Hi all. Our autumn is getting closer and now is the time for us to get our Lithops seeds in the pots.
I planted some in spring and most of them are doing well. Our summers are just to hot for them te realy grow well. One mistake and all seedlings in a pot will turn white and die of overheating.
I prepared 96 pots about 10 days ago. Watered them today one week ago. 92 out of the 96 pots has sown live. Some with only 1,2 or 3 seedlings and then other with as much as 30.
Watered another 24 pots on Tuesday so today is only day 2 so I will report back in a few days. I hope for good results with this sowing as well
So in total I have 120 pots going now. Here is a few picks of my setup.
This is the pots filled with soil ready for sowing,
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Last edited by pvdw on Sat Feb 24, 2018 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Here you can see the gravel I use as well as the shade netting to protect them.
The containers I use is cat sand boxes. Each one has a hole in it pluged with a cork. I let the pots stand in about 1cm of water for the first 3 days and then I drain the water. From there on I mist from the top mostly but if I feel like it I water from the bottom again.
Very neat set up. Good luck with those.
I am just about ready to start sowing some here too.
Although I have successfully sown Conophytum and other mesembs in late summer early autumn I prefer to sow the sphaeroid mesembs from February to April. I find that is the best time in order to use natural lighting and temperature in this part of the world.
Especially interested in Mesembs. small Aloes and South African miniatures and bulbs.
Keen propagator and compulsive 'tickler'! Instagram #myscottishgreenhouse
I'll be sowing too this week. Probably not 120 pots though! Spring here (maybe, soon, fingers crossed), but the tiny ones will go through an English summer with a little care.
Today 12 days after sowing the first 96 pots 95 has germinated seeds and they mulyiply on a daily basis. Pot number 96 is D van Zylii and I think our cloudy weather may be the culprit for the no result there.
Then today 7 days later after watering another 24 pots I can give feedback that all 24 of those pots are germinating well.
pvdw wrote:Pot number 96 is D van Zylii and I think our cloudy weather may be the culprit for the no result there.
Dinteranthus vanzylii has a mind on its own. I have experience on multiple occasions at first it does not germinate, but might a year or two years later after a restart.
Yes I too have found that Dinteranthus vanzylii can be unpredictable. But I have noticed that if it is sown under the same conditions as Lithops it can be a little slow. If given a higher temperature it germinates better and quicker.
Especially interested in Mesembs. small Aloes and South African miniatures and bulbs.
Keen propagator and compulsive 'tickler'! Instagram #myscottishgreenhouse
. Now it is 120/120 pots with seedlings. 