Cacti From Seed

Growing Cacti from Seed

As with the vast majority of other succulent plant seeds the key words when growing cacti from seed are: Warm, Close and Bright.  Sow the seeds on the top of a good quality compost and water (spraying is best) with a dilute fungicide solution (Chinosol or a copper based compound).  Seal in a plastic bag and place somewhere warm and light (20 – 30 Deg C).

Ready to place somewhere warm and bright

Germination given ideal conditions as listed above should take 5 – 21 days.  Initially all that will appear are green blobs that bear little resemblance to a cactus.  
 

3 Day old Carnegia

Subsequent growth can be very slow, although this can be speeded up somewhat by keeping the seedlings growing constantly for the first year or so by keeping them warm and bright year round.  Keeping the plants in their plastic bags also helps as it regulates the moisture and prevents drying out at the roots which so often spell death for cactus seedlings.  After a few months a more recognisable shape will appear and your plants will look like mini cacti.  The seedlings can be left in quite crowded conditions for some time, without undue harm

After 6 months recognisable shapes appearing

.
When potting on, use small pots, so as to protect from over watering, another cause of failure with cacti seedlings when repotting.  Subsequent potting on should involve the whole root ball so as to minimise the disturbance, which can cause problems.

Flowering can occur in some species from the 3^rd summer onwards, but many, especially the larger types take considerably longer to reach flowering maturity.  Some of the true giants may never flower in the grower’s lifetime, taking 40 – 50 years or more to reach flowering maturity. 


Specifics for Jungle Cacti:

Epiphyllum, Hylocereus, Selenicereus, Rhipsalis, Wittonia and Zygocactus are slightly different to normal cacti when grown from seed these specifics apply as well as those above.

Germination takes 3 – 5 weeks.

Growing on should be carried out in more shady conditions than for normal cacti, as this mimics the natural conditions that the parent plants grow in.  They also require slightly more water than their desert counterparts.  Flowering may occur as early as 5 years from sowing.

Specifics for Opuntia:

Opuntia from seed can be either very easy or extremely frustrating.  The reason for the 2 extremes is connected to the dormancy of the seeds which needs to be broken correctly so that the seed germinates when you want it to and not when it feels like it.

In nature Opuntia fruits are eaten, the seed passes unharmed, except that the chemical coating in the seed case has been removed by the process.  Now it is possible to buy chemicals which you can soak the seed in to recreate the process, however, there is a much simpler way.

Place the seeds in a ceramic cup (this is important as plastic ones might cause harm to come to the seed).  Pour on sufficient BOILING water to just cover the seed ie no more than a few millimetres but sufficient to cover them completely.   This treatment breaks down the chemical inhibitors and the seeds survive the contact because you use a ceramic cup which conducts the heat away and very little water – all of which minimises the risk to the seed.  After 5 – 10 minutes top up the water to 3 – 5 cm with warm water and then leave to soak for a few days changing the water every 12 hours or so.  It is important to change the water as this flushes away the chemicals we are trying to remove.  Don’t let them dry out, or else you will allow the inhibitors to soak back into the seed.

Now sow the seeds – covering them with their own depth of good quality compost.  Water them and now place somewhere warm, close and bright.  Sealing the pot in a plastic bag and placing them in a propagator will be best.  They need a temperature of 22 – 35 Deg C to germinate and sunlight, so do not place them in the airing cupboard.
Germination will commence in 7 – 10 days and will continue for quite some time.  The seedlings look nothing like a prickly pear; they look more like cress with fleshy leaves.  Eventually the pads will start to form from the centre of the seed leaves and a more recognisable plant will emerge. 

15 Days old, doesnt look much like a prickly pear

Pot them up when large enough to handle into cactus compost.  Do not throw away the pot though as I have seeds germinate as much as three years after they were sown (these are the ones that the treatment did not work on).

Pads develop at around 6 months

Opuntia from seed can reach flowering size in as little as three years from seed.  Some types will be hardy, others will not.  Most can be identified out of flower providing you knew what you had to start with.

Growing South African Bulbous Plants from Seed

Growing South African Bulbous Plants from Seed

South African bulbs and tubers can be broadly split into two categories, the summer growers and the winter growers.  Check carefully in the list at the foot of the page to determine which category your purchase(s) fall into and then follow the relevant instructions below.

Should you find that now is not a good time to sow your seeds, store then in the fridge (inside the Mail-Lite bag I used to ship them to you), where they will happily stay until it is a better time to of year to sow them.

Winter Flowering Bulbs

Sowing time – Late September to early March

Surface sow the seeds in pots of free draining compost and lightly cover them with fine grit or vermiculite.  Water well, just once, and then seal the pot in a plastic bag.  Germination should occur within 7 – 28 days or so, some species may take longer.  Temperatures for germination to occur should be around 15 Deg C during the day and lower at night (but not below 7 Deg C), so a cool window sill or greenhouse is ideal.  Once germinated grow the seedlings on in cool conditions as too high a temperature may cause drying out or trigger the premature onset of dormancy.  Seeds sown towards the end of the season (early March) should not be allowed to go dormant in their first season and provided with shade so as to allow the bulbs to fatten up properly.

Except as mentioned above, these bulbs have a pronounced dormancy period in the height of summer and the pots should be allowed to dry out (to rest the bulbs) from mid-July to October.  To bring them back into growth, start to water them gently and ensure they are growing in a cool, frost free location.  The bulbs can stay in their original pots for a few seasons until they appear crowded.  1st flowering depends on the species and is mentioned in the description.

Summer Flowering Bulbs

Sowing time – Late February to July

Surface sow the seeds in pots of free draining compost and lightly cover them with fine grit or vermiculite.  Water well, just once, and then seal the pot in a plastic bag.  Germination should occur within 7 – 28 days or so, some species may take longer.  Grow on in either a greenhouse or a cold frame and try to keep them going for as long as possible in their first season (perhaps as late as mid-October) so as to speed up the onset of the first flowers.  Doing this can shave a year of the stated time for the first flowering to occur.

Most of these bulbs have a pronounced winter dormancy period and they can be lifted and stored frost (and rodent) free, where there is doubts as to their hardiness.  Otherwise they can be mulched with straw or a thick layer of peat to give added protection.  Re-plant lifted bulbs or tubers the following spring for growing in that season.

General Guidelines

All bulbs can be grown in pots as well as in the open ground (depending on the location).  They should be fed so as to ensure the growth of the bulb rather than to green up the leaves.  To this end use a fertiliser that is high in phosphates, rather than one that contains too much nitrogen.  The soil mix should reflect that these plants store water in their bulbs and tubers and should not be subjected to prolonged waterlogged periods.  Use a free draining mixture wherever possible, in the same way as you would if growing cacti or succulents.

A rule of thumb guide for the species follows, but please check each variety as to whether winter or summer flowering is suggested...

Summer Flowering: Agapanthus, Albuca, Aristea, Babania, Crocosima, Dierama, Dietes, Eucomis, Freesia (some), Galtonia,  Gladiolus (some), Gloriosa, Hesperantha, Kniphofia, Littonia, Nerine, Sparaxis, Tulbaghia, Watsonia (some), Zantedeschia.

Winter Flowering: Bulbinella, Chasmanthe, Daubenya, Ferraria, Freesia (some), Gladiolus (some), Ixia, Lachenalia, Lapeirousia Massonia, Melasphaerula, Moraea, Ornithogalum, Spiloxene, Tritonia, Tritoniopsis, Velthemia , Wachendorfia, Watsonia (most), Whiteheadia

Generic Instructions

This is a generic set of instructions for those seeds which do not require specific handling. Most seeds I sell will grow given the following treatment.

Pretreatments.

Larger seeds (over 2mm) may be soaked in hand hot water overnight to speed up germination. Very hard coated seeds may be soaked in a dilute solution of Saltpetre made up as per the directions given under the pretreatment leaflet.

Smaller seeds need no pretreatment.

Sowing (Traditional Method)

Sow in a moist (not wet - a test is to squeeze a handful and if more than a few drops of water come out, then it is too wet), good quality seed compost, barely covering the seed in the case of large seeds and with small seeds sow on the surface and, if able, press them in (but no more). Place in a propagator or seal in a plastic bag and keep at 18 – 28 Deg C (Air Temp), soil temps need to be warmer by about 10 Deg C or so. Germination for most types should be fairly rapid (3 – 4 weeks or so), although it can take some time for all of the seeds to germinate. The following types can take up to 8 weeks to germinate – Aralia, Cussonia,Fatsia & Ficus.   Some types, with very hard seeds, may take several months to germinate - these include Gardenia, Rothmannia and Tabernaemontana.  

 

Above all else, unless you are certain that the seeds are not going to show (mould, algae or thick moss on the surface of the pot), persevere. Seeds have inbuilt survival mechanisms that will prevent germination unless conditions are right and may wait months before doing anything if sown at the wrong time. With modern advances in lighting, heating etc for plant raising, seeds may be sown at any time with these aids BUT there is no getting round the time of year - some seeds have a 'clock' and if it is the wrong time of year they just will not come up until it is the right time of year...  Just keep the soil from drying out completely and keep going.

Sowing (Alternative Method)

This method uses no soil in the initial stages, but it should be cautioned that the seedlings will need transferring to soil very soon after germination.  To do this with small seeds, simply place a paper kitchen roll sheet (folded as necessary) into a plastic container which has a lid. Soak the kitchen roll until it is wet, but no excess water is in the bottom of the tray.  An easy way to do this is to add too much water, let the excess collect in the bottom of the pot and then pour it away. Sow the seeds onto the moist paper and then seal the lid. Place at germination temperatures and then just wait until the seeds sprout.  If condensation forms on the lid, tap it to let it fall onto the seeds.  This method does require scrupulous hygiene as if fungal infections get hold, you will lose the batch and you cannot really use fungicide.  When the seeds sprout, you should get them in soil as soon as possible, still in controlled conditions and then allow them to root and grow on. Huge batches of seeds can be sown this way in small spaces, we have stacked containers one on top of each other on the propagators using this method with those seeds needing most heat on the bottom.  This is especially suitable for seeds that get soaked before sowing, as well as very small seeds that cannot be soaked in case you lose them.

Growing on.

Grow on, maintaining a close atmosphere opening the bag or propagator every few days to freshen the air. Once 2 or 3 true leaves appear the seedlings can be gently transplanted in order to grow on. Use any good quality houseplant compost for the potting on – garden soil should never be used as it is very variable in quality and may contain many weed seeds and pests.

Continue to pot on as required, some vigorous species may need 3 – 6 re-pottings per year, whereas slower growers may need potting on every other year. Let your plants tell you when they need to be potted on (they will slow down in growth or just ‘look’ unhappy)

If you have any questions please contact me at robert.boatman@gmail.com or bob_b@bsquared.ndonet.com and I will be happy to help out with any specific tips I am aware of or I can share my experiences.

Welcome to Our New Blog

Scampton Succulents is Moving...

After our physical move just over 2 years ago, it now seems we are to have an enforced virtual move for much of our independent online presence.  Our ecommerce partner (for our shop) has decided to pull the plug on that platform.

So we now need to find a new place to bring you news and to host our instruction sheets for the germinatation and care of our seed products.

We will continue with eBay and we may even go back into an independent eCommerce platform (but that is for the future once our eBay business is once again stabilised.