CactiGuide.com

Hello all;
I've had have a couple cactus for ~35 yrs. They've been through some rough years but are thriving now. They flower and are budding profusely.

Are these plants self-fertile? (Echinocereus enneacanthus, E. coccineus). The former produces fruit.

How should I go about harvesting seed?

Thanks a heap,
-jbb

I don't think any Echinocereus is self-fertile, but someone will need to verify that. If your plants are setting fruit, it's likely they're crossing pollen with other Echinocereus nearby (maybe even hybridizing!), unless they're kept out of reach of insects and wind. Seed is ready to harvest when the fruit splits (dehisce), but you can harvest a little earlier if the fruit is ripe (well expanded and often has a color change).

Pulpy fruit hard to get seeds out I put the whole fruit in a jar of water and shake it to try and separate seeds from surgery pulp. Good thing is usually there are hundreds of seeds. I have to cross plants to get seeds. Patient growers can wait for the fruit to totally dry out and separate out seeds using a crushing method. Like rolled newspaper.