First grown from seed attempt

[Peterthecactusguy]

thanks guys and gals. And Maja, I have been able to keep them at around 65-75F all the time since I sowed them. They are liking the heat and sun light. I can't believe I was so nervous to grow stuff from seed. It's pretty easy here.

[hoteidoc]

Lost 1 of my 2 18" Saguaro "seedlings" over the Winter -- seemed to have been a delayed transplant rot, because they didn't get watered after beginning of Nov.! Maybe you could donate a couple as "foreign aid" On the other hand, with "Sequestration" in effect, don't know if that applies only to American programs or actually every programs

[Peterthecactusguy]

haha maybe. I am letting the grow atm. When they get bigger and need to be repotted I might have some for sale or trade. I don't know what I am going to do with all of them after all

[Peterthecactusguy]

An update

Fero wislenzii

Not very nude Gymno denudium


Gymno denudium top, Gymno
bodenbenderianum bottom.
Echinocereus boyce-thompsonii (top) Mammillaria grahamii (bottom)

mystery seed middle, Echinocactus grusonii bottom, and of course on top, Fero cylindraceus

F. cylindraceus.. (whatever it's called now..) growing fine in un-nuked soil. It's an experiment

All above this are aprx 1 month old, all below are two months old for the most part
saguaro babies closeup. Getting their spines.

Opuntia basilaris (about 1 month old)


Fero Cylindraceus

Same Feros

And that is all for now Sorry I won't get any flowering from seed grown pics for awhile. What's 2 months for a saguaro when it can take them 80 or more years to be able to bloom?

[Sharpy]

Your getting some really good germination for sure!

What is the depth of your medium, if I may ask?

[Peterthecactusguy]

Sharpy, I actually did a really crappy job of making sure each was even, so between 1.5 and 2 inches. The containers are around 2.5 inches deep. Yes probably not the best way to do it, but it was my first attempt. And since a lot germinated I guess I was lucky

[Sharpy]

No no, not getting at anything wrong. Was just curious is all. Those containers come in several different depths.

I don't see anything wrong with what you are doing at all. IMO its going really great so far. With that many seedlings in one area, they should do good.

[Peterthecactusguy]

that's what I am thinking, tho. They came up in clumps... the Opuntia basilaris for instance the seeds stuck to my fingers so likely they all just sorta lumped into a few places.. oh well 18/20 germination rate isn't bad.. I think 1-2 of those 18 might not make it.. but we shall see lol

[Peterthecactusguy]

just a quick update: Some of my seedlings are being attacked by fungus gnats. I sprayed them today with some Hydrogen peroxide. I hope they will be ok, but I lost a few Opuntia basilaris.. I might separate them earlier than I wanted too, but they are pretty large at this point..

[Subverted]

I have found that 70% isopropyl alcohol is a better solution to gnats than anything else I have tried. A fine mist even kills flying adults sometimes.

As far as I can tell it does not harm the seedlings in the time it takes to evaporate but if you are concerned you could water them a couple mins after to dilute any remaining in the soil.

[Sharpy]

Ugh that sucks Peter. I just got done dealing with those in my grafting trays. Am not sure if just misting with hydrogen peroxide is going to kill them off.

What I have read about them is the larva live in the top 2" of soil and go dormant when the soil dries out. The flies have a 7 day life cycle. Supposedly the larva die on contact with peroxide.

I used 1:4 household peroxide/water when the soil was dry and repeated this after 5 days. They "seem" to be all gone now. Waiting to see if any manage to come back up.

But once again my situation was not with seedlings. Someone should be able to chime in on how hard you can hit seedlings before you melt them.

Never tried isopropal, so can't say anything one way or the other on that.

Best of luck!

[CactusFanDan]

I tried isopropyl for seedlings and I ended up with deflated white sacks after a few days. Needless to say they didn't make it. It could've been that I didn't air the pots out enough, but I'd avoid IPA from now on. Peroxide is fine, though. I've used 3-5% directly on seedlings and they've been fine.

[Peterthecactusguy]

I have been warned against using 70% IPA that is way too harsh. I might just drench the soil with pure peroxide. I am using app 4-1 ratio of water to peroxide. I could probably use it straight up and they would be ok. BTW that is what I have heard too that the peroxide is toxic to the larvae. I am not concerned with the adults other than I dont want them to lay more eggs. The larvae are what do the damage, they eat roots... as well as other organic matter..I will see what's going on today. I let them dry out a little bit yesterday.. IDK with seedlings....

[Peterthecactusguy]

they were fairly dry so I spritzed them with some of the mixture. I dont know if it will help or not. Three trays have them in them now.. But I watched all the stupid adults fly out into spider webs HAHAHAHAHAHA. so hopefully I am killing their eggs and larvae with the peroxide.