A. ritteri seedlings for sale on Ebay

[Driller64]

A ritteri of course

[DaveW]

A. hintonii is not as slow growing from seed as A. ritteri. Here's my plant on it's own roots I grew from seed some years ago when seed started to become available, and I am not a fast plant grower. As you can see from the bristles they develop at the crown when flowering size, it has already flowered.

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Will have to see if I can find when it was set.

David Quail in the UK has growing these type of plants down to a fine art and raises them by the dozens from seed:-

http://www.living-rocks.com/quail.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.living-rocks.com/quail2.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Aiko]

I would guess Aztekium hintonii.

[DaveW]

Regarding slow from seed, I would think Blossfeldia's and Strombocactus are not a great deal faster than Aztekium ritteri?

A friend of mine recently died and left his collection to members of our local cactus branch, but due to his illness they had got a bit neglected with a few mealies.. I found this Aztekium ritteri on it's horrible stock looking like a flat plate on top of a stick which everybody had passed over, either because it had mealy bug or they did not know what it was. After watering and de-bugging it has wrapped itself around the stock into a globular ball. The main head is 5.5 cm across and the clump itself 7.5 cm diameter x 7 cm high. I hope to take off the lower hanging heads and root them down next year and if successful take the main head off the graft and root that down later.

Some people automatically pass up anything with bugs on or which is not at the moment a show specimen and never think of using it for propagation!

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Sorry they are poor pictures, but were quick snatched shots taken in poor light. Shows if you graft them though how quickly you can push them on and de-graft later onto their own roots.

I see from the original EBAY link a single headed 5 cm (2") A. ritteri is listed at around $40 (£24.82p).

[Aiko]

Strombocactus is relatively fast for a slow grower. I have a two or three year old of about 0.5 centimeter. The only surviver of a lot of seeds that I sowed without the baggy method.

[adetheproducer]

Strombocactus is relatively fast for a slow grower. I have a two or three year old of about 0.5 centimeter. The only surviver of a lot of seeds that I sowed without the baggy method.

I had similar results with strombo's too, my largest after a year is about 8mm. I am finding I get better results with out the use of the baggy method. I now use a propagator tray with a cover that is in no way air tight with much better results. I dry them out much quicker than with the baggy method. It does slow growth down but I get much stronger growth especially with the roots. I think I will have to have a go at the aztekiums if they are not much slower than strombocactus cant be that much more difficult.

[Robb]

Ade, you may have got better results if you had sown using the baggy method. For the majority of slower growing cacti it works wonders, and if you plan on growing Aztekuim you will probably have to use it because otherwise your growth rates will be really slow.

[adetheproducer]

Ade, you may have got better results if you had sown using the baggy method. For the majority of slower growing cacti it works wonders, and if you plan on growing Aztekuim you will probably have to use it because otherwise your growth rates will be really slow.

That is my point, I do not get better results with the baggy method. I am not at all worried about slow growth I am patient. Last year(the second batch of seedlings I have grown) I attempted the baggy method and had very a poor result, I tried sterilizing and got worse results. I find I do not get as much algi/moss growth using a propagator also much less fungal damping off and less losses to rot. This year I have started lophophora williamsii, ariocarpus, ephithilantha micromeris, echinopsis panachoi, copiapoa hypogea, melocactus and rebutia muscula. These are all growing well with only one loss of a weak loph, great germination rates, limited agli growth and no fungi attacks. Last year I used the baggy method for melocactus, gymnocalycium, ephithilantha micromeris, rebutia muscula, lophophora williamsii and blossfeldiana and lost virtually all to mould, damping off and rot, what did survive is now noticeable stunted and weak. I think the stability of the environment in the baggies is a hindrance as strange as it sounds. The temperatures are more constant the humidity is pretty much fixed, I have found the greater exposure to fluctuating temperatures and changes in humidity I get with the propagator method is more beneficial.

[Robb]

, I tried sterilizing and got worse results.

Are you sure you sterilized the soil enough? I have used the baggy method for most of the species you mentioned and have had great results, and hardly any mold or algae. I microwave my soil for about 3 minutes on high and while the soil was still hot I sprayed some hydrogen peroxide onto it.
I personally, find it hard to understand that you would get less algae without using the baggy method than if you properly sterilized the soil and used a zip-lock bag.
If you do plan on growing Aztekuim Ade, I can say that without somehow ridding your soil of pathogens the tiny seedlings are probably going to get swamped by algae.

[adetheproducer]

Tried several methods of sterilisation cook in micowave for 6 minutes, baked in oven at 200°c for 2 hours and cooked in pot stove all with equaly poor results. Now I use home made soil which is the tiny chips and splinters left over from crushibg up larger rocks sieved to remove dust and very fines and hust rain water. Then in the propagator.

[Robb]

Hmm, it's strange that contamination occurred even after you did very good sterilization. How long did you leave the soil exposed to air? The only other possible way algae got in would've been through the water, but this usually doesn't present a problem until much later. As long as you are getting good results then keep doing what you are doing, but I would consider sterilizing when you do do sow Aztekuim.

[Aiko]

Hmm, it's strange that contamination occurred even after you did very good sterilization. How long did you leave the soil exposed to air? The only other possible way algae got in would've been through the water

Or opening the bag and peaking...

[adetheproducer]

I dont know. I read a lot about yhe baggy method before trying. I even washed pots with bleach but no good. I just dont stress any more no sterilisation and it works. Clearly im just wierd.

[Driller64]

Aztekium seeds must either have short viability or have very specific humidity requirements for germination because the A. ritteri seeds I sowed have not come up yet. The bag of seeds I have is a few months old, but I sprouted seeds from it before when I first got it. The A. ritteri seedlings were eaten by worms of some sort, but that not the point. The point is to say that the seeds were viable when I first bought them, but not now. Is there any way I can preserve Aztekium seeds and keep them viable for a longer period?

[DaveW]

Regarding moulds, fungi etc being introduced into baggies. The one thing people forget is they often come in on the seeds themselves due to minute remains of dried fruit pulp or dried on fruit juices on them already being infected, since sterilising small seeds most cacti have is too much of a chore if you are setting more than a few species. Just imagine doing it if your setting 100 packets as many of us do. One method is to wrap the seed in a small piece of filter paper and dip it into a sterilising solution for a while and let them soak. However it's very fiddly and difficult for dust like seeds. Spraying the seeds with fungicide immediately they are set is another method, but sometimes fungicides can inhibit germination:-

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=7604.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In some ways the problem is exacerbated by growing in a closed sterile environment like baggies since any infection introduced will run riot without the competition it gets from other organisms in non sterilised soil in a more open atmosphere. As with humans, a preoccupation with over cleanliness and rendering everything sterile through over use of germicides and disinfectants leads to loss of natural immunity for anything raised in those conditions.

One method I have tried that reduces the problem and inhibits algae is to cover the top of the pots with coarse grit, sow the seeds on that and wash them into it with a mist sprayer, just like they would get washed in in habitat. That localises any fungus infection which does not spread easily to the other seedlings as on a normal soil surface and can also be used in baggie culture. However it does not seem to be successful for dust like seeds.

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Potting Compost of course is used in the UK to mean Potting Soil.