L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Discuss repotting, soil, lighting, fertilizing, watering, etc. in this category.
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ggez
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L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by ggez »

It was my first time trying the baggy method. 6/10 germinated. One died and vanished after a few weeks. Today (2 months in), two more look rotten/about to die. I noticed that the soil looks REALLY moist for the 2 that are dying. So next time, start the soil less damp? I am going to start acclimatizing the survivors now.

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Grimm
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by Grimm »

Yes, that looks far too damp.
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ElieEstephane
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by ElieEstephane »

I usually start my seeds and in ~2-3 mm mineral grit. I water it and leave it to drip all the excess water. I then sprinkle the seeds and sometimes sprinkle a layer of fine grit. Next i spray the surface and then put in the baggy.
Never lost a seedling that way.
One benefit of using a mineral gritty mix is that it's free draining meaning that you'll never overwater. You'll also avoid lots of diseases and pests attracted by organic matter. In addition, in a gritty mix, the seedlings will come right out of the mix without losing a single root. I found that while moving seedlings from an organic mix, the small roots will get stuck in the spongy mix and get torn off.
Im currently experiencing in using different sizes grit in the developpement of roots. Will post updates when they are decently sized.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
williamsii823
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Location: Tampa Bay, Florida,USA

Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by williamsii823 »

Yeah, unless you just watered, that's far too wet. I root my seedlings in a mix of pumice grit, perlite, and sifted coconut coir.
ggez
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by ggez »

elieestephane wrote:I usually start my seeds and in ~2-3 mm mineral grit. I water it and leave it to drip all the excess water. I then sprinkle the seeds and sometimes sprinkle a layer of fine grit. Next i spray the surface and then put in the baggy.
Never lost a seedling that way.
One benefit of using a mineral gritty mix is that it's free draining meaning that you'll never overwater. You'll also avoid lots of diseases and pests attracted by organic matter. In addition, in a gritty mix, the seedlings will come right out of the mix without losing a single root. I found that while moving seedlings from an organic mix, the small roots will get stuck in the spongy mix and get torn off.
Im currently experiencing in using different sizes grit in the developpement of roots. Will post updates when they are decently sized.
Thanks for the advice. Is the mineral grit something just like this?
http://www.abbaseed.com/Seed_Products/M ... neral.html

What do you use for the fine grit? After a few months, you take the seedlings out of the baggy and pot them in your standard cactus soil?
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ElieEstephane
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Location: Lebanon (zone 11a)

Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by ElieEstephane »

ggez wrote:
elieestephane wrote:I usually start my seeds and in ~2-3 mm mineral grit. I water it and leave it to drip all the excess water. I then sprinkle the seeds and sometimes sprinkle a layer of fine grit. Next i spray the surface and then put in the baggy.
Never lost a seedling that way.
One benefit of using a mineral gritty mix is that it's free draining meaning that you'll never overwater. You'll also avoid lots of diseases and pests attracted by organic matter. In addition, in a gritty mix, the seedlings will come right out of the mix without losing a single root. I found that while moving seedlings from an organic mix, the small roots will get stuck in the spongy mix and get torn off.
Im currently experiencing in using different sizes grit in the developpement of roots. Will post updates when they are decently sized.
Thanks for the advice. Is the mineral grit something just like this?
http://www.abbaseed.com/Seed_Products/M ... neral.html

What do you use for the fine grit? After a few months, you take the seedlings out of the baggy and pot them in your standard cactus soil?
Yeah the grit looks just like that. Any grit is good as long as you stay away from limestone or dolomite. This grit is naturally occurring where i live. When i sift it i keep the fine grit but wash it quite thouroughly to remove all dust and powder. You don't have to buy it, just looked for decayed and broken down rocks in the garden or in nature.
I like to sow my seeds immediately in pots. This way i can leave them growing in the same pot for up to 2 years. You don't want to disturb the roots too early. I don't repot until the pot gets too crowded. And when i finally do repot the seedlings, i use the same grit and add maybe 20-30% compost to help the plants start off right. You can drop the compost and chose to feed the plants with very dilute fertilizer solution.
I attached a picture of what my soil looks like.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
ggez
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by ggez »

I'm amazed that they can grow in essentially 100% rock with no organic matter. Those look quite healthy and I think I may try it next time. thanks for the info :)
DaveW
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by DaveW »

If you fertilise the plants they are not merely growing in grit. You are growing similar to hydroponics where the substrate is merely to hold the plants and the nutrients are provided separately. However there is no doubt some chemicals are gradually released from the grit, since soils are basically just the breakdown of rocks, plus rotted or disintegrated organic matter.

It is said some cacti can digest rocks, but in fact that is done by symbiotic bacteria. Whether all our nursery or home grown plants are already inoculated with these I am not convinced, they probably mainly inhabit the areas where the cacti grow.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/17 ... are_rocks/
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greenknight
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by greenknight »

ggez wrote:
<snip> Is the mineral grit something just like this?
http://www.abbaseed.com/Seed_Products/M ... neral.html

What do you use for the fine grit? After a few months, you take the seedlings out of the baggy and pot them in your standard cactus soil?
That bird grit is made from shells, which are lime, and it also contains salt - don't use that.
Spence :mrgreen:
DaveW
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by DaveW »

I don't know what is sold as bird or chicken grit in the USA, but you can occasionally get flint bird grit in the UK. But as Spence says most of it is crushed shell since this is often preferred as it provides calcium for producing the birds egg shells, therefore is alkaline and best avoided for cacti.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 5&aid=2652
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Brockodale
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Re: L. williamsii seedling post mortem

Post by Brockodale »

Chick grit! Like this:

https://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/fl ... o_s=gplauk

It's small pieces intended for young birds, so is ideal for seeds. And if you have chickens, ideally you should feed them a complete food for laying hens and not the soluble/calcium grit. Their food has the correct amount of calcium in it, and if they have too much they can end up with weird eggshells and eggs that get stuck.
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