Cactus seeds

Questions · Post by **Questions** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:04 pm

Hey guys, I recently planted some Trichocereus Peruvian Cactus seeds into a pot about two weeks ago. I dampened the soil before putting the whole pot into a sealed plastic bag. I could not find a heating pad, so I decided to make my own! I took an old fashioned alarm clock and put aluminum foil over it. The whole unit gets very hot, and all the heat is released over the top. I put the plastic bag on top of the foil. I've checked the temperature inside the bag, and it is only 1 and a half degrees from what they recommend for Trichocereus Peruvian!(lucky aren't I). I am now starting to see a few green seedlings starting to rise up from the soil. I have heard about a million accounts of how to proceed from here. Some say to wait 2 months, then take the bag off, and water the soil every month. Others say keep the pot in the bag for 6 months, and water once a month after two months. I could go on and on, but I was wondering what I should do. Your answer could be fore Trichocereus Peruvian, or any generic cacti.

templegatejohn · Post by **templegatejohn** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:02 am

Hi, once the seedlings have germinated I would suggest you take the the plastic bag off or at least open it up for most of the day, otherwise you are at risk of your seedling "damping off". Watering once a month for seedling is in my opinion far too little, they need moisture at the roots all the time. A light mist spray every day would be beneficial and do not be too eager to transplant your seedlings, they enjoy the company of one another and grow better that way.
KEEP OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT, BUT KEEP IN GOOD LIGHT

John

ebaycactus · Post by **ebaycactus** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 1:39 pm

I usually use a low grade fertilizer and fungicide when watering my seeds. You want to make sure your growing cactus and not something else!

ondy · Post by **ondy** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:56 pm

I personally use fertilizer from http://www.gardeners.com called PHC for seedlings and houseplants. It's a 6-12-6 formula with humus, amino acids, and others vitamins. It's not too strong of a formular because you don't want anything too over-powering when it comes to seedlings. It seems to work great for me I apply it lightly every two weeks or so. My current seedlings are growing fast and stong. I highly recomend it.

Andy

ebaycactus · Post by **ebaycactus** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 11:27 pm

Whats the product called?

ihc6480 · Post by **ihc6480** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 12:38 am

ebaycactus wrote:Whats the product called?

PHC for houseplants and seedlings- here ya go: http://www.gardeners.com/Shopping/sell. ... GroupNum=1

Bill

ondy · Post by **ondy** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 2:02 am

Yeah, what Bill said..............Andy

Do you use it too?

ihc6480 · Post by **ihc6480** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:17 pm

ondy wrote:Yeah, what Bill said..............Andy

Do you use it too?

Actually I use Osmocote with good results as far as fertilizer

. The product you listed has got my curiousity up though since I'm going to give propagating from seeds a shot.

Bill