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Good looking stuff, Peter! Looks like that heating pad made a difference in your germination time.

Any idea who the father might be of the echinocereus (#2)?

What is the plant in the third picture down with buds?

The third one down is E. davisii, grown a little soft by the nursery where I got it. I hope to tough it up and keep it more miniature this year.

I think the father for that hybrid Echinocereus is probably weedinii. so it is maybe E. russanthus X E. weedinii. But I don't think I'll ever know for sure. I hope it flowers sometime.

Here's some more seedling pics. I have action in 28 pots out of 40, after 5 days. That might be a record. In another 2-5 days the balancing act begins between maintaining germination conditions for some while avoiding too much moisture/damping off for others. I usually just take certain ones out altogether, like the first pic, a bunch of selfed Astrophytum capricorne senile.



Interested to see what happens with these guys. Open pollinated Echinocereus hybrid is the mother, A probable Echinocereus dasyacanthus X triglochidiatus. So these might be a three way.


4 year old seed from the Superstitions, probably Echinocereus apachensis:


Echinofossulocactus anfractuosus. Glad there are so many, hope they hang around. I hear the ribs for this one are amazing. Haven't ever seen it.


One more day in the life of Peniocereus cuixmalensis.


peterb

Everthings lookin good!

I think the father for that hybrid Echinocereus is probably weedinii. so it is maybe E. russanthus X E. weedinii. But I don't think I'll ever know for sure. I hope it flowers sometime.

While your on the subject, I thought you would get a kick out of this.
Seed came from you labeled E. russanthus v. weedinii.

Do they look to you like they are true or hybrids?

Re the Echinofossulocactus anfractuosus, I have N82.009 in what was a sterilized pot with microwaved soil, sown 12/13/11.
I guess the seed was carrying some nasty stuff because I have lost 4 to some kind of nasty, flesh eating fungus. Its the only pot out of 45 with this going on.
Watch them closely.

The weedinii you have going from that seed I sent a few years ago looks true to me, but it did come with the open pollination caveat. Flowers will help. Man, those plants look great! The chisoensis look great too.

thanks for the tip on the anfractuosus.

peterb

a few more seedling pics. I followed Ian and others' advice and didn;t cover the seed with anything, but washed it down into the soil. I usually sprinkle a little sand over it. I think it has increased germination and shortened germination time. A rough count puts things at action in 35 pots out of 40 and roughly 170 seedlings in one week. Some concern over those who just lie on the soil surface. Do they eventually send roots down and right themselves?

Penio marianus trying to get going.


Another Penio cuixmalensis photo. Love the "dots" on the epidermis. I forget the botanical name for that, but I think there is one.


A couple pics of the Acharagma aguirreana, pretty good germination, but they are looking a bit weak at this point. Not really sending much down besides the hypocotyl.



Echinomastus acunensis from Sonoyta, Sonora:


Mammillaria louisae:


Escobaria missouriensis, from really old seed I had lying around, maybe as much as 10 years:


Mam slevinii:


Echinocereus reichenbachii albispinus


Having fun so far. It's cool to suddenly have 150 little plants around.

peterb

Awesome growing! All of those seedlings look great! I can't wait to start my seed growing madness. Placed my order with Mesa Gardens yesterday

I don't cover seeds and sometimes they fix themselves, sometimes they need help. It's pretty much a case by case basis. I try not to touch anything "tricky" for a while, even if its laying on its side. The roots know where to go

Re: old Escobaria seed. I sowed some E. missouriensis seed that was close to 8 years old. Germination was really good.

Thanks D, I figured I would leave everything as is until the dome gets lifted and then removed. If anyone is still lazing around on the surface, I'll do a rescue then. In the humidity under the dome, I think they're okay.

peterb

Repotted a very rootbound Ferocactus emoryi rectispinus today, one of those bigger jobs we do from time to time. I wish I owned some property so I could just plant this guy in the ground.




Old pot in the background, new pot in the foreground:






Used a massive amount of soil. Another advantage to using turface is it makes these mineral mixes way lighter than they would be otherwise.

Also repotted an older Opuntia azurea, busting out of its pot, and the Penioceres johnstonii as well as a seed grown Neoevansia viperina:





I have about 100 plants that need to move up this year, so it will take about 5 weeks or so. I need to go get some more desert loam next weekend.

peterb

Ferocactus sure make a lot of roots

Especially when grown in good old dirt.

Seed sowing update: at least some little thing or other happening in 40 out of 40 pots now, after ten days. Some more so than others.

Echinocereus hybrid with spines already:


Only one Austrocactus bertinii so far, strange little seedling too. I never give single seedlings very high odds:


Astrophytum capricorne senile. Almost time to get more air and dry out a little bit.


Escobaria missouriensis. The more I work with these and the other Escobaria like sneedii, etc, the more I can understand why they were separated out into their own genus (Neobesseya).


Echinocereus reichenbachii albispinus from Tishomingo OK


Echinofossulocactus anfractuosus:


Crossing my fingers on these Cochemiea halei. I've never been able to keep them alive to flowering size.


Cochemiea pondii seems slightly easier:



So far so good on the Peniocereus cuixmalensis.


peterb

peterb wrote:Repotted a very rootbound Ferocactus emoryi rectispinus today, one of those bigger jobs we do from time to time. I wish I owned some property so I could just plant this guy in the ground.

peterb

Do you think it could handle your winters in the ground?

The Desert Botanical Garden has several in the ground, so I think it would have a shot, yes.

peterb

I have a regular F. emoryi & an emoyri rectispinus both in ground for years, and they do wonderfully!

I have a regular F. emoryi in the ground here in Black Canyon City. It is much cooler up here than it is down in PHX and mine shows no ill effects of the 16F nights last year. It grew about 5 more areoles after. It is dormant right now, but will start putting on more Areoles this year I am sure

FYI DBG has both F. emoryi and F. emoryi var rectispinus in ground.