Conophytums I think you have to get them as big as possible in that fist 6 months so they survive Summer dormancy . last years seed were in mostly sand and they look mostly dead now but my new seedlings are looking good so far :D Lithops seem to be easier than conophytums from seed ? Cactus often th...

Yes first year flowers. the little one is the oldest and only survivor from a mixed seed package from mesa which had poor germination. It was my first try at conophytums back around 2018 ? I now have hundreds of tiny plants from my own seed they are not hard to germinate if you have good seed. I cou...

You can also water your soil mix in the pot and leave it out in the direct sunlight for a awhile ( weeks ) before planting cactus seeds. And Make sure your seeds are clean before planting .

Store bought soil mix works pretty good for tomato seeds, etc. I don't like it for cactus seeds.

If you spray a pesticide you should probably water in the evening or on a cloudy day

"the beneficial organisms in my custom soil mix would eventually be very important for the newly developing root systems" Probably crowds out the bad organisms. For a couple years I was having terrible luck growing cactus from seed or just growing them at all until I changed back to desert...

After using H₂O₂, how long do you wait to see if it's effective?" a day and it often doesn't work the plants will die by then. Best to avoid fungus if possible I tried strombocactus in a baggie and they all rotted , I don't use baggies much anymore . Will try again in the spring no baggie and I...

Looks like fungus , hydrogen peroxide might help I use it at 3% , dry powder fungicide might work better . maybe use a fan on the pot for a hour or whatever it takes to dry out the fungus and not the cactus.

Some seed grown conophytums not exactly sure of the species .

All looking very good

The Mammillaria hernandezii I got from you flowered

Winter bloomers yes I think almost all are . Pictures are somewhere on this website of many of them.

His lower body and roots were completely rotted." your potting mix might be wrong . I root cuttings on course sand with my regular potting mix below and do water the cutting even if they don't have roots . I use roottone powder or nothing on the cuttings. And Spike needs more light . If possibl...

is there a better organic medium than sphagnum? "

I use sandy desert soil at about 20% volume for cactus and 30% for mesembs.

Makes sure your Cat doesn't eat poisoned mice .

Yes hes funny , I also think his friend AL is pretty funny.