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Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:45 am
by JCcares
I just took all my seedlings out of there baggies they have been in there for 8 mouths. (9 baggies, 9 sets like the photo attached)
My question is WHEN would you recommend suggest I separate them transplant them?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH you cacti veterans are the best!!!
- E7ED005A-758E-4CB0-8F3F-6E841BF13A27.jpeg (278.26 KiB) Viewed 1566 times
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:06 am
by MrXeric
You can let them grow bigger, maybe transplant next spring. What I've been doing, I oversow pots like these, let them grow for about a year or longer, and then choose the biggest of the bunch to transplant. Discard the rest. I've also transplanted at this size or smaller. Most make it, but some will always die from the shock.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 7:57 am
by greenknight
They're so crowded that some of them are going to be pushed out of the ground, hurting their survival chances - but transplanting them too young will hurt all of their survival chances. Just saving the best ones, as Mr Xeric says, is the best plan. You're going to lose some, one way or the other, by letting them grow you'll get some good strong seedlings.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:57 am
by anttisepp
Long ago when I had much sowing I used to transplant young seedlings every 2nd month (1st year) that was great growth stimulation.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:16 am
by DaveW
Ideally you should sow them thinly so they are not overcrowded when they germinate. However they always seem to grow better when overcrowded and I have seen them forming a mound in a pot when they were left for a couple of years and not picked out.
The longer they are left the quicker they seem to grow since pricking out checks their growth until they get established again. However that too has its problems as if left the roots intertwine and it is difficult to part them without damage.
The greatest success I ever had was this time when I left them for two years in the 2 inch pots they were sown in, but I had a job then separating them. After all nobody pricks them out in nature the weakest simply go to the wall!
- seedlings2.jpg (127.98 KiB) Viewed 1523 times
However I did even better leaving those in their 2 inch pots for just over two years if not many seeds per pot so had room to grow.
- seedlings.jpg (117.27 KiB) Viewed 1523 times
Basically its just using common sense, usually pricking them out when they start to touch each other, but leaving them may not hurt but be hard to untangle them later.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:57 am
by JCcares
MrXeric wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:06 am
You can let them grow bigger, maybe transplant next spring. What I've been doing, I oversow pots like these, let them grow for about a year or longer, and then choose the biggest of the bunch to transplant. Discard the rest. I've also transplanted at this size or smaller. Most make it, but some will always die from the shock.
Thank you very much Sir. Got it
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:58 am
by JCcares
greenknight wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 7:57 am
They're so crowded that some of them are going to be pushed out of the ground, hurting their survival chances - but transplanting them too young will hurt all of their survival chances. Just saving the best ones, as Mr Xeric says, is the best plan. You're going to lose some, one way or the other, by letting them grow you'll get some good strong seedlings.
Thank you for chiming in GreenKnight we are all better cacti caretakers because of you.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:59 am
by JCcares
anttisepp wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 8:57 am
Long ago when I had much sowing I used to transplant young seedlings every 2nd month (1st year) that was great growth stimulation.
Thank you for your input
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 2:00 am
by JCcares
DaveW wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 9:16 am
Ideally you should sow them thinly so they are not overcrowded when they germinate. However they always seem to grow better when overcrowded and I have seen them forming a mound in a pot when they were left for a couple of years and not picked out.
The longer they are left the quicker they seem to grow since pricking out checks their growth until they get established again. However that too has its problems as if left the roots intertwine and it is difficult to part them without damage.
The greatest success I ever had was his time when I left them for two years in the 2 inch pots they were sown in, but I had a job then separating them. After all nobody pricks them out in nature the weakest simply go to the wall!
seedlings2.jpg
However I did even better leaving those in their 2 inch pots for just over two years if not many seeds per pot so had room to grow.
seedlings.jpg
Basically its just using common sense, usually pricking them out when they start to touch each other, but leaving them may not hurt but be hard to untangle them later.
Dave you always give confidence to us in my shoes. Appreciate your willingness to SHARE what you know. You encourage me
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 9:58 am
by greenknight
Another way you can deal with it is, when they start to get really crowded to the point where they're pushing each other out of the ground, take the whole mass out of the pot and pull it apart slightly without uprooting them - just create some gaps in the mass for them to grow into. Put it in a larger pot, and gently work some mix into the cracks.I have done this, and it works pretty good. This doesn't disturb them nearly as much as completely separating them, and you can leave the parts that aren't too crowded undisturbed. You could save more of them that way - though I have no idea what you'll do with all those cacti!
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 12:03 am
by zpeckler
Great looking seedlings, dude! This is my second year trying to raise cacti from seeds. The first year was... not super successful. This year is going a lot better so far! I got a bunch to germinate and they're about a month old now. I'm planning on trying to get them out of the baggie at about the 6 month mark.
Anyone have any thoughts on when to start fertilizing seedlings? I don't want to push them too hard too fast, but I think one of the reasons my seedlings from last year did so poorly is that I waited too long to fertilize.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:24 pm
by jerrytheplater
zpeckler wrote: ↑Sat Apr 01, 2023 12:03 am
Anyone have any thoughts on when to start fertilizing seedlings? I don't want to push them too hard too fast, but I think one of the reasons my seedlings from last year did so poorly is that I waited too long to fertilize.
I asked the same question on Jan 28, 2023 here:
https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47585 I was told to start lightly fertilizing when the true leaves start to form on my Euphorbia tulearensis. That is about three weeks after I saw the seeds sending out roots.
In that same post I wrote how I had seeds of Frailea parviflora fall into the pot and germinate. They were not pampered at all. Saw adult growing conditions from the start, including fertilizer. They look great now and I have to repot to give the adults more room. Here is the thread with some photos:
https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 00#p395800
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:30 am
by DaveW
Seeds always seem to germinate and grow better around the mother plant, why I do not know?
My father used to say for young plants "you don't feed babies beefsteaks" meaning just give them weak diluted fertiliser at first not full strength .
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:33 am
by jerrytheplater
DaveW wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:30 am
Seeds always seem to germinate and grow better around the mother plant, why I do not know?
My father used to say for young plants "you don't feed babies beefsteaks" meaning just give them weak diluted fertiliser at first not full strength .
My Frailea got my full strength fertilizer (50 ppm N, which is pretty weak compared to some greenhouses growing bedding plants using 200 ppm N or more.) I am fertilizing my Euphorbia with the same 50 ppm N solution. I flush them first with clear water every time I water/fertilize.
Re: Seedlings, went to transplant?
Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 8:15 pm
by 7george
It also depends on the grower's intentions about these seedlings: to keep them all for himself or for sale or to save just few for a collection. In second case one can leave them like this until midsummer or even next winter and then to transplant. Also I always try to keep seeblings of one kind in at least 2 different pots or even spots in case something bad happens with the whole batch (fungus, pests or pets, birds, hurricane, tornado, knocking to the ground, sunburn or stealage). Let's be optimistic however.
Someone also said here or in another forum: "Keep them this way until seedlings get square or hexagonoid (like cells in honeycomb)".
However I did even better leaving those in their 2 inch pots for just over two years if not many seeds per pot so had room to grow.
This is a good approach if you use 10 (- 20) seeds a pot and not hundreds and have >100% survival rate...
