Bosenoge grows cacti!

All about seed grown plants. How-to information, progress reports, show of your results.
Bosenoge
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:20 pm
Location: Croatia

Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Bosenoge »

After many years of lurking through the forum, especially this section, I decided its time for me to contribute to this beautiful place for cacti lovers!
My sowing adventures started in winter of 2016, so the oldest seedlings I have are now 2 years old. Thanks to all the useful information I found here I managed to keep many of them alive and so I present to you my sowing efforts so far! :D

Many thanks to all the posters in this section, especially to:Hanazono, Wilk, Kristian Fossmo, which growing diaries inspired me to sow my own cacti. Two years in the hobby, I am a proud owner of a couple of thousand seedlings :D :D At the start I wanted to go big. :lol: First, because at the same season I started growing from seed I got myself a new greenhouse which is now only half full, so space is not a constraint. Second, I got hooked! To the point that I now look for new cacti to buy in pairs hoping for sometime to get my own seed of everything in my collection :)

So lets review stuff season by season, since there is many cacti to view(to the point that I decided not to document everything because there is too many), and I am constantly modifying my method.


Sowing 2016.

Started in October with 60 packets, which was maximum I could fit in my state-of-the-art propagator:https://www.gruenteam-versand.de/romber ... s-complete

Sowing substrate:
70% pumice 0-4 mm
20% sifted soil for seedlings
10% lapillus 1-4 mm

Later I added a layer of diatomaceous earth(kieselghur) 1-3 mm, as a top dressing, which I still use. The seedlings are in covered propagator under the capillary matting, so 100% humidity all the time.
Lights on-14 hours a day
Temperature:
28-30C daytime
18-20C night


Image

This is how things looked like at the beginning. Species sown? Many. Mammillarias, Notocacti, Echinocereus, Sulcos and a few slow growing species like Ariocarpus, Aztekium, Strombocactus and the like. Initial germination was about 65%, with some but not many losses in initial stages of growing. Anybody interested in exact numbers should look at my diary on a Croatian cacti forum, which I decided to abandon since the forum is dead:http://www.cvijet.info/forum/forum_post ... aa-kaktusa .

After about 6 months, the seedlings are going out in the humidity boxes, again under the capillary matting, as seen from Hanazono :)

Image


In April of 2017. I started another batch of 60 pots, since the propagator was now empty. Those were also put out after a month in the humidity box at the most shaded part of the balcony.
Come winter, I moved everything back in the house, again under the lights and heat, because i saw that people tend to have significant lossess in their first overvintering and I wanted to avoid that. So, my first sowing was kept under constant humidity for about a year without repotting. I made some calculations and I thought that two additional propagators would be enough to acommodate all, but that was not the case [-X , so I had to postpone my winter sowing.

1st reppoting

Seedlings are repotted in from 5cm to 10cm square pots, 25 per pot(thanks again Hanazono!), a couple of species per pot. That year I learnt that you shouldnt mix look-alike cactus in the same pots because it takes some time to show differences in the same species. So now I am a proud owner of two species of lophophora(williamsii, friccii) which I cannot telll exactly which is which =D> =D>

Image
Can anybody help? :D

Substrate-I added another 10% of soil so for the first repotting I used:
70% pumice
30% garden soil
Cacti was repotted in wet supstrate which stayed wet for at least two weeeks.

The pots were taken from the humidity boxes and in the spring I moved them under the shelves in the greenhouse. I continued with bottom watering, which takes time with a 1000 or so seedlings, but that way I evaded disturbing the still small seedlings. Under the sun things started to grow and in the summer of 2018 I started to repot them again as they started to crowd in the community pots, some individually and some in the same pots but with bigger spacing.


2nd reppoting

Substrate:
100% mineral, or

60%pumice
25%lapillo
15%zeolite

I decided to go all mineral with all my cacti so the seedlings were the first to try it! Reading more about cacti, I converted to all mineral mix, and time will tell if this will be a final modification of my substrate. I continued with bottom watering, and my first sowing efforts are safely overwintering in my hallway, cold and dry for nearly three months! I didn't made a final count , but by the look of them, survival rate was excellent between 1st and 2nd repotting so I must be something right :)

Image
The look at the communal pots. Most of the cacti from the second batch(sown April 2017.) are still in this setting.


Image

Some Notocacti from my own seeds after 2nd repotting.

Lessons for the next season:I had no major problems with germination, especially since everybody gets the same treatment, so no tweaking the setup for harder species. I wasnt satisfied with the growth rate after the first 6 months, so I thought maybe do my 1st repot a little sooner?

Here are some of the oldest sedlings and their growth through time:





1.Mammillaria longimamma

Image
2 months



Image
6 months



Image
14 months



Image
2 years(almost)



2.Lobivia famatinensis

Image
3 months



Image
6 months-they were in the communal pots above.



Image
2 years


3.Rebutia pygmaea
elongated from the start, as are some Sulcos, I dont know am I doing something wrong or they are just growing like that?



Image
2 months



Image
6 months



Image
2 years - I buried half of the stem because it was too high and I stil got this :)




Next:Sowing 2017....
User avatar
DodoBrooke
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon May 21, 2018 8:55 am
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by DodoBrooke »

Finally your post :cheers:
Must admit you do have talent for writing, witty, organised and interesting :lol:
Bosenoge wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 11:38 pm That year I learnt that you shouldnt mix look-alike cactus in the same pots because it takes some time to show differences in the same species. So now I am a proud owner of two species of lophophora(williamsii, friccii) which I cannot telll exactly which is which =D> =D>
Alright it's really hard to tell them apart :shock: But they look stunning.

Your propagator is cool by the way. 8)

Thanks for showing the progress with M.Longimamma and R.Pygmaea. I both have them and happy to see them.
I think I have read many Rebutias and Sulcorebutias do grow elongated from start so I don't think you should worry. All your seedlings from 2016 look excellent.

Bosenoge wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 11:38 pm After about 6 months, the seedlings are going out in the humidity boxes, again under the capillary matting, as seen from Hanazono :)
Capillary watering sound so complicated to me. Does the substrate really soak the water from below through holes on the bottom? It seams impossible to me. I must read more on that subject, I just had a glimpse on Hanzono's topic.
Bosenoge
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:20 pm
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Bosenoge »

I had a longer post but Daiv decided to update the forum just as i edited it :( Took a long time to make myself to do it again...
Capillary matting? Not so complicated - saturate the pots as you would with the baggies and than wet the mat underneath the pots. When I see drying of the top dressing I pour a little water to saturate it again. Not often, maybe once a month, thats why I chose to do it this way, it seemed less complicated to me.

And now for your viewing pleasure :)


Echinofosulocactus zacatecasensis

Image
6 months



Image
14 months



Image
(Almost)Two years

Not showing their ribby and spiny character yet, but they grow fast. I have about 10 different growing at various stages.


As for Wilcoxia from Dodos latest picture, they are one of my favourites!

Image
I think 4 different varieties lived, but I sown more. If anybody doesnt recognize, the thin poking stuff are all Wilcoxia, sown April 2017. I hope they will live through the winter.
User avatar
DodoBrooke
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon May 21, 2018 8:55 am
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by DodoBrooke »

Ok, think I got it for the watering mat, I got confused with propagator vs. humidity box.
What interests me is the period when I take pots out of humidity box, how should I water? Is it still necessary to keep the soil moist or not?


Bosenoge wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:03 am And now for your viewing pleasure :)
Beautiful :cheers: :cheers:
One can expect Echinofossulo from the look at their spines (I think I see some spiny character after all) but really weird no signs yet of the ribs :roll: I wonder when they will start to show.

Bosenoge wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 2:03 am If anybody doesnt recognize, the thin poking stuff are all Wilcoxia, sown April 2017. I hope they will live through the winter.
:mrgreen: Super funny looking. They seems to be fast growing.
Bosenoge
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:20 pm
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Bosenoge »

Its the same culture, propagator and boxes-100% humidity and low light levels. As for the care outside the baggies, the seedlings should by then be grown enough to withstand a couple of days completely dry. So, watering every 3-4 days with occasional spraying. I will try to do the acclimatization to dry environment under the lights for my biggest seedlings: Will see how will that go...
User avatar
mmcavall
Posts: 1436
Joined: Tue May 17, 2016 11:54 pm
Location: São Carlos - SP, Southeast Brazil, Cerrado Region

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by mmcavall »

Bosenoge wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 11:38 pm Rebutia pygmaea
elongated from the start, as are some Sulcos, I dont know am I doing something wrong or they are just growing like that?
Hi, Bosenoge, congrats for your plants and setups. Dont worry, Rebutia pygmaea grow elongated like that in the first years.
User avatar
Kristofer1990
Posts: 35
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:39 pm

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Kristofer1990 »

Excellent thread! Are the light just normal fluorescents used in households?
Douglas Firsure
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:29 am
Location: Zone 3a, Alberta, Canada

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Douglas Firsure »

This is getting me pumped! Starting a new batch soon! Will post updates, great inspiration Bosenoge!
Bosenoge
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:20 pm
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Bosenoge »

Kristofer1990 wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:52 am Excellent thread! Are the light just normal fluorescents used in households?
They are 28wats, i dont thinkt thats the standard size.Also, I think one is blue and other red, but any light in sufficient lumens will do.

Sorry for not posting long, been busy with cacti and regular life :)

To go chronologically, I present to you my 2018. sowing. I planned to sow in autumn of 2017., but because of the space constraints it had to be postponed for the spring of 2018. This time I wanted some tough spieces, since I already managed to keep alive the easy ones :)
So, I sowed some Ariocarpus, Echinomastus, Echinofossulocactus, Echinocereus and the like, all in one batch of about 60 packets. Germination was in the low 60%, so everything went as usual. I think I went overboard with the water in the humidity box in the summer, so by the end of it my box was full of sciarid flies and the seedling were slowly wittering off :evil: :evil:
I tried some natural remedies, namely spraying with tobbaco, but thing were not going better so i did an emergency repotting in October(at about 6 months): On top of it i accidentaly erased excell sheet with my records so now im very vague about what I have left :)

Image

All in all, I have 300-ish seedlings from about 600, and a guessing contest come repotting time :)


On the other side, my 2016-2017 seedlings are out in the greenhouse after overwintering in the hallway.

Image

Image

Image

Some were slightly burned in the first couple of days, but I think I got the shading covered now :)



SOWING 2019

This year Im halfway through my biggest sowing attempt. 125 packets sown, 120 to go. Maybe I went a little overboard?

Image

One of the two boxes sown through October 2018-January 2019. First 60 packets were sown in my previous mix, which had 20% soil in it. Since sciarid flies still emerge every couple of weeks(Ive been mixing various pots in the boxes which didnt help reducing infestation), from pot 61 on my mix is:
70% pumice 0-4 mm
20% lapillo 3-5 mm
10 zeolite 1-3 mm

with diatomaceous earth 1-3 mm as a top dressing. I hope that full mineral would solve the flies problem, but now I have to think of a way to fertilize the seedlings which are sitting in capillary matting absorbed with water. It never ends..
On the bright side, I have close to 1600 new seedlings to take care of 8) Germination is going well, except: Echinomastus which sprout like weeds and which I keep killing afterwards. Tephrocactus and Opuntioids are waiting the delivery of Pepsin tablets as per Mileses advice - my standard method + soaking in warm water overnight didn't gave much results.
User avatar
7george
Posts: 2628
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 7:49 pm
Location: Calgary, Canada
Contact:

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by 7george »

Good job, "Barefeet", your seedlings already look like cacti! Sowing is always exciting, growing seedlings – even more.

I don't know what is lapillo, but if you can eliminate it from the mix it's fine. My sowing results were also best in mineral mixes.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
User avatar
DodoBrooke
Posts: 170
Joined: Mon May 21, 2018 8:55 am
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by DodoBrooke »

Don't know how I missed this but everything looks great. =D>
So all these pots from 2018 which are not marked, you know genera but not exactly the name? Little frustrating but it doesn't take the joy of looking at them.
esp_imaging
Posts: 1503
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:27 pm
Location: England
Contact:

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by esp_imaging »

Bosenoge wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 6:33 pm Tephrocactus and Opuntioids are waiting the delivery of Pepsin tablets as per Mileses advice - my standard method + soaking in warm water overnight didn't gave much results.
I've had rubbish results with Tephrocacti etc so far this year. Have you had a go yet with the HCl/pepsin tabs yet? it would be great to hear other results.
A small diverse collection of Cacti & Succulents
Based in the UK
http://www.edwardshaw.co.uk/cacti
Bosenoge
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 8:20 pm
Location: Croatia

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by Bosenoge »

DodoBrooke wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:23 am Don't know how I missed this but everything looks great. =D>
So all these pots from 2018 which are not marked, you know genera but not exactly the name? Little frustrating but it doesn't take the joy of looking at them.
Yes, I know some of the genera, but not all. Ariocarpi and Echinofossulocacti are easy to recognize, but I have a problem with the others, let them grow a little and see how it goes.
7george wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 2:47 am Good job, "Barefeet", your seedlings already look like cacti! Sowing is always exciting, growing seedlings – even more.

I don't know what is lapillo, but if you can eliminate it from the mix it's fine. My sowing results were also best in mineral mixes.
I used to run barefoot, so the nick kind of stuck on me :). Lapillo is a vulcanic rock, not as much water retentive as pumice, but it dries quickly and its a bit heavier than pumice, so a great mineral addition in any supstrate.

Image
This was when I used it as a top cover - now my mix is all mineral so it looks slightly different.

Now to my oldest seedlings. Gemhunter said he had problems with Mammillaria perezdelarosae ssp. andersoniana. Using my methods I managed to keep alive two batches with no problems. Here are photos of batch nr.1.

Image
2 months


Image
6 months


Image
16 months


Image
almost 2 years



On the other side, here is a photo of pots 133-189, which were sown on March 15th:

Image

40 Sulcos(my 2nd big try at this genus), 9 Weingartia, Corryocactus and remaining Echinocerei. Not much germination in the first 10 days, but Im hoping for the best :) I have no more diatomaceus earth, so no top dressing for all the pots. Seed source is Ralf Hillmann, I dont remember if anyone mentioned him in the seed section, but I somehow managed to put myself on his mailing list. Lots of species, fair prices, not the fastest service(I waited two months), but I got everything I wanted in time for sowing. I will get back with the germination results, but I think hes already on my go-to list for the next season, especially after Mesa Garden dissapointed with their new system.
keith
Posts: 1860
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:50 am
Location: S. CA USA

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by keith »

nice work
crispy224
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:45 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA

Re: Bosenoge grows cacti!

Post by crispy224 »

Wow those look great. Are you growing them all by artificial lighting? Or do they get brought outside during warmer weather?
Post Reply