The windowsill adventure of my seeds

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7george
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by 7george »

MagiCarpus wrote:thank you iann! I do have ample artificial light (3 x 24W T5HOs) to keep them actively growing.

One more thing, could you be more specific with regards to keeping them on the "dry side"?

Since these seedlings were used to damp medium from germination, letting it dry would, I presumed, shock them due to acute dehydration (or not?). Hence from this point on, how should I approach with watering to ensure safe transition to the "dry side" (again how dry?)?
Your pots should dry out fully for 3 - 5 days with temp. maximums 30C or more. Even I often wait for my seedlings to shrink visually a bit (or get little greyish) before next soaking. Cacti (and their seedlings) are adapted to dry conditions.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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greenknight
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by greenknight »

MagiCarpus wrote:Also out of the bag today, Melocactus matanzanus , these are exactly 4 month old. How much longer should I let it stay in this pot until transplantation?
Depends on how fast they grow, when they start crowding each other too much it's time to transplant.
Spence :mrgreen:
iann
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by iann »

They've got loads of room. Just touching is still agoraphobic for a cactus seedling. Wait until you can't see between them at all and they're hanging over the sides of the pot :)
--ian
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

Your pots should dry out fully for 3 - 5 days with temp. maximums 30C or more. Even I often wait for my seedlings to shrink visually a bit (or get little greyish) before next soaking. Cacti (and their seedlings) are adapted to dry conditions.
That's actually good to hear since I'll be going away for 10 days during Christmas, at least I won't have to worry about desiccation provided that I saturate them with water before I leave.
when they start crowding each other too much it's time to transplant.
Wait until you can't see between them at all and they're hanging over the sides of the pot :)
Welp, transplanting wise looks like I can put off until 2017, thanks for a legitimate excuse to procrastinate, it's what I do best :wink:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Most of the work are done here at least for 2016. The MG seeds were sown and germination are well underway. I have decided to give the baggie method another go with a few adjustments. First, the seed raising mix this time around had much higher mineral content and porosity. Second, smaller pots with less water content were employed to avoid excessive humidity.

Here is a look at the bags in OCD-imbued formation.
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...All MG seeds were sown except for 2 species, as I require further advice from the experienced members of the community. They are:

Obregonia denegrii
Strombocactus disciformis


Based on previous feedback I learned that these species have tiny and slow growing seedlings and were susceptible to rot if conditions are not tinkered to perfection. Is there any tip for raising these guys from seeds? I am hesitant to sow them since they cost a fortune (well in terms of seeds) to acquire due to CITES regulations. Any two cents will be appreciated :)
I suck at identification :dontknow:
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greenknight
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by greenknight »

I haven't tried Obregonia, but I planted my Strombos just like all the others except that I planted them on a surface layer of sand so the tiny seeds wouldn't fall down between the chunks of pumice or be perched on top of them. The media should be moist but not saturated - but that's the case with any cactus seed. The difficulty is just that they're so tiny and slow growing that it will be a long time before they're large enough to survive drying out for any length of time, by having them in a baggie or other sealed container you avoid that problem.
Spence :mrgreen:
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Hanazono
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by Hanazono »

I think Obregonia denegrii seedlings grow very slowly but they are hard to rot, can tolerate various conditions.
I sowed seeds in 2013 and still remained 120 seedlings.
Rotting is nil.
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

*Monthly Update Nov 20th*

Left vs Right = one month apart, enjoy :D

Echinocereus rigidissimus "rubispinus"
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Melocactus matanzanus
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I suck at identification :dontknow:
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

Happy New Year Everyone!

After a bit of a hiatus from the forum (but not from the hobby), I thought I do a quick update on the seedlings, to start off 2017 on a positive note.

Echinocereus rigidissimus 'rubispinus' is finally showing first red :D
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Excellent progress for the Ortegocactus macdougallii with good amount of new tubercles
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I suck at identification :dontknow:
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toadstar
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by toadstar »

Those Echinocereus rigidissimus "rubispinus" are adorable.
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

**MG UPDATE**

I'd like to share the first update on the MESA Garden seeds that arrived in mail back in October 2016. I'll also make a separate post regarding the Ariocarpus, as I have more concerns that I'd like to address which would warrant a separate post. For now, here are the rest (except for the Matucana's which are still sealed in their bags)

Please let me know how there are doing, and don't hesitate to let me know if you spot any cultivation shortfall. thanks! :D

Echinocereus Pulchellus "amoenus"
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Epithelantha micromeris
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Turbinicarpus valdezianus
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I suck at identification :dontknow:
ricelg
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by ricelg »

Those look really great - congrats!
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

*UPDATE* ADVICE NEEDED!
Slow but steady...3 month difference
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Now for E.rigidissimus rubispinus. Growth progress from early August 2016 to late January 2017
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I finally mustered enough courage to transplant the seedlings, since the last time I prick out my M. matanzanus, I suffered 100% loss. Here is the root ball when I uprooted the seedlings. They were so fine and fibrous! #-o #-o #-o I did not dare cleaning off the roots since I wanted to minimize injury. Is this the right thing to do?

How did you guys go about transplanting cactus seedlings with shallow and delicate roots that do not have tap roots?

I didn't bother with letting it sit in the open. I simply planted them right away in dry mineral medium.
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Here they are after transplantation. I waited a full week before watering. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they won't rot on me this time.
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I suck at identification :dontknow:
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greenknight
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by greenknight »

Should be fine, an Echinocereus is much more tolerant than a Melocactus - Melos are notorious for resenting root disturbance. I think you were premature in transplanting the Melos, as well, but these are faster-growing and definitely farther along - you could have let them go a little longer, but at the rate they were growing they were going to be very crowded soon.

When transplanting commercial seedlings growing in a mostly peat mix, that's when it's really important to clean the roots of the old mix. Not as crucial here, though it would have been best since you're changing to a mineral mix. You could have washed it off adequately with a spray of water (unlike hardened peat), causing very little root damage.

Since you did minimal root damage, there was no need to delay potting them up. If you'd torn up the roots removing old dried-out peat, it would have been another story.

Like I said, I think they should do ok, I wouldn't bother doing it over. If in doubt, you could pop one of them out of its pot a day or two after watering to check that the root ball is taking up water. I don't think it's really necessary, though, I'd wait and see how they do.
Spence :mrgreen:
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MagiCarpus
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by MagiCarpus »

Thank you Spence, I certainly hope they'd make it. At the moment they seem to be doing fine.

Here is the thing, the entire batch of seedlings were among those from the very first sowing when I entered the hobby, hence I made the rookie mistake of starting them in highly peaty mix. When I uprooted those E.rigidissimus, the material surrounding the root ball was indeed solid concrete.

Am I correct to assume that in the future, it is perfectly okay to rinse seedling roots with water (either under running tap or in a bowl), followed by a drying period of 2-6 days before I bury them into the new medium, after which another dry period of at least one week would follow before the reintroduction of water?

Sorry about the verbose question, I just want to clarify things to better future practice. Thanks!
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greenknight
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Re: The windowsill adventure of my seeds

Post by greenknight »

I didn't think the mix looks that bad, a fair amount of grit in it - though it's obvious there's quite a bit of peat, too. If it set up that hard, I think it would be wise to check one as described earlier. No rush, spring would be soon enough.

Yes, rinsing the roots clean is fine, or at least soaking them to soften up the old mix. I would leave them bare-root for at least a week if there's any significant root damage incurred while removing the old mix, but if it rinses off easily you could reduce that some.
Spence :mrgreen:
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