Germination Advice Please

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Emile
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Germination Advice Please

Post by Emile »

Hi Everyone,

Very pleased to be part of the community, i have had a love for cacti plants for years and have decided to start a small collection. I was wondering if i could get some pointers..

I have a few hundred seeds to sow. My main question is,

is it too late to begin this process?

My setup is .. A greenhouse averaging 35-45 Degrees a day, it drops to around 10-12 in the evening.
I have the seed trays and the recommended loose compost to start..

After reading the sowing manual id also like to know what is the best option for sowing...
Placing the seeds on the surface or slightly burying them?, also i understand that light should be limited and the compost should remain damp throughout the germination process but also at a decent temperature, around 20-30 Degrees? if the soil does become dry should i spray from above?

Finally, as its a lot colder at night, Should i transfer the seeds indoors to prevent them from becoming too cold before they have reached a mature size?

Thanks so much for your help

Kindest regards

Emile
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juster
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by juster »

Hi Emile, welcome to the forum. Sorry that I cannot help with your questions about seed raising, sadly, my efforts have always resulted in failure. I now leave it to others and buy their small plants to grow on. However, many people seem to raise seeds quite easily and I hope you will succeed. Good luck!
Croydon Branch member, growing mainly cacti and Echeverias
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Aiko
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by Aiko »

Emile wrote:I have a few hundred seeds to sow. My main question is,

is it too late to begin this process?
First two important questions:
1 Which species are you planning on sowing?
2 Where do you live, in what part of the world?
graham
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by graham »

I agree with Aiko, those two points are very important.

However a couple of others do come to mind from your description. Firstly you do want to ensure that when once you have sown the seeds they don't dry out, and by far the easiest way to keep them moist is to use a larger tray without any drainage holes (*), put a sheet of capillary matting on the bottom of this tray and then put the containers, whether trays or pots, onto that; you then water the matting and keep it wet; the pots containing the seeds can then take up the water as required. This also means that you do not have to water the soil containing the seeds directly. Depending on what's available to you, you may be able to find trays with lids specifically for propagating and they can be very useful, but if you are getting temperatures as you mention then you certainly would need to provide shade to prevent excessive temperatures.
For many seeds a temperature range (30 - 10) would not be an problem, but there may be some that require consistently higher temperatures.
* in the UK such trays are gravel trays and there are some propagators specifically designed to take two standard seeds trays which do have a hole-free base.

graham
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alanbromley
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by alanbromley »

This year I planted a total of 67 succulents and 43 cacti and got germination rates of 48% and 63%, respectively. My rule of thumb is that anything that has not germinated after 2 months I throw away.

So don't expect really high germination but do expect better success with cacti than with other succulents. I have heard that African succulents can be more problematical due the different growing season and the fact that the seeds may not remain viable for as long as cacti, but I'm not sure anyone has done any experiments.

You can get very erratic germination, from single seedlings to 'mustard and cress'. Keeping them going is often more of a challenge than germination so expect some casualties along the way. As noted in previous responses, keeping them watered is important. Overwintering is generally OK and I have found that most will survive and will greatly pick up the following spring.

It's a very worthwhile way of getting into growing if you have the patience and the space to do so.
Alan Bromley
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Aiko
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by Aiko »

alanbromley wrote:My rule of thumb is that anything that has not germinated after 2 months I throw away.
Depending on the species, I would not do this so easily. With Massonia and Dinteranthus I have experience with a summer time-out and restarting in autumn or the next spring, you can get something to germinate. I always give all pots that have not germinated a second chance half a year or a full year later, keeping them dried out in the meantime.
graham
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Re: Germination Advice Please

Post by graham »

I agree with Aiko, again. And there's another thread which has strayed into seed dormancy...

Not all seeds will germinate within two months, some certainly will, others definitely will not so I would be careful with such a short cut-off time. If possible I do give most seeds a second season provided I do have the space (usually the case) and only don't keep them in the rare event of large-scale fungal problem.

graham
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