How are your seeds going?

[Cidermanrolls]

It's a few months since sowing so on a rainy Monday I decided to take an audit of this winter's seed plantings.
I planted from three sources and all are a general mix of cacti. My method may not be perfect, but all sources were treated exactly the same and placed in the same propagator.
BCSS seed pool. 31 packets sown, live seedlings today in 25 pots (I lost a couple of Frailea species). 100% of Turbinicarpus showing seedlings . Lophophora coming up like cress....
Piltz. 38 packs sown, germination in 36. Most pots have multiple seedlings. One Cleistocactus and one Mammillaria failed.
BCSS seed distribution. 40 packs sown. 22 pots showing germination. Many pots with only one or two seedlings. No real pattern to failures. About half of Mamms show any germination, ditto Aylostera and Wigginsia.
How are your seedlings?

[Chris L]

None of mine have germinated yet.

Mind you, I only got round to sowing them today.

[Aiko]

I have only just sowed my seeds yesterday. Mesembs and other African things that like cool nights.
Cacti will follow late April, as every year, when the temperature is higher in my greenhouse. I never sow in winter...

[Chris L]

It's a few months since sowing so on a rainy Monday I decided to take an audit of this winter's seed plantings.
I planted from three sources and all are a general mix of cacti. My method may not be perfect, but all sources were treated exactly the same and placed in the same propagator.
BCSS seed pool. 31 packets sown, live seedlings today in 25 pots (I lost a couple of Frailea species). 100% of Turbinicarpus showing seedlings . Lophophora coming up like cress....
Piltz. 38 packs sown, germination in 36. Most pots have multiple seedlings. One Cleistocactus and one Mammillaria failed.
BCSS seed distribution. 40 packs sown. 22 pots showing germination. Many pots with only one or two seedlings. No real pattern to failures. About half of Mamms show any germination, ditto Aylostera and Wigginsia.
How are your seedlings?

Do you grow your seedlings indoors or in the greenhouse? Mine are on a east facing bedroom windowsill. I tried in the greenhouse, but it was a disaster.

[BryanW]

I sowed 12 pots and started them in a 70f regulated propagator on 19th Feb on a SSE facing window-sill and every pot germinated and 11 pots now have multiple seedlings. 1 Failure to produce seedlings of any size was Titanopsis hugo schlecteri (which could be due to my inexperience).
A further 14 pots were sown across 11th & 12th March and again placed in the same propagator, not all have germinated as yet. No germination so far are 2 Lithops species, 2 Argyroderma and 1 Dinteranthus.
I removed 2 Gibbaeum species from the propagator after 1 week and have now started to control how much daylight they receive on an upstairs SSE window-sill, they started to germinate within 48 hours of low light and a lower temp of around 64f but only 1 seedling in each pot so far.
Out of 26 packs of seed so far only 20 have germinated & produced seedlings.

Seeds were sourced online from Italy, UK and Spain.

[rodsmith]

I sowed 9 lots of seeds on 6 March. I usually sow in February but with such cold weather I delayed this year. 6 of the sowings were BCSS seed and 3 were seed from my own plants. For the first week or so I kept them in a heated propagator with LED lights above on an indoor sunless windowsill at a daytime temperature of around 24 deg C.

By 11 March, the first seedlings appeared - Antimima dualis, Lapidaria margaretae, Lithops pseudotruncatella ssp volkii & Pleiospilos nelii. I now have seedlings from all 9 sowings and they are all out of the propagator, in the open on a SW facing windowsill. All ok so far, if a little etiolated in some cases (too little sun).

[Ospreywatcher]

I planted 10 Adenium obesum seeds a week ago, absolutely no sign of anything yet though the propagator tray has been kept inside the house, 20degrees min daytime, 15degrees overnight. On a positive note my 3 surviving seedlings from sowing last August have started growing new leaves. I realised the poor return last year was likely due to them being sown so late in the season. Seriously thinking of purchasing a heated propagator now.

[Herts Mike]

I would have Adenium seed at 25c at least plus they need to be fresh. I leave at the same temperature day and night.

[Ospreywatcher]

Seeds were purchased from a reputable source so can only assume they were fresh. However I shan't be buying any more until I can provide those higher temperatures!

[iann]

Good results as usual from Lithops. Except for 'Fred's Redhead' - I got 5 seeds from the MSG list and nothing from them yet. Would have been interesting to compare them with the very red var hornii hybrids and with a spontaneous red (-ish) Warrenton Form that I have.