Seedling Heat Mat Questions

[zpeckler]

A straightforward pair of questions....

When using a heat mat to get cactus seeds to germinate, is it better to leave it on 24hrs a day or to cycle it on and off with your grow light to mimic the natural temp fluctuations the seeds would see over the course of a day out in the real world?

Also, how old should seedlings be when you take them off the heat mat for good?

Thanks,
Zac

[jerrytheplater]

I cycled my heat mat when I germinated Euphorbia tulearensis starting in January. I even bought a temperature controller to keep the temperature down below 80 F. I was seeing it get up to 90 at times. Inkbird is the brand. https://inkbird.com/products/temperatur ... er-itc-308

I set up another heat mat in my cold garage to get an even greater temperature swing for Pediocactus simpsonii. 80's in the day and down to freezing at night.

My Euphorbia are still on the heat mat now since we are still having cool temps. I saw four seeds of the Pediocactus germinated after I got back from 10 days in FL. Those seedlings are off the heat mat now, but I dropped the container today and I'm not sure if the seedlings will survive-bummer.