my seedlings

[cjbaker]

I planted these Astrophytum asterias v. Super Kabuto on October 15th with seed from World Seed Supply. This is my first attempt at growing cactus from seed, though I tried and failed with lithops many years ago. All five of the seeds have germinated, though only three are really visible in the picture. They're enjoying our last few frost-free weeks up on my roof in a baggy. They seem to be getting slightly pink, which I assume is good and due to the abundant sunlight. I plan to graft them to Pereskiopsis in late winter. I realize now after reading more that the soil might be too fine...oh well, I guess I'll see how they do. I'll get some cat litter and other fancy soil ingredients next time. Another pot with Epithelantha micromeris has not yet germinated, and my lithops seedlings don't photograph well through the baggy, but I'll post some once they're bigger. Any advice is welcome!

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[CactIda]

Wow look at that. How exciting good luck with them and keep updating!

[cjbaker]

Thanks for the encouragement, Ida! I finally found some diatomaceous earth in the form of Moltan UltraSorb at AutoZone, as recommended on these forums, and I've seeded four more pots with it, 2/3 UltraSorb and 1/3 ordinary potting soil. I'll post some pictures once they've sprouted.

I sowed Trichocerus pachanoi which I plan to use some day as a grafting stock for the others, when they outgrow Pereskiopsis. For now my mail-ordered pereskiopsis cuttings haven't showed any signs of growth after three weeks in moist soil. I had this problem years ago the last time I tried to root pereskiopsis, maybe I should start a new thread for advice.

A word of warning against Giant supermarket's store brand Companion non-clumping fragrance-free cat litter: don't buy it for cacti, it turns to mush when it gets wet!

[cjbaker]

The two pots of super kabuto seeded last Tuesday (Nov. 5) in the diatomaceous earth mix have sprouted:

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The T. pachanoi have not shown up yet.

I need to figure out how to provide them with proper lighting, they're currently in the windowsill getting several hours of direct sunlight daily. I've read here that direct sunlight is not ideal, though I don't want to set up a propagator yet. Is there a good way to filter the sunlight for baggied seedlings in a window?

Round 1 seems to be surviving, despite the makeshift sandy soil and an accidental jostle to one of the pots:

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^ Lithops mix. I plan to keep these in full sunlight. I count 29/50 germinated, maybe there are more to come.

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^ A. asterias "super kabuto". 4/5 germinated, though my jostle may have damaged the fifth one.

E. micromeris has finally started germinating, but it's too small to be very visible in pictures yet. Next equipment to purchase: a thermometer. I know my setup is still far from ideal, but all advice is welcome. Cost is currently the main limitation on my mind.

[hoteidoc]

You can get a cheap, but accurate enough, thermometer @ local hardware store for $2!

[cjbaker]

Here are a couple of close-ups I took in the sun today:

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^ Lithops mix

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^ Super Kabuto

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^ This super kabuto was the victim of its owner Godzilla knocking the pot over and slightly crushing it about a month ago, not sure whether it will grow out normally.

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^ Sempervivum from a "mixed" packet (probably all similar hybrids) in the new soil mix

I have several more pots with germinated seedlings (other mesembs and cacti, echeveria, and sempervivums), but I'll wait for more photos until they come out of the baggies. They're in much nicer soil than the first batch above. I'm tempted to transplant this first batch into the better mix, not sure if it would be too soon for them.

[iann]

The Lithops will be fine in the sun, especially in December and January. The Sempervivums probably also. In fact they might stretch quite badly without it. They'd be happier outdoors once the snow and ice has passed through.

You could try the cactus seedlings in the weak winter sun, but probably they'll need a little something over them. Perhaps a single layer of tissue, or you could wait and see if they go pink before messing.

[cjbaker]

Thanks for the info. I'll try out the tissue.

[cjbaker]

I'll post some updates, since several pots have come out of the baggies. I seem to have failed with sterilization, as only a few pots have been free of slime and fuzz, and all but 2 Titanopsis and all but 1 Fenestraria (not pictured) turned to mush and then white fuzz grew on top, after which I took them out of the baggies. Luckily I reserved 1/2 of the Titanopsis seed, and sowed some yesterday next to the survivors, which I'm spraying frequently and leaving out of the baggy. Everything else seems to be surviving, and on a few recent days in the 40s and 50s I've put the de-baggied mesembs and sempervivums outside in the sun (perhaps a bad idea in retrospect for Aloinopsis schooneesii).

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^ I transplanted the Lithops to a better mix a few weeks ago. They've really started developing some color, after spending several days out in 8.5 hours of full (winter solstice) sun. Only one has died: row 4 column 2 turned to mush after transplanting. There are 32 survivors, from 45 seeds.

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^ Lithops close-up

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^ Aloinopsis schooneesii, sown 12/13/2013, germination rate so far 12/20. They seem to have suffered from etiolation while in the baggy, despite full windowsill sun, and then got too much sun when I took them out. One or two turned white on part of the seed leaves (from the sun I assume), and one or two seem to have lost their roots and have turned bright red, but seem to be surviving. I'll get the hang of this...

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^ Aloinopsis schooneesii, red and rootless at bottom center, and recovering (?) from sunburn at bottom left.

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^ The two surviving Titanopsis mix seedlings, sown 12/4/2013. Like the Lithops, they seem to have enjoyed the outdoor sun.

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^ Super Kabutos after transplanting them all into the same pot. Several exhibit strange looking lumpy growth, I'm curious to see how they grow out. These and the lithops have had the highest survival rate so far, I've noticed almost no deaths after germination.

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^ A lumpy Super Kabuto. Is this how monstrose growth starts, or is it an injury, or is it too young to tell?

Echeveria lauii, E. peacockii, and Epithelantha micromeris are doing fairly well, but I haven't taken any pictures. Not a single Trichocereus pachanoi has shown up yet, I think I buried them slightly before I knew better. This week I sowed some Tubinicarpus jauernigii, a Conophytum mix, and a Crassula mix. This time I cooked the soil mix at a higher temperature for longer, and soaked the pots and baggies in a weak bleach solution. Hopefully they can stay in for a few months this time. I'll wait until spring to sow any more.

[Eutow_Intermedium]

Those Lithops are looking really good. Congratulations.

Some of the Astro Asterias are quite big. Hopefully they will be good for you too.

[r_shazrin]

Wow... good work! I am starting some seedlings too (astros) and this will surely be a good reference for me. I am sowing in fine sand though.

Just curious how you get the close up pictures? They're really nice.

ShaZ

[cjbaker]

Thanks for the encouragement, ShaZ and Eutow! I used my Nikon D50 and 50mm lens with a reversing ring, which lets you mount the lens backwards for macros. Unfortunately the light meter doesn't work with the reversing ring, and you can see my exposures were a bit dark this time because I estimated poorly. I've seen the post on your seedlings on fine sand ShaZ, maybe I'll try a pot of Fenestraria like that to see if more survive.

[cjbaker]

Here are a couple of updates:



^ Many of the lithops have developed their second pairs of leaves. The mixture of varieties is starting to be a problem, as some are small and dried out and others are large and fat. I try to err on the dry side, I let them dry until the diatomaceous earth is light white on the surface for three or four days before watering. They dwindled from 32 to 21 pretty quickly when I kept them wetter last month, but there hasn't been a death for several weeks.



^ Some of the A. asterias and E. micromeris are getting light stressed, I've recently reduced their light (and algae is starting to develop).

Several other pots with other species are doing well, but I'll wait to post them until they show up better in a picture.

[cjbaker]

Some updates:




^ Most of the lithops sown in October have fully absorbed their seed leaves. I'm already enjoying the colors and patterns on the first pairs of adult leaves. Some look happy like these, but there are a few little tiny dried out ones that are hanging on for dear life, and one great big fat one with no signs of breaking through the seed leaves. Only 16 are surviving out of 32 germinations from 45 seeds, but I've sown two more pots with them since then. I think I'm getting a handle on not killing them, in particular letting them dry out as soon as the adult leaves start peeking. Is this normally the time to start letting them dry out, assuming they're not grown in sterile conditions?




^ Most of the Aloinopsis schooneesii sown in December are working on adult leaf pair #2. The seed leaves were absorbed. I've planted two more batches of these, too. I'm going for the deepest color and most compact leaves I can get, and they seem to be tolerating the sun.

I've got Titanopsis, Conophytum, Gibbaeum, Echeveria, Sempervivum, and several varieties of cactus growing as well, but most of them are still on their seed leaves (or first areoles) and don't look like much yet.

[CactusFanDan]

Those mesembs look great. The Lithops seedlings are probably far more resilient to drying out now and you can probably let them dry off between waterings after getting the first set of proper leaves.