Ancientforest's seeds

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Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

Wilk- my first batch was a mix of half perlite and half Hoffman's cactus mix(way too much organic), the batch I use now is 25% perlite, 25 % pumice, 25% New Mexico red scoria, and 25 % Hoffman cacti & succulent mix. I used more organic media in the Adenium and Aloe containers. In the future, i'd like to screen my mix, it makes a big difference. They will certainly get less organic matter when they are repotted.

I made the mistake of putting them outside soon after they came out of the bag. Even though they were mostly in shade under an awning, not receiving much rainwater they were stunted and most were killed. Only in the last 2 months or so, they have greened back up and are growing again. The other mistake I made was not soaking the pot thoroughly when they went into the bags, and I threw away the non-germinators instead of simply re-soaking them and trying again. I'm not going to lie, it's been pretty frustrating at times, but the reward is worth it.( Looking forward to the first cactus flower.)

I'm putting together another Mesagrden order, 45 species so far, and I'm only up to the E's. I'm afraid I've caught the bug too. I'm also going to put up a scan of my first order. I seem to have a thing for Echinocereus.
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

and this was my Mesa order from December:

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Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

And now as promised, here are some more pictures: See if you can identify any outliers

Ariocarpus fissuratus
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Astrophytum mix
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Echinocactus mix
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Echinocereus mix
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Gymnocalycium hossei
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Gymnocalycium saglionis
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Gymnocalycium stellatum occultum
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Lobivia mix
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Mammillaria mix(next 4)
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Notocactus mix
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Opuntia mix
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Parodia microsperma
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Rebutia mix
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Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

About half of them are in bags that are too opaque to get a good photo of, some larger, some smaller. It's very hard to get a decent photo, you have to flatten one side of the bag, while knocking as much condensation off as you can.

So far I have about 4 pots of no-shows, which were sown 2 weeks ago. All Echinocereus. The soil does not have fungus or algae on it, so I'll wait a bit to open the bags up and dry them out. Some seedlings seem to be less tolerant of the light than others. I rectify that by folding the bag over once more to shade them. If they continue to be red, i'll move them to the lower shelf. I've been using less and less organic matter with each batch of soil I make, I have some more soil in a container I will use. Probably enough for an additional 12 pots. Here's the seed I have left:

Coryphantha durangensis
Coryphantha palmeri
Coryphantha runyonii
Coryphantha sulcata
Echinocereus grandis
Echinocereus mixed
Echinocereus reichenbachii
Echinocereus triglochidiatus
Pachycereus pringlei
Trichocereus camarguensis
Thrichocereus formosus
Turbinicaprus pseudopectinatus
IrisA
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by IrisA »

Cool seedlings. I'm sowing a few of the same ones as you right now. Ariocarpus fissuratus is the first ario I've tried, been really surprised at how easily it goes red for me which is apparently bad for these. I've only got 6 so hoping I don't screw up. Mixed Astrophytum should be neat, I find all the other species but asterias easy, but of course asterias is the one I really want. These seem to be such divas, rotting quite easily. This is my 3rd time trying with these. I think I have 3 or so left from an older sowing but they don't look great. I'd love to figure these out. Please share of you find any good tips!
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

IrisA- thanks for the comment. This is the first time, I've tried Ariocarpus or Astrophytum. My ariocarpus all were red when they first germinated, I was able to reduce the light by folding over the bag. If you can, you could try either double bagging them, or moving the light if there is room. After about two weeks, they turned back to green, and I have them growing in the same light as the others. Coryphantha and Gymnocalycium can be sensitive to light too, if you have those.

As far as the Astropytum, I've read that they like very mineral soil, especially Asterias. people have recommended no organics in the soil whatsoever. You could try repotting them, I've also found it's better to underwater than overwater too. I was watering last week only to find one of my E. coccineus survivors had no roots left, even though there was no sign of rot up top.
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

So far I had four pots of echinoceri that have not germinated at all. While going through my seeds yesterday, I found that two packets that matched labels which means I never sowed them. That solves one half of the mystery. Since all four were in the same bag, I sowed the two that were missing, and left the two duds to dry out.
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

That's not good. It might be hard to see but on in the left pot on the far left, there is grey mold. It has pretty much attacked all the seeds that have not yet germinated, and the seedling on the far left is cooked. The two species in question are Opuntia viridiflora and Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa. I will open up the bag and scrape as much mold as I can remove out, dry them out and put a fan on them, hopefully it does not spread. The good news is that the rest of the seedlings are sealed, so I don't have to worry about contamination. Opuntias are more robust than many other species, so I'm hoping I can keep these guys alive out of the bag. Oh well, it's bound to happen from time to time I guess


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IrisA
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by IrisA »

I'd think those can make it. They'll probably just be a little slower and need a little more pampering. I've found it's best to reduce humidity gradually. Sometimes pouring a little bit of 3% hydrogen peroxide on the soil is enough to keep mold at bay.
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Vipassana
Posts: 187
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:00 pm
Location: Mesa, AZ - Zone 9b

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Vipassana »

In my experience (though not completely from seed like yours) the Opuntias/Cylindropuntia are relatively hardy even when small. I'd be inclined to let them dry out a bit more than other seedlings if you need to in order to counteract mold. But I've had ok results with cinnamon as well. Though I've heard it can burn seedlings, I've had no issues yet.
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

I removed them from the bag, and will mist them daily. If I see any progression in the mold, I'll definitely take your guys advice. Thanks
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

well now, I'm starting to slowly take them out of the bags(~7 months). About half are pretty light stressed, I reduced lighting a few weeks ago. Some look like they may recover, others not.

Mixed Cacti sown 11-21-15
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severely light stressed Mammillaria and Gymnocalycium
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cylindropuntia viridflora and imbricata
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Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

With most of the seedlings out of the bags, i'm able to get some clear shots now. Some of the best:

Melocactus conoideus
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Astrophytum mix( vast majority look to be Ornatum or Myriostigma)
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Ferocactus mix ( still too tough to tell)
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Coryphantha runyonii
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Echinocereus chloranthus
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Echinocereus adustus
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Non cacti
Agave mix
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Aloe mix
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Fouquieria macdougalii left. F. diguetti right
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Adenium arabicum 'RCN'( I have about a dozen of these)
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Adenium obeseum hybrid 'Blue Boy'
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As far as success goes, Astrophytum, Echinocereus and the larger cacti appear to be the winners. Ariocarpus also look good, but I won't think about removing them until next spring.

Gymnocalycium and Mammillaria are the biggest disappointments with about a 10-15 % survival rate. The vast majority dry up and die. Any ideas about repotting. I'm think the ocotillos and aloes should be seperated, but i'm not sure.
Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

more pictures

Copiapoa coquimbana
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Copiapoa cinerea
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Copiapoa cinereaCopiapoa grandiflora (fungus)
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Copiapoa haseltoniana
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Copipapoa tenuissima
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Ancientforest
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:19 pm
Location: Long Island, NY(Zone 7a)

Re: Ancientforest's seeds

Post by Ancientforest »

Echinocereus adustus L646
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Echinocereus chloranthus SB136
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Echinocereus coccineus
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Echinocereus enneacanthus
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Echinocereus reichenbachii
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