pediocactus germination

[Jangaudi]

Hi all,
I got some pediocactus peeblesiana menzelii and fickeisenii ready for sowing...well... not quite. It seems to be helpful to stratify and scarify the seeds first, which I'm planning to do, however I'm not that sure on the details.
- Stratification : I'm thinking of stratification of pine seeds here, soaking 24 hours, covering in sand or peat in bag or jar, and in the fridge. So not sure if the pediocactus seeds need to be stratified after being soaked, or just dry, as they come. Seeds can be frozen slightly so not sure if the wet option is favorable...
- Scarification : I assume that scarification would probably be best after the stratification process. Seems risky the open up the seed coat, and then freeze the seeds. But I'm guessing...
Any idea ?
Thanks

[Fatich]

Just chip the hillum with a needle or nail clipper (easier than work with needle) carefully and sow them directly.
Here is my nearly 2 years old seedlings in the link.

https://flic.kr/p/2hGx4gi

[Aiko]

There is a youtube video on chipping Sclerocactus seeds that could be of use to you, on https://cactusinfo.nl/index.php/instruc ... ctus-zaden. Direct link is: https://www.youtube.com/embed/MGG2-YpGDWA?hd=1

[Jangaudi]

thanks guys, germination is kicking in already, just 3 days in

[Aiko]

What did you do?

[Jangaudi]

Soak in water about 15 hours + 20 minutes bleach bath, then chip the seeds, as in the video, and straight in the pot, on a heat pad.. I'll take a picture when more have come up.

[Jangaudi]

I counted 16 germinated seeds so far, on 20 (10/10 menzelii / fickeisenii). Pretty solid I think Seeds from Hradec Kralove.
One seedling is pinkish red, but starts to show some green, so I guess I won't have to graft it. Variegated ? or just catching up ?

pedio1.jpg (62 KiB) Viewed 3224 times

pedio2.jpg (101.71 KiB) Viewed 3224 times

[Jangaudi]

update : Still doing good, though I lost the pink one. It stayed small and pink, so I tried to graft it, but it didn't take :s

[metsolt]

Hello, Jangaudi!

How are your seedlings doing so far? Do you happen to have any progress pictures?
I sowed some myself, tried with and without chipping and they're germinating well.

[Jangaudi]

Hello, Jangaudi!

How are your seedlings doing so far? Do you happen to have any progress pictures?
I sowed some myself, tried with and without chipping and they're germinating well.

Yeah they are doing fine. Still in the same jar, but I think I will repot them soon. Also fun they already show their characteristics .
The peeblesianus are in the front here :

IMG20210321105205.jpg (142.38 KiB) Viewed 2471 times

And peeblesianus var. fickeisenii are in the front in this one :

IMG20210321105046.jpg (115.34 KiB) Viewed 2471 times

[Jangaudi]

Looking back at the earlier pictures, it seems they shrunk quite a bit, probably because of the winter rest

[Aiko]

They look quite nice!
Are you the grafting type, or the 'grow on their own roots' type?

[Jangaudi]

Are you the grafting type, or the 'grow on their own roots' type?

Hmm, well I did try to save some discoloured seedlings before by grafting, but hard to keep them alive. Don't really have much other reasons to graft, as I don't like the sight of it, it's just not very aesthetic. Nature looks at its best raw and wild