Alber's Seedlings Progress 2013

[Alber khan]

I recently got these seeds from a relative in the UK
Cintia knizei 100 seeds
Echinocactus texensis 100 seeds
Ferocactus mixture 100 seeds
Lophophora williamsii 100 seeds

Any advice on the Cintia and Lophophora will be greatly appreciated

[CactusFanDan]

They grow pretty much as easily as any other cactus seedlings, however C. knizei likes to be kept a bit cooler than most others, at around 20-25 degrees C. Loph seedlings grow great when kept moist and quite hot between 30-35C.

[Alber khan]

I sowed about 50-65 seeds of each species except the Cintia on the thirty first of July,since the seeds were almost two years old and not properly stored,I did not except much germination but I was shocked especially because of the E.texensis which started sprouting after only one day and now on the fifth day I have 95% germination of the E.texensis.

Only two sprouts on the L.williamsii and 15-20 on the Ferocacti.I primarily wanted the E.texensis and the others came as 'extra' so I am pretty satisfied of the results.

[Alber khan]

My Texensis seedlings are Etiolating,well not all of them,maybe half of them.My other seedlings including ferocactus are growing normally while some texensis seedlings have grown long and slender,what am I doing wrong here?(they haven't produced spines yet)

[iann]

E. texensis seedlings should be fairly beefy. They may be taller than you expect for a cactus seedling but they shouldn't be skinny. Even if they are skinny, they'll recover later. Watch out for the spiny bit that will grow fro between the seed leaves, you don't want that to etiolate. They can take a lot of light, but should grow OK at the same light levels you use for other cactus seedlings.

[Alber khan]

Thanks Ian,I'll keep a close eye on them.

[Alber khan]

What colour should the seedlings be?My seedlings are almost always light green from the beginning but I read somewhere that they have to be a bit tanned,wont that stunt their growth and isn't it a sign of too much light?

[hoteidoc]

My 3 yr experience of @ 8 separate starts -- 60+ species -- ranges from tan to adult green to lighter (but not pale) green. Reds & pale greens too much & too little!

[CactusFanDan]

A little bit of colour when they're young is healthy and shows they're getting a good amount of light. On the other hand, if they turn bright red, then they're getting too much light.

[Alber khan]

My current grow box,oh and I renamed this topic so I can update my seedlings growth

[Alber khan]

Hello everybody,I made a new grow box for my seedlings today,it is an AC box with three 2 foot flourescent tubes in it.I feel like the temps are too high.The temps in the box (not inside the baggies/pots) are around 30 degrees C while the temperature in the previous grow box was around 20 C.Obviously the temps in the baggies must be much higher.Will this effect germination rates and the seedlings growth rate? Should I install some fans?You can really feel the heat when you stick your hand in to grab a pot of seedlings.

[iann]

30C is OK for many cactus seeds, although too warm for some. No single set of conditions is ideal for every species.

Just a small amount of ventilation, opening the top a crack of whatever, will cool it dramatically. You probably don't need fans.

Try to let it cool a little at night, which will help the ones that don't like it so warm. Some species just won't germinate if nights are warmer than about 20C, sometimes even cooler. You probably also have different temperatures at the bottom and the top, so you might be able to put pots that need it warm higher up. Then, if certain pots don't germinate after a couple of weeks, try changing the temperature. I usually start off fairly cool, then gradually increase the temperature, ending up with high day temperatures and cooler nights. That gets most things to germinate. Once you have experience of which species like which conditions, you may be able to aim for that right at the start.

[Alber khan]

Thanks Ian,you have been the most helpful to me in this forum,especially in the seed growing department

[Alber khan]

Here is my new box with two 18w bulbs added,I changed to this box because the previous one had too less head room.Yes,the tubes are fixed diagonally to cover as much space as possible.

[majcka]

Why do you have doubts about your termomether? Do you think it shows too much or too little????