So I decided to sow

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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

elieestephane wrote:Im curious how Aiko's seeds got through and mine didn't :-k
yes, me too!
but this was the only letter I received from him. After that, we tried again twice but they never reached me, and we decided to stop trying, which is a pitty.
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Aiko
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by Aiko »

elieestephane wrote:Im curious how Aiko's seeds got through and mine didn't :-k
Just the first time. The other two tries I got it returned, along with a note from the Brazillian customs. At least they didn't destroy the seeds...
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

Aiko wrote:
elieestephane wrote:Im curious how Aiko's seeds got through and mine didn't :-k
Just the first time. The other two tries I got it returned, along with a note from the Brazillian customs. At least they didn't destroy the seeds...
...which didn't happened to Elies' seeds: they just disappeared. Meanwhile, I keep receiving seeds from Europe and USA more or less regularly.

Concerning the seeds I've sent abroad, some reached their destiny, some didn't.

There is no pattern and it is a mistery to me.

Anyway, always when planning a seed swap, I warn people that such kind of thing can happen.
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

New batch, many thanks to the friends that sent me the seeds. Several cacti species, the so-dreamed Euphorbia obesa and leaf succulents such as Adeniuns, Fouquieria and Asclepias.

Mix to the cacti is composed of crushed brick (1/3), grit (6/13), charcoal (1/13), top soil (2/13), vermiculite (3/13).

Open pots, as always.

Here is the Table with species, number of seeds, days to first sprouting and number of seedlings after 30 days.

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Some random pictures:

Fouquieria:
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Adenium arabicum:
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Some cacti:
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Vipassana
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by Vipassana »

I always look forward to your updates. I see many of the seeds I sent on your list, which is neat for me. I'll let my seedlings know they have estranged siblings 5000 miles away.

The germination rates of the Ferocactus are interesting; here they grow like weeds. On the other hand, your rates of germination on the Astrophytums are much better than mine typically are.
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

Vipassana wrote:I always look forward to your updates. I see many of the seeds I sent on your list, which is neat for me. I'll let my seedlings know they have estranged siblings 5000 miles away.

The germination rates of the Ferocactus are interesting; here they grow like weeds. On the other hand, your rates of germination on the Astrophytums are much better than mine typically are.
Yes, Ken, I had better results for Fraileas, Astros and Sulcorebutias than for Ferocactus and Mammillarias, in general. Possibly this is due to the wheather: maybe too hot for some species.

But note that the number of seedlings after 30 days is different from the number of sprouted seedlings (which I have not recorded for this batch). Many things can happen within 30 days. Some Ferocactus such as glauscescens and robustus did have poor germination, but for other species I probably lost some seedlings.

I had this problem (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=39814). Leuchtenbergia was severely attacked. I'm sure that almost all seeds sprouted, but after 30 days only one remained.

Fortunatelly, this time I sowed only half of the seeds of each species. So I'll try another batch in autumn.

Thanks for following and, above all, thanks for all the seeds you sent.
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

Some update on my sowing experiences.
I have had too many loses due to dehydratation. Until now I have avoided the baggie method, but now I’m convinced that that’s the best way, so I’ll change my method.
Next I’ll show some pictures comparing seedlings grown in open and closed pots.
Parodia ottonis. Right, sown February 2018; left: sown in January 2017;. A year older, but not that bigger:
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Thelocactus setispinus: same day of sowing, same number of seeds; Left: closed pot; right: open pot:
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Frailea sp: same day of sowing, same number of seeds; Left: closed pot; right: open pot:
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In my next batch I’ll keep the pots closed, but for now I want to show some of my seedlings of the last batches. Most were kindly provided by Vipassana, others I picked up here and there.
Batch of Feb. 2017:
Mammillaria grahamii:
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Echinocactus grusonii:
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Batches of September and October 2017:
Homalocephala texensis:
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Sulcorebutia arenacea:
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Thelocactus bicolor subsp. Schottii :
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Ferocactus potsii:
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Carniegea gigantea:
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Astrophytum myriostigma (with an intruder, possibly Leuchtenbergia principis) (they appear to have only four ribs):
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Ferocactus latispinus:
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Mammillaria glassii:
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Frailea horstii:
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Frailea perbella:
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Fouquieria macdougallii:
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Vipassana
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by Vipassana »

It's great to see such good progress. The Fouquieria are doing really well. Impressive.

I need to take some pictures of the seeds you sent me. I just planted second batchs of many of the seeds you sent and most doing well.
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

Vipassana wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 6:17 am It's great to see such good progress. The Fouquieria are doing really well. Impressive.

I need to take some pictures of the seeds you sent me. I just planted second batchs of many of the seeds you sent and most doing well.
Thank, you! Please send the pictures, I would like very much to see it!
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

It seems that finally I’ve learned with my errors and with the advices here, and decided to use the “bag method” (although I don’t use ziplocs; I use big containers instead).

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Seeds from the same plant, sowed in the same day, in the same substrate, but one remained in closed container. This kind of experiment really convinced me:

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Also, I’ve decided to try a pure grit mix, with absolutely no soil added.
The mix is composed of grit of several kinds of rock and crushed brick, sewed and washed to have only particles of adequate size. About 1/8 of the mix is composed of crushed charcoal, with I believe is a good component because of its water retention and aeration capacity.

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The dry mix was cooked in the oven. Seeds were laid over the mix, and water was given from below. Water excess was taken out with and absorbent paper put at the bottom of the pots for a while. Pots were arranged inside the container, which was finally closed.

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Low temperatures of autumn/winter here aided: at night, it drops to about 10 to 15C, and during the day it reaches about 25C, so seeds were in a good temperature range, I think.
I’m happy with the results, and I feeling more confident now.

Seeds from ADBLPS or kindly given by Armen and Vipassana.

Below you can see the results:

Species, Origin, Number of sowed seed, Days to first sprout , Number of seedlings after 60 days:

Mammillaria formosa Vipassana not counted 9 12
Mammillaria magnimama Vipassana not counted 6 34
Mammillaria hahniana Armen not counted 15 1
Gymnocalycium saglionis Armen not counted 9 60
Gymnocalycium horridispinus Armen not counted 9 53
Astrophytum senile var. aureum Armen not counted 0 0
Astrophytum asterias Armen not counted 0 0
Turbinicarpus alonsoi Armen not counted 13 2
Turbinicarpus lophophoroides Armen not counted 20 6
Thelocactus lophothele var. longispinus Armen not counted 9 9
Lobivia aurea "165x 164" Armen not counted 5 27
Lobivia aurea "165 <= 164" Armen not counted 5 30
Coryphantha echinus Armen not counted 4 35
Parodia saint-pienae Armen not counted 0 0
Epithelantha micromeris var gregii Armen not counted 0 0
Acanthocalycium glaucum Armen not counted 0 0
MAMMILLARIA albata v. sanciro [DH_504/95] ADBLPS_971 20 8 26(!)
MAMMILLARIA baumii [DH_558/92] ADBLPS_633 20 10 9
MAMMILLARIA brachytrichion [HDa/01] ADBLPS_2235 5 10 3
MAMMILLARIA carmenae [SW_2408/90] ADBLPS_877 20 15 9
MAMMILLARIA carmenae L_1363   ADBLPS_878 20 11 2
MAMMILLARIA dixanthocentron v. celsiana L_1059  ADBLPS_805 20 10 7
MAMMILLARIA humboldtii v. intermedia [GK_4105/97] ADBLPS_708 10 12 2
MAMMILLARIA lasiacantha v. denudata [SW_4274/94] ADBLPS_863 10 10 7
MAMMILLARIA longiflora [GK_763/92] ADBLPS_711 20 9 7
MAMMILLARIA machucae [MG_739.6/06] ADBLPS_5791 20 12 4
MAMMILLARIA magnifica SB_533  ADBLPS_2741 20 11 4
MAMMILLARIA marcosii [GK_9072/00] ADBLPS_2258 10 9 4
MAMMILLARIA meissneri AdB_5.29  ADBLPS_815 20 9 13
MAMMILLARIA moelleriana L_698  ADBLPS_836 20 12 5
MAMMILLARIA rubida Rep_722  [GK_3832/96] ADBLPS_994 20 8 16
MAMMILLARIA senilis v. albiflora [GK_1098/93] ADBLPS_732 20 9 15
WEINGARTIA kargliana ADBLPS_2782 20 5 17
WEINGARTIA neumanniana [HG/94] ADBLPS_1854 10 10 2
WEINGARTIA neumanniana v. aurantia MN_172  ADBLPS_2618 20 9 14
WEINGARTIA westii RH_3196  ADBLPS_8319 20 11 3
BLOSSFELDIA subterranea n. n. [GK_3268/99] ADBLPS_70 ~15 0
COPIAPOA echinata RCP_29  ADBLPS_8363 10 6 6
COPIAPOA hypogaea fa. peau de lezard ADBLPS_88 10 6 7
COPIAPOA variispinata WM_236   ADBLPS_8944 20 6 12
ECHINOFOSSULOCACTUS pentacanthus [DH_529/90] ADBLPS_186 20 3 17
ERIOSYCE confinis [MG_1030.5/93] ADBLPS_1038 20 11 10
ERIOSYCE krausii FK_773  ADBLPS_2881 20 2 2
ERIOSYCE napina AWC_410  > Port de Huasco/Chili [AC/00] ADBLPS_2676 20 6 15
ESCOBARIA lloydi [MG_383.1/98] ADBLPS_280 10 9 8
ESCOBARIA sandbergii [SW_4163/96] ADBLPS_253 20 13 1
PARODIA minuscula OF_11/80  [SS_721/97] ADBLPS_1263 30 15 5
PARODIA minuta [MG_1135.28/96] ADBLPS_1305 20 10 8
PYGMAEOCEREUS bieblii v. kuehhasii ADBLPS_5863 20 55 1
REBUTIA heliosa v. cajasensis [DH_733/95] ADBLPS_1373 20 13 1
STROMBOCACTUS pulcherrimus (fleurs rouges) [GK_9582/04] ADBLPS_3534 30 0
SULCOREBUTIA tarabucoensis ssp. patriciae RH_1939a  ADBLPS_4172 20 8 5
WEINGARTIA sanpedroensis RH_2521  ADBLPS_8312 20 11 6
ANCISTROCACTUS megarhizus SB_597  ADBLPS_27 20 8 17



And some pictures:

Some of the pots:
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Gymnocalycium horridispinum
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Gymno saglionis:
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Some Mammillaria and Weingartia:
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Eriosyce napina:
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Sulcorebutia tarabucoensis ssp. patriciae:
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Mammillaria albata v. sanciro:
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Mammillaria baumii:
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Ancistrocactus megarhizus:
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Parodia minuta:
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DodoBrooke
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by DodoBrooke »

Thank you for this extensive report. Differences you are showong are remarkable.
Soil you are using presently looks rich and I wonder how did you get all those gravel bits of pretty much the same size :lol:
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J-M
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by J-M »

Wow makes me want to try to sow seeds using a mineral mix now !

Can you describe what is in your mix ?

Did you add some fertilizer to the water ?

Did you have to spray the seedlings now and then ?

Thank you !
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mmcavall
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by mmcavall »

DodoBrooke wrote: Thu Jun 28, 2018 6:45 pm I wonder how did you get all those gravel bits of pretty much the same size :lol:
Thanks DodoBrooke for you interest. Indeed, this mix is the product of intensive labour...I almost give up sowing...
I have to sift through different sieves, keeping all fractions separately, and washing them to discard the smalest particles, leave drying. Them I choose the fractions to compose the mix.
J-M wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:07 pm Can you describe what is in your mix ?
Did you add some fertilizer to the water ?
Did you have to spray the seedlings now and then ?
Thank you !
Thank you J-M for your comments and questions. Note that I'm not a experienced grower, I'm still learning, thus this is not necessarily a recipe for success! This mix is composed by different grits and gravels, crushed brick and charcoal. The grits are from different rocks I find here, such as basalt, laterite, siltite, etc. Probably it is not that important to have all these kind of different rocks, but the different shapes contributes to form "micro-caves" of air within the mix. I dont use sand nor calcarous rocks. That's it....
I did not added any fertilizer in the water, but perhaps I'll do that when I open the pots (not before six months after sowing).
I dont spray the seedlings, as the pots are kept closed, so they don't loose humidity.
Good luck!
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J-M
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by J-M »

Same for me, I am no expert, but I like to experiment. Maybe this is how you can become one with time !

Good luck and keep posting your results.
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DodoBrooke
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Re: So I decided to sow

Post by DodoBrooke »

So you'll let them stay in for 6 months?
I am wondering about mine, since I have sown for the first time and I picked bad period to sow-May and June. If I keep seedlings in for 6 months it will be middle of winter when I ll be opening the bag and I'm not sure if the conditions will be fine for them to adapt.
I still have to think about it :roll:
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