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mammillaria saboae groupe are considered hard seeds to start and generally people say that the older the seed the better however seed scarification removing a bit of the harder outer shell makes even fresh seeds germinate more readily. I tested a batch of 10 seeds that are 6-7 months old from harvest date and after a week and a half I have 4 out of 9 germinated (1 was killed trying to sandpaper the seed)

I just shaved the seed with a very sharp blade rather then nicking it and they were sown on top of the soil like regular seeds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbeXw2xafrc&t=52s

Sharing incase anyone is trying to sow these seeds... I found only 1 thread on this and they suggested acidic soil and changing the medium frequently to remove any inhibitors on the seeds. The thread sowed the seeds on coffee paper so they could easily change and see the seeds.

Great video! Your techniques obviously are working out well. I tried chipping the seeds near the hilum before, but mine just grew mold! I may try it your way at some point.

MrXeric wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:40 am Great video! Your techniques obviously are working out well. I tried chipping the seeds near the hilum before, but mine just grew mold! I may try it your way at some point.

I saw a video for another cactus seeds can't remember which but another hard cactus seeds I think horse creeper? The grower has almost double germination rate compared to non chipped seeds. I considered doing this however I always fear killing or damaging the embryo so I've always chose to shave the make the shell thin... seeds are very small so hard to handle compared to other seeds.

If someone can find that video please post it here... the dude shows a diagram of why and where he chips... I watched it not long ago but can't find it now.

LateBloomer wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:12 pm I saw a video for another cactus seeds can't remember which but another hard cactus seeds I think horse creeper? The grower has almost double germination rate compared to non chipped seeds. I considered doing this however I always fear killing or damaging the embryo so I've always chose to shave the make the shell thin... seeds are very small so hard to handle compared to other seeds.

If someone can find that video please post it here... the dude shows a diagram of why and where he chips... I watched it not long ago but can't find it now.

This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGG2-YpGDWA Steve-O shared this video a while ago.

MrXeric wrote: ↑Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:59 am

LateBloomer wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:12 pm I saw a video for another cactus seeds can't remember which but another hard cactus seeds I think horse creeper? The grower has almost double germination rate compared to non chipped seeds. I considered doing this however I always fear killing or damaging the embryo so I've always chose to shave the make the shell thin... seeds are very small so hard to handle compared to other seeds.

If someone can find that video please post it here... the dude shows a diagram of why and where he chips... I watched it not long ago but can't find it now.

This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGG2-YpGDWA Steve-O shared this video a while ago.

Yes thanks... I considered trying this method but was scared of just killing the seeds since they are so small.

Ok I tried this method for M. luethyi And M. Bertholdii. It worked great for ML, like 80% germination! Less successful for MB, only a couple of seeds germinated so far. Thanks!

Glad it helped... the trouble with some of these are the size of the seeds. I had trouble with bertholdii so small