Record the growth of my plants

[Aztekium123]

I really love this charming little plant, although it grows very slowly. I planted another batch of seeds this autumn, and I plan to take a photo every three months to record its growth. For plants in the Aztekium genus, I estimate it will take at least 6 years to bloom, and if things don't go smoothly, I estimate it will take several more years.

Okay, let's get started. This was sown on October 3rd, 2023, and it began to sprout three days after sowing.

2023101411.jpg (145.21 KiB) Viewed 4278 times

Aztekium valdezii。Red Flower Pot

2023101212.jpg (163.87 KiB) Viewed 4279 times

Aztekium ritteri 。Blue Flower Pot

[Tom in Tucson]

I really love this charming little plant, although it grows very slowly. I planted another batch of seeds this autumn, and I plan to take a photo every three months to record its growth. For plants in the Aztekium genus, I estimate it will take at least 6 years to bloom, and if things don't go smoothly, I estimate it will take several more years.

Okay, let's get started. This was sown on October 3rd, 2023, and it began to sprout three days after sowing.
2023101411.jpg
Aztekium valdezii。Red Flower Pot
2023101212.jpg
Aztekium ritteri 。Blue Flower Pot

🖒 🖒

Do you use pure Akadama?

[Aztekium123]

Akadama，Just a layer on the surface of the soil.The surface soil is actually not very critical. Because if everything goes smoothly, it should be necessary to transplant seedlings or change pots the next year. The seeds of this plant are really too small, about the size of a needle tip. It is not possible to arrange the seeds evenly in the pot during sowing

[Tom in Tucson]

In my opinion, Akadama has a similar porosity to it's native habitat (gypsum based). Despite the PH difference. the porosity looks similar:



Akadama in its native form:



Although Akadama does lose it's high porosity as it breaks down, and compacts (eventually becoming less porous as it is used). For the purpose of using it for minute cactus seed (for a year or 2) whose species have been very successful with using their tiny seed,s (which have the ability to adhere to a surface that most other plants would have trouble even establishing any sort of foothold) to excel in their unique environment.

[Aztekium123]

The following pictures were taken recently, and I found it unwise to take photos every three months because only minor changes can be seen. The first seed sown on October 3rd last year had white mold in three pots, which has not been completely removed yet. The two pots in the picture are lucky and do not seem to have developed any mold. These two pots contain different varieties. The blue basin is Aztekium ritteri, and the red basin is Aztekium valdezii.

[Nino_G]

In my opinion, Akadama has a similar porosity to it's native habitat (gypsum based). Despite the PH difference. the porosity looks similar:

Tom,
Gypsum and akadama have similar pH - close to neutral. In fact, gypsum is slightly more acidic.

The following pictures were taken recently, and I found it unwise to take photos every three months because only minor changes can be seen. The first seed sown on October 3rd last year had white mold in three pots, which has not been completely removed yet. The two pots in the picture are lucky and do not seem to have developed any mold. These two pots contain different varieties. The blue basin is Aztekium ritteri, and the red basin is Aztekium valdezii.

Aztekium 123,
I noticed two interesting things:
- In my experience A. valdezii (at least for the first year) grows significantly faster than A. ritterii; Your plants are approximately the same size after 3 months.
- After three months on my plants only first areoles appear (if any), while on your seedlings there are several already.

It seems that your plants grow almost double the speed of mine! May I ask what are the day/night temperatures in the growing area? Also, what fertilizer do you use (if any), and what type of soil do you use below akadama?
Thank you in advance,
Nino

[Aztekium123]

In my opinion, Akadama has a similar porosity to it's native habitat (gypsum based). Despite the PH difference. the porosity looks similar:

Tom,
Gypsum and akadama have similar pH - close to neutral. In fact, gypsum is slightly more acidic.

The following pictures were taken recently, and I found it unwise to take photos every three months because only minor changes can be seen. The first seed sown on October 3rd last year had white mold in three pots, which has not been completely removed yet. The two pots in the picture are lucky and do not seem to have developed any mold. These two pots contain different varieties. The blue basin is Aztekium ritteri, and the red basin is Aztekium valdezii.

Aztekium 123,
I noticed two interesting things:
- In my experience A. valdezii (at least for the first year) grows significantly faster than A. ritterii; Your plants are approximately the same size after 3 months.
- After three months on my plants only first areoles appear (if any), while on your seedlings there are several already.

It seems that your plants grow almost double the speed of mine! May I ask what are the day/night temperatures in the growing area? Also, what fertilizer do you use (if any), and what type of soil do you use below akadama?
Thank you in advance,
Nino

The outdoor climate here is very cold, and these plant seedlings are kept in a greenhouse. The temperature is around 15-30

I did not use any fertilizer. Because some of the pots have mold inside.

Below Akadama, there is the soil used for normal cactus cultivation.

Growing very fast is not my goal. My goal is to enable them to grow up healthy and reach the age of flowering.