Optimum temperature to germinate echeverias

[mistyhiss]

Hi

I've sown quite a number of echeveria seeds for the first time over the last few days and I'm a bit concerned that germination might be hindered by the temperature in my home being too high. I've been advised that the optimum temperature for germination is between 18 and 20 degrees, whereas the thermometer in my house is showing about 23 to 24 degrees. I've used the baggy method too so I'm assuming it will also be warmer inside the bag than outside.

I know you can buy heated propagators which provide warmer temperatures during cooler months, but what about the other way round? Are there any available which you can thermostatically control so that they provide a cooler temperature to the environment outside of the box?

Any advice and experience with this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Liz M]

I don't grow Echeverias from seed but I do have a lot of Echeverias and they produce seed. I don't keep it as it would probably produce a lot of unknown hybrids. However, I am always getting Echeveria seedlings coming up among my plants. They are in the greenhouse and many outside at the moment. They germinate without problems, so I would not think that Echeveria seed it very fussy about temperatures to germinate. As you can imagine I don't use the baggy method and with succulent seed if you do, uncover them as soon as they come through and just keep them damp. Succulent seed does not respond like cactus seed and does not like being kept in the humid conditions of a bag. Your temperatures of low 20s sounds perfectly OK to me, it might be a problem if they went up to the 30s.

[mistyhiss]

Hi Liz. Thanks very much for the advice, that's reassuring to know. The seller had included a note saying stating that echeverias don't germinate above 20 degrees and I wasn't sure if this was a strict rule for all varieties or just certain types. I hadn't realised that succulents don't respond in the same way as cacti to being in the bag... I've got some aeonium seedlings within a bag at the moment so sounds like I'd better start introducing them to life outside it! Always learning.

[esp]

I tried E. lauii from seed in 2016 - I possibly saw similar advice and kept them on a cool windowsill for a couple of weeks. Nothing happened.
Shortly after I moved them to the warmest part of the propagator, so well over 20 deg C during daytime, I got germination.

The seeds and seedlings are tiny, I kept them sealed up for many weeks, I believe, before I opened up the container.
Personally, I find many succulents aren't too bothered by being kept sealed up for several weeks or even months after germination, although for many mesembs and Euphorbias, for example, they are also far happier being exposed to air quite soon compared to cacti.

[johno]

hi why bother with echeveria seed so many pup up so they can be taken off. also they all grow from leaves,
even e lauii i have grown from leaves.
johno

[Terry S.]

The main reason for raising them from seed is going to be to produce new hybrids. The fashion for conophytums and adromischus in the Far East has been well publicised, but they are into echeverias too; the best-looking cutivars are highly collectable.