275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

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KittieKAT
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275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

Soooo I've become obsessed with colourful little butt's and decided that since its really hard to find people willing to give ME some free ones and way to expensive to buy them as a bunch of single plant's, that i should just try my luck at growing them by seed.... of course I've had luck with cacti seeds soo i talked myself into it. Even knowing everyone kills a few of these all the time. But since I'm obsessed with these little guys i went along and with what my brain was feeling me.

So i was thinking of this for a mix, please feel free to help ME with suggestions and what you've found to work for YOU. ...i want the best result i can, much like anyone else Would.

For the bottom layer of my seed propergator i've decided to go with a mix of 1part lave rock or crushed brick, .5 part pea pebbles, 1 part sifted c&s soil, 1 part course perlite, 1 part medium sized grain of sand ....all mixed up

Then a layer of small grain silica sand for placing the seeds upon.
After spraying the seeds soo they stick...I'm going to cover the seeds with a thin layer of the medium sized grain sand to keep everything in place.

I have NEVER grown lithops by seed but my lithop plant's seem
To be happy enough asi have them, even Thoe they are in a kinda whatever i could find that was course in my plant area used for a Mixx.

I live in MA i think it's zone 7-8 not too sure lol, i got a nice heated area with grow lights and natural sun light for them to grow soo not worried much about that, just would like to have a good mix for these guy's to grow in.

Where i live its really hard to find course materials at any garden place, they don't even have what i listed that i want to use above half the time I've looked around...grrrrr.

Soo hopefully someone can help me out with substitutions or what might work better if i can't find what im thinking of using.

I really wanted to use pure pumice 0-4/4-5mm
Or scoria 8mm and even turface 1/8" sifted but haven't had luck finding any of that stuff either :-(

And i seem to have bad luck on when people are sharing materials cause I'm usually not in the same area or they don't wanna send me heavy stuff via mail and forget about ordering online it's such a nightmare for ME.


So, please help if you can. Thanks
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Rod Smith
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Location: Staffordshire, UK

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by Rod Smith »

KittieKAT wrote:...I'm going to cover the seeds with a thin layer of the medium sized grain sand to keep everything in place.
Don't cover the seeds. Lithops seeds are pretty small and if you cover them therre is a possibility that germination will be badly impaired. Just let them fall onto the surface of the compost, spaced about ½ inch apart if possible, then soak the container in tepid water or spray gently from above.
Cactus enthusiast on and off since boyhood. I have a modest collection of cacti & succulents.
KittieKAT
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 6:49 pm

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

Okay I'll give it a whirl, ill do some like that and a few covered and see the results.
I really wanna get a bunch of varieties outta the mix and i kno some are more finicky then others
Where i live its soo hard to find course materials at local plant and garden center's i really hope i find some good course materials so i can start growing some seeds NOW, since the sooner they are in the ground the sooner they grow and the better result cause there fresh.

Wish i could find a lithop farmer around my area that would be willing to spare some plants they've grown, but since MA isn't really the best place for growing cacti/succulents cause our weather is so erratic i doubt I'll find anyone :-(
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CactusMad
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Location: England,U.K

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by CactusMad »

Hi,there are usually lithops for sale on ebay,or at least there are in the U.K.Have you had a look ?

Sylv.
KittieKAT
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

Yea just about every where online you can imagine even some sites people haven't heard of, and they usually only sell seeds to the US not plants for whatever reason and live plants are very expensive a piece almost $15-20 with shipping for one plant and that's the Cheapest I've found , and there's no local nurseries in my area that sell them. I've tried to see if anyone has grown any and would like to share some for postage once ifigure out how to do that, but the 4 sites for cacti/succulents I'm on I've had no luck.

I do a non profit gardening program with children in poverty stricken area's in my town and they love these types of plants aswel . So since i haven't had luck finding any donations of plant's i figured i would try growing them but since lithops are kinda slow growing i atleast wanted a few lithops for the 13 kids that are awaiting these types of plants. Everything is usually donated including pots and supplies but most garden center's and nurseries don't donate plant's unless they're ready for the garbage dump...which normally i don't mind cause it teaches the children patience and reward and how to take care of living things but unfortunately mesembs aren't really border line plant's there either healthy....or dead. :-(

Soo hopefully i can come up with something i feel so bad that some of the kids have there little pots painted awaiting plants for them and talk about what they will name them, soo cute but so sad. Im just scared I'll plant them wrong and then I'll be out a lot of money I've spent on the seeds that i really wasn't suppose to send since its a donation only program to keep people from not reuse and recycling perfectly good stuff. I have
A lot of clippings i give to the kids and all the cacti seeds my plant's harvest aswell, but lithops are a tricky tricky plant. Id feel really sad if i didn't find plant's that i could afford for the kid's and plant these seeds wrong and then they have nothing.... anyways sorry to ramble, i hope i figure it out before the winter starts and the kid's get to take there plant's home and i have 13 kids with out the plant's they wanted to have since spring :-(
KittieKAT
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

Obsession is becoming a craziness for me trying to find these little butt plant's!
iann
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Location: England

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by iann »

Probably better without heat. Warm nights can inhibit Lithops germination. 70F is plenty by day although 80F is OK too, but it needs to be cooler at night. Get the soil moist and cover until germination. I can't see your soil but I'm going to guess it will hold too much water and your seedlings will rot. I keep mine covered for several weeks after germination, but if the soil contains a lot of water that won't work.

Garden centres are surprisingly useless places for buying gardening supplies :( They have a bunch of stuff to sell and they try to convince everyone it is what they need. Maybe it is for Petunias and Tomatoes, but it is useless for Lithops. Just have to do your best and keep looking ...
--ian
promethean_spark
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by promethean_spark »

Could try unscented kitty litter, depending on the quality of the diatomaceous earth at the local quarry it may work well. Sometimes it breaKS down into mud though.
I find sandy subsoil works well too. Try a bunch of easily available promising looking stuff until you find something the plants like.

Lithops are pretty easy from seed compared to cacti. It's not the best time of year to sow them though, they naturally go dormant this time of year. I sow them in feb indoors, move them out midsummer and stop all watering about this time of year. They don't get more water until April or may, whenever the old leaves are gone.
KittieKAT
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

Right now i planted some seeds in a bottom layer of crushed brick, the seeds are ontop of all purpose sand (all i could find)
And covered just the top of the seeds with a small dusting of sand... they are getting constant light from my plant light, Thoe it's prob colder in my living room then my bed room.... i gave them a few squirts of purified water cause sink water here is horrible..
They have a little plastic top over the container (thank you for ordering sushi my friend!) This is my first trial and error with these seeds,
The next time i will be using a mix of turface, lava and pumice...still awaiting that stuff Thoe
And prob some sand and sifted c&s Mix with course perlite...
Anybody have any idea how i should try and mix that or layer it to sow some more seeds?

Thanks
iann
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by iann »

Layers aren't good. They either clog and hold water or drain and stay too dry. Make up a mix and fill your container with it. Then add seeds to the top. Don't cover. Since you have sowed already, see what happens and decide where to go with your next try. Lithops seeds in winter will probably stretch, but maybe you can provide them with good sun in the depth of winter?
--ian
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Ivan C
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by Ivan C »

If you have a NAPA AUTO PARTS store somewhere near by, get yourself a bag of NAPA oil dry #8822. Make sure it is the right number because a lot of oil dry will turn to mush after adding water.
You may have to do a little sifting and be careful of the dust created. Wear a dust mask. Remember the # is 8822.
CactusLover
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Location: Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by CactusLover »

Have you checked out Mesa Garden? They have a huge selection of Lithops plants, and most go for $4.
Once bitten by the cactus collecting/growing bug, there is no known cure!
KittieKAT
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 6:49 pm

Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

I just got my, lava, turface and pumice mix today and i have all purpose sand.
I saw a guy layer it like i did with my first test run that's why i decided to try it, but it's too soon to tell if anything's happening.
I have a huge grow lighting system that is the size of a tanning bed so light won't be a problem :-)
So i was thinking my next test with seed sowing would be from a video i saw online it was in Spanish and i no Habla espanol! So i went off of what he was holding up to the camera. It goes like this (again layers)
1St layer the bottom in a thin layer of pumice
2Nd fill the pot about more then half with C&S mix (sifted) + perlite
3Rd put a thin layer of sand (fine) over that
4Th add a layer of pumice ontop of the sand
5Th sprinkle some sand ontop of the pumice and pat it down before spraying with water then sowing seeds onto it.
Lastly water the soil until damp and then put a dish of water under the bottom of the pot until it soaks thru the layers
Then put the pot and water dish into a plastic container with saran wrap over the top (in my case I'll prob use my seed propergator)

I've also been moving my first test run of sowed seeds from heat and direct light in mornings to a cooler room with direct light at night time, since they like the change of temps during germination.

Then i figured for my 3rd test sow i would use Vic Knights method which is as follows:
25% sharp sand mixed with 25% grit (fine)
25% sifted C&S soil mixed with 25% perlite

Fill the container with the c+S mixed with the perlite to just about the top of the container leaving about enough room to just top it off
Then add the mixture of sharp sand and fine grit to the top before sowing the seeds fill a dish with water and put the pot onto it until the water Reaches the top layer of grit and sharp sand then sow the seeds ontop of that then put it into a covered container to keep humidity (yet I'll be using my propergator...when it gets here)
----
What is this Napa dry oil? What is it for? I've never heard of using that stuff...?
Does anyone think any of they above methods sound okay to use or is this one of those im gonna have to do a little trial and error to see what's gonna work for me?

Here's a picture of my medium i have below
KittieKAT
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by KittieKAT »

I also have a bad of turface Sand/dust (?)
Is equal parts pumice, Turface and crushed lava rock
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Ivan C
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Re: 275 mixed lithop seeds...NOW i gatta sow!!

Post by Ivan C »

KittieKAT wrote:What is this Napa dry oil? What is it for? I've never heard of using that stuff...?
It is oil dry not dry oil. It is used to soak up oil spills in in the auto industry but it has been found to be excellent in adding grit or drainage to heavy soil.
It's diatomaceous earth. I too can not get pumice here and I found this to be quite good. There is a lot of information on this forum on it's use.
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