Order for my b-day

[stefan m.]

So i think of getting these. Ordering bulk, because reasons.
Have room for 7 euro worth. Any suggestions?
Im thinking echinomastus or thelocactus or turbinicarpus.

[ElieEstephane]

You can get good sulcorebutia plants on their own roots at nurseries so i'd skip those seeds. Or you can get your own seeds from these plants. But you don't like wholesale plants...
Echinocactus texensis is a very interesting plant. I'd keep that in the list

[stefan m.]

I actually havent even seen a live sulcorebutia ever, and rebutias are very rare, and usually roided or in bad health.
And i have an echinoactus texsis seedling, buuuuut i bough it bare root, and it hast recovered like the other three plants(graptopetallum bellum and pahycereus marginatus).
And the other three that i got croaked(some totally rootles mammilaria and orostachys)

[ElieEstephane]

That's weird...
We get from the same dutch nurseries as everyone sulcorebutia rauschi on its own roots and grafted, grafted rebutia heliosa, rebutia hybrids and many others.

[stefan m.]

The same...not really. The products are the same, but the buying committee is not.
Sorry couldnt reply , was busy being covered in scale guts cleaning my aloe variegata.
In my country, at leas i can account for the last few years
Most popular succulent plants have been
1-echeveria mixes-perle von numberg, agavoides, pulidonis, lola....(medium)
2-haworthia limfolia(various)..(smaller medium)
3 mini cactus mixes, often with lots of pilosocereus, mammilaria...
4-echinocactus grusonii, cereus tetragonus, espostoa and others, mammilaria, ferocactus emoryy(larger medium to smaller medium)
5-Opuntia microdasys and rufida(local and imported)
edit(forgot to mention)- Grafted moon cactus, yellow peanut, euphorbia, sometimes parodia and rebutia heliosa.
6-Aloe bloody vera of course
7-schlumbergera and hatiora
Where as , local favourites include echinopsis oxygona and chamecereus, aloe cilaris hybrid, aloe arborescens (often sold as aloe vera), disocactus ackermanii.

[ElieEstephane]

If i had 7 euros to spend on seeds i'd get as many species as possible and skip the expensive stuff.

[stefan m.]

Im ordering bulk for some "more intersting species".

[esp_imaging]

Im ordering bulk for some "more intersting species".

Well, OK, so you have your reasons, but if I had a limited budget (and limited space), I wouldn't buy 100 seeds of a species (or even a genus mix).
Sometimes (depends on the supplier) you get lots more seed in a packet than specified. Sometimes you get zero germination, sometimes you get loads of germination. So I'd rather get 5 packets of 10 or 20 seeds, and maybe get decent germination from 4 packets, than 100 seeds of a single species (which may give zero germination, or else you end up with, say, 80 healthy seedlings taking up loads of room and which you can't even give away.)

Without knowing what you like and why, its hard to comment on extra species, there are so many interesting options.
However, I'd be tempted to stick a few more fast/easy species in the mix (but not more Trichos), since you have quite a lot which are rather tricky.

I've enjoyed other succulents from seed, they tend to be quicker growing and are often rewarding in a different way to cacti.

[stefan m.]

Most are dwarf, or very slow species, so i should be fine after i dispose of some sickly and etiolated plants(botched dragon fruit seedlings, really small echinocereus and etiolated, some etiolated opuntia clones, underage agave ofshoot...)
Any way, what ive opted to buy from bercht(finally replied) was cintia(bulk, 100 seeds), mediolobivia nigricans carmenia X2 ,lobivia jajoniana x 3, copiapoa cinerea, tephrocactus geometricus.
as for succulents (aside from the ones mentioned), tried growin' tylecodon from seed , and got only 1 measly seedling.
so succulents from seeds.... ill take the monocot ones.

[stefan m.]

Oh , forgot to mention, i dont intend to sow all bulks in one go, probably a half or a third, in case of failure.

[d1revolver]

attention to buy seeds from koheres, they are old, and may be not germinating...

[stefan m.]

Neither do some from e-bay from italy.

[stefan m.]

Would you believe it if its already at our post office? Though i still have to wait a bit for it to arrive at the local one.
And I made the purchase on the 18th!

[DaveW]

I agree with ESP, I generally stick to portions from dealers, although these days I do get a lot of habitat seed given me by friends. Germination of rarer species when first introduced may not be that good, particularly expensive new introductions. A friend who is an excellent seed raiser told me he sowed 100 seeds of an expensive new Mammillaria and 4 germinated. He grafted these and produced more pups from them and then grafted these, later selling them and had soon made more than the seed cost, plus a nice little profit.

You have to remember seeds classed as "Botanical Species" don't come under normal seed testing regulations, therefore don't always expect them to germinate as profusely as a packet of normal flower seeds from the stores, which is usually the result of "hybrid vigour". If they did come under seed testing regulations most botanical seed would have to be thrown away as having too low germination. However people are glad with a rare species to even raise one, and two may even allow the plants to later be cross pollinated to produce more viable seed for sale. On the Continent by grafting just a couple of seedlings, flowering and cross pollinating them they can soon provide larger quantities of seed of rare species, or more plants from re-grafting the pups.

Surprised Sulcorebutia's are rare where you are Stefan. They are freely available here, I think I have about 12 species and could buy dozens more if I wanted. The plants availability in your country sounds more like what was available in the UK in the 1950's, rather than modern times. Evidently your dealers or collectors have not been raising plants from the vast range of seed available internationally. What you say illustrates one of the advantages of growing from seed. Seed is usually available and crosses national boundaries where plants can't. Is there no Cactus Society in your country? Have you tried putting an advert in the local paper or magazines to contact more cactus growers in your area you who you can swap plants with? Many of my more uncommon plants come from other collectors at our branch meetings.

[stefan m.]

Seed raising cacti , aside from myself, is something that isnt even considered a possibility here by almost all plant growers.
And like i mentioned, theres no specialist nursery aside that one seller, who manufactures for some plant stores, often on the green markets. The wholesale always purchases a limited quantity, and often the most common looking and medium to small, and also cheapest plants possible. They mostly deal with tropical plants, like beaucarneas, yucca elephanipensis, non succulent dracaena, ficuses, including the bonsai ficus and ficus benjamina, a lot of orchids.(and bromeliads from time to time) Aside from the already mentioned, only other succulents on a regular basis are kalanchoe kalandiva, saneverias(cilindrica and others),and not as often various types of crassula.
So, before i resorted to seeds, I had to actually hunt for plants, often checking out some plant stores on a quarterly basis. And what was rarer than most, often had acclimation issues. so the seed thing...
And i dont germinate all my seeds at once- often use a third or half just in case something goes wrong, and this applies to rarer, riskier species. As you can see,most seeds worked out, but ive no idea which ones just yet.