Coryphantha germination

[tdf]

Hi all,
Is there anything special that needs to happen to germinate coryphantha seeds? I sowed my latest batch of seeds a couple of weeks ago and the coryphantha is the only species that hasn't shown any sign of life. This is my second attempt with it, but the first one happened in winter and I probably didn't have the right temperatures. They are currently under grow lights in covered plastic containers with day temperatures @ 25C/85F+ and night temperatures probably falling around 20C/70F. Not sure if it makes a big difference at this stage, but the soil consists of pumice and coarse river sand. Surprisingly I even got a couple of sclerocactus seeds to germinate after chipping them and I've read they are pretty stubborn (not sure if I'll be able to keep them alive, but that's a different story...).

[greenknight]

AFAIK, Coryphanthas are easy to germinate, and those temperatures should be fine. Is this the same batch of seed that failed before?

[tdf]

Thanks, that's the impression I got as well. Not sure if it's the same batch or not, but now that I've tried to plant ~100 seeds in 3 different pots with absolutely no germination while everything else came up fairly well, it might be that there's something wrong with the seeds themselves. Oh well, better luck next time (hopefully!).

[Jaybizzle]

I too have had difficulty germinating Coryphantha seeds this year....maybe 0 out of 80 after about 4 weeks (2 species). They look like little miniature kidney beans, but no germination....I read that Coryphantha should germinate at about 10 days. Any tips? Thanks.

[esp_imaging]

With my most recent attempt with Coryphantha seed, I had very quick germination, starting at around day 5.
You can try drying the pots out completely, resting them for a few weeks and re-wetting them. You can also try varying the temperatures - temperature spikes of over 30deg C could possibly trigger germination, or overnight minima down to 15deg C or even lower. Worth a try, maybe.

[tumamoc]

Do you know how old the seed is? Coryphantha definitely has an expiration date.

[Jaybizzle]

Thanks. Should be fresh-ish---I had recently ordered from Mesa Garden several months ago....

[keith]

I ordered coryphatha puesdoradians and maiz-tablasensis from mesa both came up pretty fast about 7 - 10 days. And I ordered Echinocereus pectinitus and zero came up. That's the way it goes but you could try what esp-imaging suggests dry re-wet , hot -cold . I germinated mine pretty hot under a plastic dome in full sun with a white paper towel over the top of the pots. Cut back on the sun intensity when they came up.

I think they are about 1 month old now. Much better luck with this batch than the seeds I tried in March . What kind did you buy ?

[Jaybizzle]

poselgeriana and scheeri. Maybe I'll try putting the plastic bags in full sun...see how I do.

Thanks

[keith]

And I ordered Echinocereus pectinitus and zero came up." Two up now probably will be it though. I cant super heat the pots or flood with water anymore so that's probably it. waiting to sow conophtyums in the fall.