Propagation of asterias from seed

[Hanazono]

G'morning oriky,

Seeds of miracle kabuto means:
Both parents were miracle kabutos.
In case of miracle kabuto, there is no guarantee all or any seedlings to be "miracle kabuto".

I am not sure why seeds of super kabuto were mixed in.



特撰ミラクル兜錦means:
specially selected variegated miracle kabuto
Both parents showed very good variegation and so they were selected for seed collection.
This means you do not know they were good miracle kabutos or not.

If you buy Japanese seeds, you should select 超白ミラクル兜, means ultra white miracle kabuto.

Frank

[oriky]

Hi frank, thank you very much
did you know the japanese name of the coahuilense f. monstrose (kikko)?

i read couple time this plant dosent have satigma, interesting how the grow stable this phenotype without the option make those plant
"mother"

[Hanazono]

G'morning oriky,

It is 白ランポー玉　モンストローサ.

Frank

[walker87]

Hi Frank,
First of all thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge.
I have read every thread of yours I can find and find them so helpful and insightful.

I do however have a question.

Do you sterilise your soil mix for seed planting?
I use the baggie method and have to bake soil in the oven so it does not become overrun with mould and other nasties.
My seedlings stay in the bag anywhere from a few weeks (if grafting) or up to a year if growing on own roots.

Thankyou

[Hanazono]

G'evening waker87,

No I do not sterilise soil mix.
I use a fungicide, 250 g/kg Furalaxyl.

Spray fungicide over top of soil mix before sowing seeds
Spray over after sowing seeds
Cover seeds over by top dressing, 2~4 mm zeolite and spray fungicide again.
3 times of sprays in total

I do not use the baggie method but seedlings are kept in high humidity plastic box at least for 1 year.
The fungicide and coarse topdressing can minimise the formation of mould.

Frank

[walker87]

Thankyou very much for your reply.

I'm going to switch to your method, cooking soil in the oven takes a very long time and doesn't smell very good either!
Not sure I'll be able to find zeolite I've tried before and can't find it anywhere (I'm from Melbourne)
The closest I got was a suggestion that pool shops stock it for swimming pool filters but none had it in stock.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

[MagiCarpus]

Oh Hi 87 Walker, nice to see you on the forum. I’m subscribed to several YouTube channels related to cacti and i’d say yours is one of he top ones. Keep the content rolling!

https://m.youtube.com/user/87walker

[Hanazono]

G'morning walker87,

The physical size of topdressing is important.
I use 2~4 mm zeolite but you can use any inorganic materials with this size for the topdressing.

I checked "zeolite in Melbourne" on website.
I think there are several suppliers in Melbourne.

Frank

[walker87]

Thank you for the info Frank.
I will be planting some seeds of astrophytum and ariocarpus in a couple of months time so will be able to test new methods then.

Also thank you to magicarpus, glad you like my videos.

[Yamyoo]

Hi, Im a follower of this topic and read it through many times. Your technique of cutting the tap roots off is a very wonderful process. I am amazed by the way you grow and take a very good care of your Astros and Arios. Splendid. I do think that cutting it off is very ideal to my country, Frank. If I just may ask and this may not be the best place for me to do questioning but does cutting the tap roots is also or somewhat applicable too to other cactus species? If it only applies to other species (aside from Astrophytum), what are those? Thank you. Hoping all the best for you, Arthur.

[Hanazono]

G'morning Arthur,

I started to try cutting tap roots of Ariocarpus for a different purpose.
Larvae of sciarid flies eat tap roots of 3~4 years old seedlings in my place.
I have tried to minimise the problem by eliminating tap roots.

"Cut tap roots of Astrophytum but do not cut ones of Ariocarpus because tap roots of Ariocarpus would not regrow" was a common idea but it is not true.
I will do more test in coming spring.

Frank

[Yamyoo]

Hi Frank. Good day. I will wait for the result of your testing. I also want to contribute if it make sense because I'm still not sure if it can also be benefitable to other cactus a non-Astros and non-Arios species. I have a lot of seeds germinated now maybe I can observe one per species and do some observation. Continue to keep your plants healthy and amazing, Frank.

[Hanazono]

I will start repotting of asterias from mid of August.
The selection of asterias which are necessary to repot has been started.
As shown on the attached photo, many asterias have grown well and no space of watering.
I water to the gap between asterias and pot wall.

[Hanazono]

I sowed seeds of Astrophytum asterias cv miracle kabuto on 23rd August 2013.
125 seedlings have survived.
Each of them was in 5 cm square tube but I repotted 20 of them into 6.5 cm square pots last summer.
105 seedlings still have been in 5 cm square tubes but I will repot 40 seedlings in August.
I have selected seedlings and prepared 40 of 6.5 cm square pots.
The photo is a part of selected seedlings.

[keith]

Nice and much whiter than normal asterias. Are they harder to grow than normal asterias ?