Windowsill seed raising - Small Cacti and Mesembs

[IrisA]

Hello from Canada!

I am a long time lurker of this board, it has been a great source of information and inspiration. I've been growing cacti and succulents from seed for about 3 years now and have finally gotten my act together enough to post something. As far as cacti and succulent tastes go I lean towards anything small round and weird, so I've been trying to grow a mix of mesembs, and small globular cacti with a few agaves and miscellaneous others etc. thrown in.

A bit about my conditions: they aren't great but I get by; I live in an apartment outside Vancouver BC. I have one east facing window with partial exposure that I supplement currently with 2 t5s. In the summer, I put some of the hardier stuff outside on a covered balcony where they get considerably more exposure light, at the cost of considerably more exposure to birds. A greenhouse is a distant dream for the future. In spite of this though I do get the odd thing to flower.

Here are some select pics of a few things I have going:

Mixed conophytum seedlings - I just wanted to test the waters and see if I could keep any type of cono/winter grower alive so I just got went with the mix. All the survivors look pretty similar to this. These guys were sown in late fall of last year and went dormant for a good few months during our unusually hot summer, they came back in September or so. I water when they wrinkle approx. monthly


Monilaria pisiformis -These were a favourite of mine and I am very excited that 2 survived their first dormancy. I'd appreciate any advice on these guys, would really like to keep them going


Dinteranthus wilmotianus - Sown in may, I had great germination luckily, however only a few seem to really be coming through the first leaf transition well - don't think I really have the watering down for these - soil is a clay based aquatic plant soil


Only germinator from a faucaria mix:


Euphoribia obesa:


Mystery Agave - I bought seed of victoria reginae and this came up - trying again this year from a different source


Melo Mix - These are either 2 or 3 years old at this point not the most impressive growth -but hey, they look cute


Argy Mix - Oddly these guys have really taken off for me. I struggle much more with the hardiest of lithops species. I've even had store bought specimens flower for me - it's a bit perplexing, but again, I'll take it, really enjoy these guys


Mystery Mesemb - I think its a cheridopsis, it was the sole germinator and I just plucked it out and threw it in with some lithops thinking there wasn't much hope (I wanted to reuse the pot) but whatever it is it's a survivor


Lithops dorotheae- I really love lithops (wanting one and not being able to buy a plant got me into the whole seed thing in the first place), but man do I struggle with these guys. I do have quite a few now that have made it through the first transition from last year and about 3 or so on their second transition from 2 years ago


Pseudolithos Migurintus - I wanted one of these really badly so I finally broke down and invested in some seeds and a heat mat - I sowed 7 or so seeds last week (3 germinated, 1 rotted) - I'm hoping for the best against all odds - advice on growing these is scarce so if you have any tips please share!

[Robb]

Welcome to the forum!
I don't grow many mesembs but to my untrained eye they look pretty good! How much humidity have you been giving your Melocactus seedlings? I have found mine grow fastest in a higher humidity environment with plenty of heat.
Happy growing!
-Robb

[IrisA]

Thanks for the welcome! To be honest, the melos haven't really gotten any special treatment compared to the rest of my other cacti, dry all winter up to biweekly or so in the middle of the summer. They are at room temp indoors year round. I'd like to do better by them, thinking of putting them with the seedlings on the heat mat, how do you up the humidity for yours? Would spraying or misting help?

[verbal]

Hey! Your plants are looking great.

For humidity I think you need a dome of some kind. there are some plastic domes that go on 1020 trays that may or may not be what you're after. I prefer these humidity domes... "Sunleaves Super Starter Humidity Dome for Nursery Tray Flat". I typically put a 1020 tray with holes inside of a 1020 tray without holes and then cover it with one of the Sunleaves domes. I do this because it allows me to bottom water and easily remove the entire flat with holes while not making a mess because the water stays in the flat without holes.

I was also wondering where you got your Euphoribia obesa seeds? I'm not seeing these for sale where I typically shop. Thanks.

[7george]

Mystery Agave - I bought seed of A. victoria reginae and this came up - trying again this year from a different source

Don't worry - they look quite different at juvenile stage from that will be a grown up plant. And yours will need replanting soon providing some space around to be able to grow further.

offsets and the mother plant

Agave_8065.JPG (53.56 KiB) Viewed 8458 times

An offset and a plant it was being cut from behind it.



My biggest plant of A. victoria-reginae previous summer.

[IrisA]

Hi verbal thanks for the tip about the dome. Just checked my email archive the euphorbia obesa seeds came from cactusstore.com. I paid something like 4usd for 10 seeds, prior to buying the pseudolithos seeds these were my priciest seed purchase. I had near 100% germination - the first batch was started in too low light and wound up a bit leggy, I corrected with a second batch and they came up better, otherwise they've been quite easy to grow and very hardy. I'd recommend this source they are easy to order from and ship fast.

7george thanks for the good news and sharing your pictures - that big plant is gorgeous! I'd I've given up hope, I was sure those little teeth couldn't be right. I'll need to replant these before the growing season, look forward to seeing this transition.

[Robb]

How do you up the humidity for yours? Would spraying or misting help?

I keep mine inside a "grow dome", which I bought from a local garden store. Spraying and misting would definitely help, although, be sure they are kept warm, otherwise the extra moisture could make them rot.

[iann]

The mesembs need to be in fresh air now. Putting them back into a humid atmosphere would be dangerous. You need to sort out the winter growers from the summer growers, which can be difficult when they're indoors. Most are quite opportunistic, but with a preference for warmer or cooler conditions.

Monilarias are obligate winter growers. Keep them as cool as possible in winter and water regularly. Don't even treat them as succulent.

Conophytums are cool season growers but don't need to be wet all the time. If you don't have decent winter sunlight, then just stick with misting or occasional light watering until February or March. Even then don't go mad because you'll want them to dry out by mid-summer.

The Dinteranthus doesn't look like it, but it needs to be mostly or completely dry until the new leaves come through. Small ones can be misted to keep them moving but overall they need very little water at any time.

Lithops are easy Dry now, possibly misting if they get very dehydrated in dry indoors air. Water generously when they renew their leaves in spring, then again in autumn for flowering. Only occasionally in between, not at all if it is extremely hot.

Faucarias are very adaptive, but also quite vigorous. You can water them occasionally in winter if they look a bit thirsty. Put them outdoors in summer and water regularly. If you are in a hot climate then they will become dormant in the middle of summer and should be kept mostly dry until it isn't quite so hot.

Not sure what the mystery seedling is. Doesn't look like a Cheiridopsis.

I'm not sure how successful they extremely coarse soil will be. Mesembs have very fine feeder roots, designed to suck every drop of moisture out of fine soils.

[IrisA]

Thanks iann for such detailed advice! I was torn on whether to water the dinteranthus or not, trying to guess if they were bloated or thirsty. I'll back off the water. I also wouldn't have thought to be so generous with the monilaria, I've put them with the conos on the draftiest part of the window sill. Not ideal but hopefully they get somewhat of a dip at night.

I suspect soil is playing a fair part in my lithops issues. I've had a hard time tracing down good I ingredients for the porus bits, this aquatic soil has given me the best results with mesembs of anything I've tried (sand plus commercial cactus mix the worst) I have pumice as well but it's particles are even larger. Do you think a higher topsoil ratio would help?

[iann]

Most mesembs use CAM metabolism, which reduces water use by 90-99% compared to normal C3 plants by keeping their stomata closed during the day. Monilarias do this in summer when they are dormant, but in winter they use a special kind of "reverse CAM" where they open their stomata during the day and close them at night. This lets them grow faster, but means they essentially need as much water as a normal plant. That's still a normal plant in cool dull winter weather, but it means a lot more water than a Conophytum.

Something to fill in the gaps between the big granules a little bit would be good, but I suppose it depends what your "topsoil" is. No point using something like sand, but probably not good to use half-rotted municipal waste either. Also, you don't want to entirely fill all the gaps because that would defeat the purpose of having big granules in the first place. A good test is whether the soil squashes. A pot of hard aquatic soil lumps is virtually incompressible, while a pot of peat almost collapses under its own slight weight. My last piece of advice is that once you've got things working, don't change it all just because it isn't what somebody else does. By all means experiment a bit, but you know the saying: if it works ...

[Aiko]

Monilarias do this in summer when they are dormant, but in winter they use a special kind of "reverse CAM" where they open their stomata during the day and close them at night. This lets them grow faster, but means they essentially need as much water as a normal plant. That's still a normal plant in cool dull winter weather, but it means a lot more water than a Conophytum.

Good thing the Monilaria indicates it can do with a splash of water again by drooping its leaves. One day later after a splash of water the then turgid leaves stand upright again. This visual key really helps.

[IrisA]

This is quite interesting about the monilaria, I never knew they were so different. Thanks for the tip Aiko -I'll keep an eye out for droopy leaves. These guys changing fast, the bunny ears are really starting to poke out:


I looked at the bag of my soil, no indication of whats in it. It's a sold in a big bag intended for outdoor use. It seems to be quite rich, its very dark stuff, at least there is no peat. I'll experiment with a few pots this year and see if more soil helps. Come to think of it my argyroderma which were my most successful seedlings last year may have come from pots with more dirt, I'm not very exact when I portion this stuff out.

In other news, I started a few more things last weekend, the last of my pseudolithos, a turbinicarpus mix, and some astrophytum asterias. I am thinking of shifting focus a bit more towards the cacti this year, I've decided to start these first, sowing a few a week and then move over to mesembs in January or so. I'd really love to have some success with the asterias. Here is the sad remainder of my seedlings from 2 years ago, I suspect these are stunted due to being started in a bad mix (too much peat and sand), also looks like they may have been victim to RSM, I'm spraying them now in an attempt to remedy this. Wonder if there is anything I can do to get these going? In any case, the new guys should hopefully benefit from a better start. I grew some mixed astros last year in better soil and they now dwarf their older siblings, though these aren't A.asterias, are these guys supposed to be more finicky?




Also I've got some mammilaria carmenae seed going on 2 weeks with no germination. Anyone know what these guys like temp wise? Wondering if they are better off on the mat or getting more of a temp dip at night.

[7george]

Also I've got some mammilaria carmenae seed going on 2 weeks with no germination. Anyone know what these guys like temp wise? Wondering if they are better off on the mat or getting more of a temp dip at night.

2 weeks is not a big wait. But I don't know what to advise not knowing your present seeds' conditions, what is the day-night amplitude, humidity and light for those. Mamms germinate easy mostly.

[IrisA]

You were right about the 2 weeks 7george, I was just impatient now have about 60% germination from the M. Carmenae seedlings. I think I an spoiled by the instant gratification of sowing mesembs and astrophytum.

It is an exciting time on my windowsill, I'm done with this season's sowing and now I am patiently watching out for new seedlings. Here's a quick list of species that I have germination from so far:

Pseudolithos migurintus
Lithops olivacea
Mammillaria carmenae
Copiapoa cinera
Turbincarpus mix
Parodia magnificus
Copiapoa lauii
Astrophytum asterias
Ariocarpus fissuratus
Agave VR
Alinopsis mix
P. Nelii
Dinteranthus mix
Lithops Dinteri
Lithops oztenziana
M. Lauii
L. williamsii (my own seed from a plant purchased with bud from a local C and S sale this spring that has proceeded to flower prolifically on my windowsill, it was unlabelled and the member ringing me up told me it was a steal - he was right )

Also I decided to give a few more challenging seeds a go. Just sowed yesterday. Hoping for some beginners luck with these.

Aztekium hintonii
Blossfelida liliputana ( not expecting much here but the seed was cheap)
Geohintonia mexicana
Avonia albissima
Avonia papyracea

I tried to be extra careful about contamination and I went better than normal with the mix to prepare for the long baggy stay. The avonia is also uncharted territory for me, I want to make up for the seedlings I rotted on my balcony this summer, turns out they didn't appreciate the summer rain

[iann]

Avonias aren't difficult from seed, although the seed doesn't seem to store for long.