Re: What are you sowing?
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 9:46 am
Any special treatment for;
Maihueniopsis mandragora
Pterocactus araucanus
Pterocactus megliolii
Puna bonnieae
Toumeya papyrancantha ?
On-line Guide to the positive identification of Members of the Cactus Family
https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/
Sorry for the late response Ohugal. Yes, I propagate all of the seeds in an unused terrarium (150x50x50cm) equiped with combination of regular household linear LED lamps and "Grow light" LED lamps (I use SF 300 variety). Temperature rises to 30C during the day and drops to 20C during the night. Photoperiod is regulated via timer and set to 14 hours of light. I don't use secondary heat sources, all of the heat during the day is generated by the light sources. Night time temperatures is equal to the ambient temperature of the room the propagator is kept in.
I've just sown some Pterocactus seeds from Elisabeth & Norbert Sarnes (P. australis & P. fischeri). I sterilized the seeds with a hydrogen peroxide solution for about 20 to 30 minutes. I can't recall the percentage, it was either 1% or 3%. Germination temperature was 26°C during the day and 17°C at night. My soil mixture is 50% pumice, 30% quartz grit, 10% akadama and 10% worm castings (wormenmest in Dutch). Particle size is about 2/3 mm. Light intensity at germination was 5000 lux which is increased by a 1000 lux each week after germination. I think I had some issues last time with too strong artificial light, so I increase it bit by bit this time. Germination rates are: P. australis = 20%, P. fischeri = 50%. The soil wasn't sterilized, rather I soaked it in a solution of Trichoderma harzianum & Streptomyces nigrescens. I still had it lying around and is about to expire in 2024. No issues so far what that is concerned. They're in the propagation chamber for about 2 months now.Tom in Tucson wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2023 9:57 pm Any special treatment for;
Maihueniopsis mandragora
Pterocactus araucanus
Pterocactus megliolii
Puna bonnieae
Toumeya papyrancantha ?
I might subject the Pterocactus seeds from ADBLPS to higher temperatures as well to see what happens. I've read a few articles on germinating Echinomastus and Sclerocactus. One can go very far in the efforts to germinate these and care for them afterwards. I'll keep it simple for now and see what happens. I have no experience with these species and it's only my second year of sowing. I'm not experienced whatsoever.NOTES ON TOUMEYA, ECHINOMASTUS & MAIHUENIOPSIS
NIGHTTEMP.: 17°C
DAYTEMP.: 28-40°C
DAYLENGTH: 13-14h
STERILIZE: 50% WATER + 50% BLEACH, 20’
SCARIFY: Needle puncture just above hilum.
ohugal wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 5:35 pmI've just sown some Pterocactus seeds from Elisabeth & Norbert Sarnes (P. australis & P. fischeri). I sterilized the seeds with a hydrogen peroxide solution for about 20 to 30 minutes. I can't recall the percentage, it was either 1% or 3%. Germination temperature was 26°C during the day and 17°C at night. My soil mixture is 50% pumice, 30% quartz grit, 10% akadama and 10% worm castings (wormenmest in Dutch). Particle size is about 2/3 mm. Light intensity at germination was 5000 lux which is increased by a 1000 lux each week after germination. I think I had some issues last time with too strong artificial light, so I increase it bit by bit this time. Germination rates are: P. australis = 20%, P. fischeri = 50%. The soil wasn't sterilized, rather I soaked it in a solution of Trichoderma harzianum & Streptomyces nigrescens. I still had it lying around and is about to expire in 2024. No issues so far what that is concerned. They're in the propagation chamber for about 2 months now.Tom in Tucson wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2023 9:57 pm Any special treatment for;
Maihueniopsis mandragora
Pterocactus araucanus
Pterocactus megliolii
Puna bonnieae
Toumeya papyrancantha ?
I haven't sown the species you mentioned, because the seeds are yet to arrive somewhere in January. These are the notes I made in preparation:I might subject the Pterocactus seeds from ADBLPS to higher temperatures as well to see what happens. I've read a few articles on germinating Echinomastus and Sclerocactus. One can go very far in the efforts to germinate these and care for them afterwards. I'll keep it simple for now and see what happens. I have no experience with these species and it's only my second year of sowing. I'm not experienced whatsoever.NOTES ON TOUMEYA, ECHINOMASTUS & MAIHUENIOPSIS
NIGHTTEMP.: 17°C
DAYTEMP.: 28-40°C
DAYLENGTH: 13-14h
STERILIZE: 50% WATER + 50% BLEACH, 20’
SCARIFY: Needle puncture just above hilum.
Thus far I haven't started any from my last order. I almost always get a great percentage of their seed to sprout (unlike many other seed vendors). In a month or 2, they will strike out the seed which is sold out. That's a good time to place an order.
ohugal wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 7:52 pmI just read a short scientific journal on germinating Turbinicarpus and apparently T. lophophoroides and pseudopectinatus have a better germination rate when the seeds are +1 year old. All other Turbinicarpus do well when the seeds are fresh.Nino_G wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 2:35 pm Same here. I buy small batches of seeds (usually 30 seeds/species, or less if the seed is very expensive). If seed is fresh and germinates well (which often isn't the case) out of 30 seeds I will manage to grow up to 5 "premium" specimens of which I keep 2-3 for collection. The rest is usually easy to distribute among collectors.
I'm sowing the following in a heated propagator with artificial light since the start of November:
Cleistocatus smaragdiflorus (Miraflores/Catamarca)
Cleistocatus. wendlandiorum
Echinofossulocactus albatus
Turbinicaropus alonsoi
Rebutia spegaziniana
Pterocactus australis
Pterocactus fischeri “Pinchera”
Turbinicarpus pseudopectinatus
Turbinicarpus roseanus
Turbinicarpus subterraneus zaragozae
I order some seeds from ADBLPS which should arrive in January:
Echinocereus poselgeri
Echinofossulocactus vaupelianus
Echinomastus mariposensis
Maihueniopsis mandragora
Peniocereus viperinus
Pterocactus araucanus
Pterocactus megliolii
Puna bonnieae
Setiechinopsis mirabilis
Toumeya papyrancantha
Do those microorganism survive drought? I believe that no all beneficial fungi survives the usual conditions of cacti pots with no organic material, extreme hot and long periods of time. It is a really interesting subject and I would love to learn more from it.ohugal wrote: ↑Sat Dec 23, 2023 7:42 pm My reasoning was that, instead of sterilizing the soil, I'd make it more biologically active as opposed to a sterile soil which is more susceptible to pathogens. This is what I'm using: https://www.terraaquatica.com/beneficia ... kologic-2/ https://www.terraaquatica.com/beneficia ... eptologic/ I don't grow in baggies and my propagation chamber is not hermetically sealed. Once in a while I take a peek to see what germinated and what not. It's impractical at times. Baggies allow more control over an individual pot. A single propagation chamber fits 15 pots of 6x6x7 cm.
If you have the time it would be great to see some pictures of your progress at a certain point. I'm curious.
@NinoG: Thank you for information.