Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

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EliWhitney3140
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Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:01 am
Location: Port Angeles, WA, zone 8

Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by EliWhitney3140 »

Hello everyone I was hoping to get and advice or information on how you like to germinate your copiapoa seeds (or any cactus seeds that would be similar in growing conditions.)

I have been sewing as many Copiapoa (mostly cinerea, columna alba) as I can in the last 6 months. I have had some very good germination rates and more recently they seem to be fairly poor. A part of me feels that I could just be getting older seeds but I am not sure.

My methods have changed a little bit as I experiment with the most effective methods, but basically this is what I have been doing.

-I soak the seeds for 24 hours in reverse osmosis water in glass containers I have soaked in bleach, rinsed, and rubbed with alcohol.
-I soak them in a 3% hydrogen peroxide bath for an hour and a half. Water and h.p. ratio is about 2 to 1.
-I wash any dirty seeds in soapy water and rinse them off.
-A 6 to 8 hour sugar bath. 1 tspn sugar to 1 cup of water.
-The seeds are put in a 2" pot with a substrate mix of fine pumice and worm castings. ratio 4 to 2.
-The pots are put in a container with hydrogen peroxide to hydrate the substrate.
-I put in the seeds and add a top dressing of fine clay particles.
-Mist them with reverse osmosis water and bag them up.
-They go on a heat mat under t-5 grow lights.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong at this point. I have had a few batches of seed do really well but as of now I feel a little discouraged. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Jangaudi
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Location: Gent, Belgium

Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by Jangaudi »

hmm, that hydrogen peroxide bath of an hour and a half seem like very long. On the French site "semeurs de cactus" they list a batch getting a 10 minutes hydrogen peroxide bath with a germination rate of 60% : http://semeurs-de-cactus.fr/index.php/E ... ce/key/149
Not sure what an hour and a half would do to the seeds. Also haven't heard about soapy washes nor sugar baths before.
I just keep it straight and simple; 24 hours luke warm water soak + 10 minutes bleach bath to sterilise the seeds, and into the pot after it's been in the microwave. Germination rate is ok, depending on the seed batch, though copiapoa cinerea seeds and the likes can take some time to pop up, even 6 months later some still come up.
abhikjha
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Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by abhikjha »

It's an awesome link you shared at a very right time @jangaudi

I have ordered a ton of Ariocarpus seeds which will arrive in a couple of days. I guess 24 hrs lukewarm water soaking, 10 minutes of hydrogen peroxide treatment and mineral mix is the way to go for good germination. I will definitely use these methods.

Problem which I often face is how do you care for these once they germinate - for how long they should be in container, what temp, how and how often water them. I wish this link could have given some insights on that as well.
Tropical weather, no winters! :roll:
Jangaudi
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Location: Gent, Belgium

Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by Jangaudi »

Yeah it doesn't give much other info, but it's a good start. As for me, I'm not worried too much about the post process, as cacti seedlings are rather strong. I just leave them in the container for quite some time, like one year or so these days. What happens with me is that the growing seedlings absorb enough water out of the container / bag to lower the humidity level over time, preparing them for a dry first winter rest (as I usually sow in the autumn). But you need to work pretty sterile for this, and I start with a moist soil mix, not a drenched one.
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MikeInOz
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Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by MikeInOz »

abhikjha wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:49 pm I guess 24 hrs lukewarm water soaking, 10 minutes of hydrogen peroxide treatment
There is no need at all to do this. All you need is a good biologically active mix. Seeds are designed to grow without the need for any chemicals
All you need to do is supply them with the correct environment. That means - a mix with a low population of pathogens and a high population of pathogen suppressive microbes plus the right temperature and water content plus the right pH. Nature will take care of the rest. If you lose cactus seedlings of any kind to rots, your mix is no good.
https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewto ... ds#p376624
Vingames1
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Location: Hawthorne,Ca. USA

Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by Vingames1 »

I would say you might be beating the seeds up with that gnarly process.. I’m not a pro but I bet if you just did the simple baggy method with a 2” pot with wet soil and just sprinkling the seeds on it will probably get you better germination and healthier seedlings
EliWhitney3140
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Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:01 am
Location: Port Angeles, WA, zone 8

Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by EliWhitney3140 »

MikeinOz, I appreciate your words and I was curious are you doing straight aged compost of are you using anything else in your substrate mix?
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7george
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Re: Not happy with my Copiapoa germination rates at the moment.

Post by 7george »

That means - a mix with a low population of pathogens and a high population of pathogen suppressive microbes plus the right temperature and water content plus the right pH. Nature will take care of the rest. If you lose cactus seedlings of any kind to rots, your mix is no good.
The natural germination and surviving rates of cacti seedlings is way below of 1% and if we sow 5 or 20 seeds of a kind want much higher above that to achieve. So we need to modify the setup, especially if using the baggy method that is artificial from the beginning. Copiapoa are desert cacti and soils in their habitat contain not much microbes and these from Australia are not naturally bounded from centuries and generations but we are free to try different mixes anyway. Peroxide treatment should be ~10 minutes max., but it depends on seeds, some small and gentle ones can be killed by stronger solution on exposure. No doubt pathogens can be introduced with seeds and can easy kill seedlings in the baggy moist atmosphere during first weeks or months.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
°C = (°F - 32)/1.8
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