supergodzilla seed growing

[Jangaudi]

seed sowing is a terrifying addiction

Yes ! but it's better than drug addiction, or game addiction...
I guess it sort of works in the same way as games do, sounds far fetched, but it isn't. Game creators use certain psychological structures to make gamers more addicted: expectation -> failure -> disappointment -> retry -> expectation -> failure -> nearly loose all hope -> retry -> expectation -> SUCCESS ! -> exaltation

That's why some species just won't germinate !!

[supergodzilla]

seed sowing is a terrifying addiction

Yes ! but it's better than drug addiction, or game addiction...
I guess it sort of works in the same way as games do, sounds far fetched, but it isn't. Game creators use certain psychological structures to make gamers more addicted: expectation -> failure -> disappointment -> retry -> expectation -> failure -> nearly loose all hope -> retry -> expectation -> SUCCESS ! -> exaltation

That's why some species just won't germinate !!

Yes this is absolutely the truth! God's little way of keeping us hooked in this crazy hobby of ours.

Anyway, some time has passed and more seeds are sprouting, so here's an update of my seed sowing. I haven't sowed any more seeds recently, just watched as some seeds have popped up sporadically in the past month or so. I don't anticipate these numbers will grow significantly moving forward, so I'll focus on just posting more pictures and observations as the months pass.

Aizoaecea
Name - Date of sowing, Number germinated/Number sowed, Percentage germinated, change since last update
Dinteranthus pole-evansii (batch 1) - 22 August, 18/22, 82%
Dinteranthus pole-evansii (batch 2) - 5 October, 0/111, 0% - I dropped the pot and spilled everything. What a waste!
Lapidaria margaretae - 22 August, 52/62, 84%
Lithops aucampiae cv. Bella Ketty - 31 July, 9/13, 69%
Lithops aucampiae cv. Rudesheim Ruby - 11 August, 152/200, 76%
Lithops dorothea cv. Zorro - 31 July, 10/11, 91%
Lithops gracilidelineata (c374) - 31 July, 7/10, 70%
Lithops gracilidelineata ssp. Brandbergensis (C394) - 21 September, 22/24, 92%
Lithops julii v. julii cv. Kikusiyo Giyoku - 28 June, 38/50, 76%
Lithops karasmontana v. bella - 8 June, 25/29, 86%
Lithops leslei cv. Fred's Redhead - 21 September, 13/13, 100%, +4
Lithops meyeri cv. Hammeruby - 31 July, 21/36, 58%
Lithops olivacea cv. Red Olive - 31 July, 13/20, 65%
Lithops optica v. rubra - 31 July, 22/30, 73%
Lithops otzeniana cv. Cesky Granat - 28 June, 11/14, 79%
Lithops ruschiorum cv. Nelii - 28 July, 38/50, 76%
Lithops verruculosa cv. Rose of Texas - 28 July, 21/33, 64%
Monilaria moniliformis - 5 October, 42/49, 86%

Apocynaceae
Name - Date of sowing, Number germinated/Number sowed, Percentage germinated
Adenium socotranum - 2 September, 5/5, 100%
Pachypodium baronii v. windsorii - 16 August, 3/10, 30%
Pachypodium brevicaule ssp. leucoxanthum - 21 June, 0/18, 0%
Pachypodium densiflorum - 21 June, 1/24, 4%
Pachypodium eburneum - 21 June, 0/18, 0%
Pachypodium horombense - 21 June, 4/17, 23%
Pachypodium namaquanum - 21 June, 10/22, 45%

Cactaceae
Name - Date of sowing, Number germinated/Number sowed, Percentage germinated
Ariocarpus bravoanus - 2 October, 10/26, 38%
Ariocarpus retusus - 2 October, 9/25, 36%, +1
Astrophytum asterias cv. Superkabuto V type - 2 September, 71/83, 86%
Astrophytum myriostigma cv. Hakugaku - 2 September, 15/21, 71%
Astrophytum myriostigma cv. Onzuka - 28 September, 59/64, 92%
Aztekium ritteri (batch 1) - 5 January, 10/45, 22%
Aztekium ritteri (batch 2) - 5 October, 29/130, 22%, +16
Aztekium valdezii - 5 January, 10/24, 42%
Borzicactus hutchisonii - 8 October, 14/20, 70%, +14
Cereus peruvianus cv. (Screwdriver) - 8 October, 26/29, 90%, +18
Cintia knizei - 9 September, 9/21, 43%
Copiapoa griseoviolacea - 4 October, 0/11, 0%
Copiapoa krainziana - 4 October, 3/10, 30%
Copiapoa solaris - 21 September, 3/20, 15%, +1
Copiapoa totoralensis - 21 September, 5/11, 45%
Echinocactus horizonthalonius - 21 September, 19/43, 44%
Echinocereus reichenbachii - 2 October, 27/34, 79%, +1
Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubrispinus - 2 October, 8/22, 36%, +2
Epithelantha micromeris v. rufispina - 4 October, 33/38, 87%
Epithelantha unguispina - 4 October, 4/10, 40%, +2
Escobaria abdita - 29 September, 0/51, 0%
Eriosyce occulta - 4 October, 4/24, 17%
Frailea cataphracta - 7 September, 0/23, 0%
Frailea phaeodisca - 7 September, 0/21, 0%
Gymnocalycium borthii v. nogolense - 8 October, 16/45, 36%, +6
Gymnocalycium cardenasianum - 9 September, 18/32, 56%
Gymnocalycium castellanosii v. ferocius - 9 September, 11/25, 44%
Gymnocalycium friedrichii 'Agua Dulce' (batch 1) - 7 April, 39/46, 85%
Gymnocalycium friedrichii 'Agua Dulce' (batch 2) - 22/29, 76%
Gymnocalycium friedrichii cv. Agua Dulce variegated hybrid - 14 September, 22/27, 81%
Gymnocalycium mihanovichii cv. Nishiki - 14 September, 13/45, 29%
Gymnocalycium vatteri - 8 October, 7/26, 26%, +6
Maihuenia poeppigii - 21 September, 1/22, 5%
Mammillaria bertholdii - 7 September, 3/19, 16%, +1
Mammillaria humboldtii - 18 September, 8/10, 80%
Mammillaria luethyi - 7 September, 0/13, 0%
Mammillaria perezdelarosae v. andersoniana - 18 September, 8/20, 40%, +4
Mammillaria sanchez-mejoradae - 2 October, 14/23, 61%, +7
[color=#FF8000FFBF40]Mammillaria solisioides - 2 October, 9/22, 41%, +2[/color]
Obregonia denegrii - 9 September, 17/31, 55%
Pelecyphora strobiliformis - 5 October, 6/22, 27%
Punotia lagopus - 21 September, 0/20, 0%
Stenocereus eruca - 2 September, 13/14, 93%
Strombocactus corregidorae - 2 September, 18/100, 18%
Strombocactus disciformis - 2 October, 16/200, 8%, +2
Trichocereus grandiflorus x scopulicola - 28 September, 40/51, 78%, +6
Trichocereus huanucoensis x peruvianus monstrose - 28 September, 40/50, 80%, +20
Turbinicarpus mandragora - 9 September, 12/20, 60%
Turbinicarpus mombergerii - 29 September, 7/28, 25%
Turbinicarpus rioverdensis v. paolii - 29 September, 1/20, 5%
Turbinicarpus subterraneus - 9 September, 9/20, 45%
Yavia cryptocarpa - 4 October, 0/3, 0%
Yungasocereus inquisiviensis - 2 September, 36/70, 51%, +6

Euphorbiaceae
Name - Date of sowing, Number germinated/Number sowed, Percentage germinated
Euphorbia Bupleurifolia (batch 1) - 18 July, 14/22, 64%
Euphorbia Bupleurifolia (batch 2) - 4 September, 14/36, 39%
Euphorbia Gymnocalycioides - 19 June, 4/5, 80%
Euphorbia Hedyotoides - 28 August, 0/7, 0%
Euphorbia Obesa - 7 August, 67/209, 32%
Euphorbia Pachypodioides (batch 1) - 21 June, 0/14, 0%
Euphorbia Pachypodioides (batch 2) - 16 August, 16/22, 73%
Euphorbia Paulianii - 28 August, 0/8, 0%
Euphorbia Poissonii - 21 June, 2/10, 20%
Euphorbia Stellata - 19 June, 1/12, 8%
Euphorbia Subapoda - 21 June, 1/10, 10%
Euphorbia Unispina - 21 June, 4/6, 67%

Moraceae
Name - Date of sowing, Number germinated/Number sowed, Percentage germinated
Dorstenia Foetida - 14 April, 4/14, 29%
Dorstenia Gigas - 28 August, 6/9, 67%, +4

[keith]

Future cactus business here you have some rare stuff going, I always have trouble with echinocactus horizonthalonius but you seem to be doing pretty good with them. My cactus seedlings are going to sleep here in the Northern hemisphere but I have conophytums from seed to let me do something year round.

[supergodzilla]

Lately I have been doing a lot of grafting, picking choice seedlings and grafting to either Pereskiopsis or Selenicereus to speed their growth. I will write about this in more detail another day, but I thought I would take this opportunity to share a pretty special graft I have going.

Around this time last year, I noticed a very clearly variegated Ariocarpus hybrid seedling. I grafted it onto Selenicereus, having never used the stock before. It sat there idly for a few months, neither dying nor growing. I couldn't tell what was going on - the seedling was firm, which indicated that it was being fed by the graftstock, but showed no signs of doing anything. Until the day it finally did.

Here is that seedling on the day it was grafted, and here it is almost a year-to-the-day later. I'm really impressed with this plant and looking forward to seeing how it continues to grow in coming months and years!

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ariograft02.jpg (36.19 KiB) Viewed 2949 times

[supergodzilla]

So - seedling grafts. I sow a stupid amount of seeds - far more than I'll ever be able to accommodate if I get them to maturity. Probably because its a far more affordable way of collecting choice speciments, plus there's an added satisfaction to knowing that the plants have been grown entirely under my supervision.

Anyway, with so much seed being sown, there's always an oddity or two that pop up. These are always prime opportunities for a bit of seedling grafting, because ordinarily these little weirdoes would perish quite quickly on their own roots. Often, they'll perish on a graft too, but it gives them more of a fighting chance.

So, here's some of the little beautiful little weirdoes that I've grafted this year:

1. This little albino popped up from a packet of what were allegedly Astrophytum asterias 'Superkabuto V-type' seeds (although who ever knows the veracity of these things?) Well, with some rudimentary little V shapes already appearing, this little guy looks pretty special. That said, keeping full albinos alive is never a particularly easy feat.

graft01.jpg (21.81 KiB) Viewed 2816 times

2. Here's another random albino mutant - this time a Stenocereus eruca. I noticed very early that I had a seedling lacking any colour, and although it was probably too early in the season to properly graft, I knew this one would keel over pretty quickly without intervention. Imagine my horror when, a few days after grafting, I bumped the scion hard enough to break the graft join. I very quickly just popped the little seedling back on and hoped for the best, but expected it would shrivel and die. I was therefore very surprised when it not only survived, but started growing a few weeks later.

graft02.jpg (25.72 KiB) Viewed 2816 times

3. Here's another Astrophytum asterias - this time, from a packet of Astrophytum asterias 'kikko' seeds. This cultivar is supposed to be very lumpy, the bodybuilder of the asterias family. These seedlings are about a year old - and I was quite stunned when I turned the pot around and noticed that this particular seedling was so beautifully variegated! I popped it onto a Selenicereus stock, which is my preference for particularly choice specimens.

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4. Lastly, a final Astrophytum asterias. This one is just a complete weirdo, seemingly monstrose? Felt it was worth grafting to encourage it to keep doing its wacky thing.

graft04.jpg (22.22 KiB) Viewed 2816 times

I've got a lot of other grafts going on right now too, but these are just the oddities among them.

[Edwindwianto]

This one is SUPER....WOWOWOW

[supergodzilla]

I thought I had finished sowing seeds for the year, but I can never resist a good opportunity to buy seeds, so I've got a few new things worth sharing. Also a few older things that are making some progress, and a graft for good measure.

I bought some Pseudolithos miginiurtinus seeds, just to see how they'd go. I've got almost no experience with Asclepiads, much less Pseudolithos, but if you're not killing plants then you're not learning, right? Anyway, they're almost two months old now and starting to look like the weird little rock-things that they should look like.

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I also got some odd hybrid Trichocereus seeds - Trichocereus grandiflorus x terscheckii. These were also sown about two months ago, and some of the seedlings are starting to show some seriously odd, fasciated growth. I'll be keeping a close eye on these to see what bizarre oddities eventually grow up (and probably grafting a few of the best forms to speed them up.)

trichocereus01.jpg (76.1 KiB) Viewed 2578 times

I've tries sowing Lapidaria several times over the years and, like most mesembs, failed pretty miserably. They're supposed to be easy, but from my first few attempts I've got only a few runty survivors. I thought that third time might be the charm, and thus far, with a much more generous watering regime, they're proving to be as easy as I'd always heard. Here, they're looking particularly pleasant as they go through their first leaf change after about four months.

lapidaria01.jpg (64.16 KiB) Viewed 2578 times

And some Adenium socotranum, that have finally started to grow beyond their initial cotyledons and are putting out new leaves. Interestingly, the weird little runt-mutant that germinated without any cotyledons has not only survived (although it's still runty) but is also finally growing some foliage. Plants are incredible survivors!

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Lastly, here's a Mammillaria bertholdii - one of four that I managed to germinate this year, after letting the seeds age for twelve months. I've grafted this to Pereskiopsis and it has taken right off.

bertholdii01.jpg (39.18 KiB) Viewed 2578 times

[Shane]

I bought some Pseudolithos miginiurtinus seeds, just to see how they'd go[...] Anyway, they're almost two months old now and starting to look like the weird little rock-things that they should look like.

I have to admit, I hadn't heard of Pseudolithos before. But when I googled it, wow. I almost bought some seed right then...

Good luck with them!

I also got some odd hybrid Trichocereus seeds - Trichocereus grandiflorus x terscheckii. These were also sown about two months ago, and some of the seedlings are starting to show some seriously odd, fasciated growth. I'll be keeping a close eye on these to see what bizarre oddities eventually grow up (and probably grafting a few of the best forms to speed them up.)

I'm sowed some F2 T. ×Grandiflorus seed in July. I was hoping to get an interesting mix of offspring. So far, they're too small to see any big differences. Except for one that's growing 5x or 10x as fast as the others. Which is pretty cool. Good luck with yours. I'm looking forward to seeing what they turn into

[keith]

And thus far, with a much more generous watering regime" Compared to cactus seedlings I think you're right but I'm still new to Mesembs from seed.

[supergodzilla]

I'm sowed some F2 T. ×Grandiflorus seed in July. I was hoping to get an interesting mix of offspring. So far, they're too small to see any big differences. Except for one that's growing 5x or 10x as fast as the others. Which is pretty cool. Good luck with yours. I'm looking forward to seeing what they turn into

It's always exciting seeing some mutants in the mix. This pot is definitely the most abundant in that regard - I hope as they grow, your little hybrids show some weirdness also!

And thus far, with a much more generous watering regime" Compared to cactus seedlings I think you're right but I'm still new to Mesembs from seed.

It has taken me a few years to get my head around the cultivation required for mesembs from seed... I've killed a few hundred along the way, but this year's batch is looking fresh. I'll share some shots of some of my Lithops in the future.

For today, though, I thought I'd bring in the new year with just the one photo of a pot of seedlings that are about to celebrate their first birthday... as hard as it may be to believe, given their minute size. I present: Aztekium valdezii!

valdezii.jpg (82.81 KiB) Viewed 2352 times

[Vipassana]

Your record keeping and updates impress me greatly. Thank you for sharing.

[supergodzilla]

Your record keeping and updates impress me greatly. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you - I very much enjoy keeping these records and writing them up, and it's nice that I'm not the only one taking something from them.

Now -- as I have very little self-control, I have been purchasing more seeds and today I sowed the first batch for 2020. I will, of course, update this thread with germination rates and photographs as they progress. The seeds planted today were:

1. Tephrocactus bonnieae - 10 seeds (ADBLPS)
2. Escobaria abdita - 5 (Succseed)
3. Pelecyphora aselliformis - 4 (ADBLPS)
4. Yungasocereus inquisiviensis - 34 (Succseed)
5. Leptocereus scopulophilus - 10 (Succseed)
6. Haageocereus versicolor - 35 (Succseed)
7. Rimacactus laui - 11 (Succseed)
8. Weberbauerocereus madidiensis - 11 (Succseed)
9. Arrojadoa marylanae - 30 (Succseed)
10. Dorstenia foetida 'Bristles' - 4 (self-harvested)

Some of these species are particularly obscure, undesirable, shrubby columnar plants - the sort of obscurity that lures me in and makes me want to give them a go.

[mmcavall]

Very interesting and cool thread. Thanks for sharing it. I'm particularly interested in see how many seeds of Tephro bonniae will germinate...and what is your method whit them.

[Fatich]

Can you share how many of abdita seeds germinate?
There were 2 abdita seeds in the list, I have zero germination with the list number 9344. If yours are from the same seeds I suspect you'll have zero germination or low germination.

[supergodzilla]

Some seeds from my first sowing have started popping up, but no E. abdita seeds at this stage. I will give everything a bit of time and update the thread with a more comprehensive overview in a few weeks.

Anyway, I received a package from Klub Kaktasaru Hradec Kralove (KKHK) just the other day. My experiences with KKHK in the past have been resoundingly positive - their seed list is extensive and full of obscure plants and they seem to be of excellent quality. As such, I went about sowing some more seeds today:

Turbinicarpus graminispinus - 25 seeds (KKHK)
Gymnocalycium cardenasianum v. horridispinum - 22 seeds (KKHK)
Lophophora alberto-vojtechii - 31 seeds (KKHK)
Lophophora williamsii v. pentagona - 40 seeds (KKHK)
Lophophora williamsii v. diagonalis - 41 seeds (KKHK)
Lophophora williamsii v. pluricostata - 51 seeds (KKHK)
Astrophytum myriostigma 'Kikko Alien' - 52 seeds (KKHK)
Aztekium valdezii - 104 seeds (KKHK)
Turbinicarpus rioverdensis - 21 seeds (KKHK)
Dorstenia foetida v. lancifolia - 12 seeds (self-harvested)