Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

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esp
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by esp »

conolady wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 4:02 pm Am I right in thinking that some cacti, like rebutia or cintia, may like a lower germination temp? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Maybe it doesn't matter?
It seems reasonable to expect that some cacti may need higher/lower temps or some other different treatments to germinate, but for the majority, it seems that daytime temps of 20-25C ish work well.
Day/night temperature differences are often big in habitat (even more so when you consider that the soil surface temperature if exposed to sun may be much higher than the air temperature), and may not be fully reflected by many germination set ups in cultivation, but it doesn't same to make too much difference for many species.

I've no experience with Cintia, but Rebutias seem happy to germinate at about 20-25C ish daytime, a few deg cooler at night.
Conversely, some species for me seem to prefer higher temps, 30-35C or maybe more in the daytime may be good to get Ariocarpus and Turbinicarpus going. This is perhaps to be expected from habitats with hot summer temperatures and a pronounced summer rainfall pattern. So if after a week or 2 at 20-25C you don't get germination, upping the heat may help.
I haven't tried low altitude tropical cacti from seed, but I wouldn't be surprised if Arrojadoa, Melocactus, Micranthocereus etc like a lot of heat too.
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conolady
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by conolady »

That's very clear, esp, thank you so much for your help.
First it was orchids, then, since c.2001, cacti and succulents. I'm into South African plants, mainly conos, lithops and haworthias, with a few cacti, especially 'posh' mamms, turbs and other smalls. Now it’s stapeliads as well...
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by SpikyMike »

Thanks for the responses to the OP! Interesting reading. Probably I’ll wait till early Feb before sowing. And I’ll follow the advice about Not Over-complicating. Makes me even more amazed at the tenacity of these plants in germinating in the wild at all!
Cheers.
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Terry S.

Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by Terry S. »

In the wild, only one seed produced by a plant in its lifetime needs to succeed to maintain the population. I don't think that we would be very happy with a 1 in perhaps 10 000 success rate!
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SpikyMike
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by SpikyMike »

Terry S. wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 5:24 pm ....I don't think that we would be very happy with a 1 in perhaps 10 000 success rate!
V good point! Lol
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by iann »

All sown. Cactus seeds tucked up in my lightbox. Lithops sitting in the window, shouldn't have any overheating problems :(
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Re: Sowing cactus seeds: best time?

Post by ragamala »

Terry S. wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 5:24 pm In the wild, only one seed produced by a plant in its lifetime needs to succeed to maintain the population. I don't think that we would be very happy with a 1 in perhaps 10 000 success rate!
Isn't it a pity the human race doesn't follow your argument, Terry :wink:
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