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That should be 2/15. Ill edit it above.

I thought you'd like to see what the little (or not so little!) blighters are like.

Nice!
Is that a drop of hair gel for his new found doo?

Is that a drop of hair gel for his new found doo?

Didn't you know that E. polycephalus have to be kept constantly wet?

or maybe he's just sweating from the heat and humidity

BTW, did you take him out of the bag for good? or just for the pic?

This one has been outed Its still in a propagator so humidity is quite high most of the time. I've got others still completely under cover. One advantage of sowing in separate pots is that I can try them in different conditions.

I was gonna say that 20 days seems early for you to remove them. Aren't experiments fun (when they work out!)

Keep us going with the updates!

All the Echinomastus and Echinocactus polycephalus/xeranthemoides from February 8th sowing are out on a south-facing windowsill now. The Echinomastus have been out for more than a week. I wouldn't have removed them so soon except I needed the space in the propagator and didn't want to do two trays this year. I've been pleased with how tough they are and how quickly they grow when they get sunlight and warmth. Ian's photo inspires me to post pics, maybe if it's a sunny morning tomorrow (it's very cloudy at the moment, oddly).

peterb

Hmm... I guess I'll move mine out then.

Ssp polycephalus last year went out into full sun in a hot corner of the greenhouse and never blinked, not that it was a particularly hot or sunny summer. I got the impression it would have done well with more sun and more heat. I've made a special shelf up in the greenhouse eaves for baking this and a few other favoured plants.

On a non-seedling note, I watered ssp polycephalus in late February which is ridiculously early and dangerous for watering a cactus in this country. It fattened up noticeably. This is in an unheated greenhouse and it has been below freezing since then. Days haven't been particularly sunny either so only around 60F in the greenhouse most days when I'd be looking for 70F-80F by this time of year. I'll be watering it again soon, perhaps tomorrow after the hard freeze tonight.

Well that worked! I watered ssp polycephalus yesterday in the warm sun, last night it got slightly below freezing, and today its like one of those time-lapse nature films where the plants burst up out of the ground pushing the soil aside. Its easy to forget just how much they shrunk over the winter.

Fat, healthy and ready to go, despite freezing nights. Interesting to hear. Certainly E. polycephalus, Sclerocactus polyancistrus, nyensis, etc., Echinomastus johnsonii all live in some of the most extreme habitats in the US. It's not only the aridity/extreme summer heat but also the huge temp range over the year. The adaptations seem to favor the same sort of Pediocactus-like growth on either side of summer, except that there's a lot of moisture throughout the entire winter. I'm beginning to think perhaps the *only* real dormant season for this group (in habitat) is from late March through mid-July or so. And even then, the leading edge of this period is flowering season. It still seems like it would be fatally risky to regularly *water* polycephalus and the others throughout the winter in cultivation, something only a madman would do....

peterb

True winter here is just too dark, too cold, and too wet to water any cactus except possibly Maihuenia. Only when the sun gets up and starts to hit the greenhouse in late February or March do days get warm, plants can dry out during the day, and strange things with early growing seasons can possibly be watered. I splashed some Neoporterias (from the Mediterranean part of Chile), Sclerocactus, Echinocereus (seedlings that I took pity on, if they can't take water at any time of year then they'll be dead soon anyway ), as well as the Echinocactus and Pediocactus, all before the end of February. Nothing is dead yet, fingers crossed. Temperatures can swing 50F-60F in the greenhouse at this time of year, but only if the sun comes out. Other days may be stuck at 60F and humidity over 90%. Tricky. Most cacti will not be watered until at least April, or even May.

I am growing Echinomastus johnsonii, E. polycephalus and M. tetrancistra and all of them grow in similar locations. The plants are subject to winter rains and also some summer rains. I think the main problem is making sure that the soil dries out quickly. I drove to an area where M. tetrancistra grows and took some soil for my plants that I purchased from Mesa Garden. The four plants are still alive after one year and two even flowered. I am growing Echinomastus johnsonii seedlings and see if how they grow. The seeds were harvested from plants that I purchased.