour, turn off the fire and leave everything to cool. Steaming the soil is best done ten days before sowing, so that by that time the beneficial microflora has been restored in it.

Seed preparation for sowing is also one of the most important components of success. The seeds must be disinfected to prevent the development of fungal diseases. To do this, they need to be placed in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 10-15 hours. The seeds are swollen and will sprout faster.

Sowing utensilsshould be disinfected with boiling water, alcohol or a strong solution of potassium permanganate. For sowing seeds, plastic bowls with a height of no more than 6-7 cm are ideal, many drainage holes are made at the bottom, and the bowl is placed on a pallet. For example, I used plastic cake packaging, by the way, it also has a lid. When the dishes are filled with soil mixture, use a ruler to make grooves. Outside, you can glue a strip of paper onto the plate, on which you write the serial numbers opposite each groove. In this way, we will avoid confusion with the types of planted cactus seeds. But if you have different types of seeds from a store bag, then this is not necessary. Of course, this method of sowing seeds is not the only one. Many people use the carpet method, simply sprinkling seeds thickly over the soil surface. But somehow I like this one more,"Ordered" way.

Now you can start sowing. Before sowing seeds, the soil must be thoroughly moistened with very warm, up to 50 ° C, boiled water through a pan. In order to place each seed in the groove, you can use a sharpened match, toothpick or needle. Dipping its tip in water, they hook a seed onto it and carefully put it in the groove. In this way, all seeds are transferred, taking into account the species numbers stamped on a strip of paper, if known. The distance between the grooves and between the seeds, I leave about 1-2 cm each. You do not need to sprinkle them with soil. I cover the top with something transparent - glass, film or a transparent plastic lid (for example, plastic cake packaging is a very convenient option). Seeds sprout pretty quickly, after 3-10 days.

Now the most difficult thing remains - to provide the necessary microclimate for the correct development of seedlings. The temperature inside the greenhouse should be in the range of 25 … 30 ° C, but not during the day. There should be a difference between day and night temperatures. It is the coolness of the night that gives the seeds a rest and stimulates their germination, therefore at night it is necessary to ensure the temperature does not exceed 18 … 20 ° C. We'll have to move the greenhouse to another place at night. There is another way to solve this problem. If you grow cacti under a fluorescent lamp, then it is enough just to turn it off at night, and the temperature will drop. My greenhouse is located on the southern window, during the day there is a rather high temperature from the direct sun, and at night it is cooler there.

The second important point is watering. During the first month, the soil in the pot should always be moist, especially its top layer. Drying out even for a day leads to damage to the delicate young roots. And only from the second month they begin to gradually accustom the seedlings to the usual watering regime, allowing the soil to dry out a little. Watering is best from a pallet because using a sprayer can spread seeds across the entire surface of the soil, leading to inevitable confusion. Water is taken necessarily boiled and warm. For the first six months, it is better not to feed the seedlings with anything. Top dressing will lead to rapid growth, but the plants will grow weakened and less resistant to external factors.

Fresh airis also very important for seed germination and good seedling development. Therefore, there must be small holes in the lid, you can just move it a little to the side so that the greenhouse is ventilated and algae does not start there. Although there are different opinions on this matter. Some cacti growers recommend not to open the lid at all during the first month, and only from the second month begin to gradually accustom the seedlings to fresh air. I didn’t open the lid only in the first week, then little by little I started airing, and a couple of times a day I completely removed the lid for a few minutes so that too abundant water condensation from the walls would evaporate. Subsequently, she always left a small crack so that the cactus did not overheat on a sunny day. She covered the lid more tightly at night. With this ventilation mode, no negative consequences were noticed.

The next important point for the germination and growth of cacti is lighting. Light is vital for the proper development of these plants. Of course, young seedlings should be protected from direct sunlight. Their delicate skin is very sensitive and turns red quickly, and this slows down the growth of seedlings. Therefore, they need light shading. Reddened seedlings should be temporarily removed to a shaded area until they acquire a normal green color. In general, the greenish-brown skin color is quite typical for cacti located in a sunny place.

As the babies grow, they will need to be dived several times., increasing the distance between them each time. The picking technology is the same as for sowing: a bowl, grooves, species numbering. Different sources recommend different terms for picking: at the age of one, two or three months. And it is advisable to carry out several picks in the first year of life in order to stimulate the development of a strong root system. The soil mixture is used the same as for sowing seeds. It should be moderately moist. Each seedling must be carefully transferred with a small spatula or fork into a prepared hole with a lump of soil on the roots. The planting depth is chosen so that the cotyledons are on the soil surface. And the distance between the seedlings is approximately equal to their diameter. Such, at first glance, tightness is simply necessary,because the seedlings then grow faster and are less affected by fungal infections.