Aztekium ritteri from seed

[esp]

Does anybody use cling-film instead of bags?
I find the bags a bit bulky, messy and expensive.

You can't really reuse them either as they stain.

I use tupperware type plastic containers with tightly sealing lids. They are a bit deeper but smaller than takeaway containers. I reuse them repeatedly.

[Aiko]

Specifically for Aztekium, Strombocactus and Blossfeldia I use weck jars as they are rather air tight.

For the more 'normal' sowing I use a big tubberware box like esp does. It contains 26 pots per box. These I only need to keep closed for a few weeks. The weck jars I keep closed for at least one year.

[Mike P]

Ok so Weck jars - I Had to look up. Like a more attractive version of Kilner jars….

[fatich]

This photo is from 2019

[jfabiao]

Does anybody use cling-film instead of bags?
I find the bags a bit bulky, messy and expensive.
You can't really reuse them either as they stain.

I use cling films and plastic containers found in the stationery section of what I believe you call "pound shops" (we call them "chinese shops" here, as they're mostly owned and operated by chinese citizens). If you shop around you'll find them in various sizes to suit your particular size of pots and number of species. The whole thing gets wrapped in a single layer of cling film and if done properly will stay moisture tight for months.

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[jfabiao]

As for Aztekium ritteri itself, as Aiko and Ralph pointed before it is not particularly difficult and it does get faster as it grows. I have also found it is not as slow as advertised, my biggest seedlings bloomed on their 7th year (sown 2014) and showed signs of maturity (adult spines) the year before.

The same happens to me with some Strombocactus disciformis "strains", I've managed to get them to bloom on their 5th year (at this point I should point out that the real "fast" seedlings I have come from seed I collected from my own plants). I don't claim to be an extraordinary grower, as these plants don't get any special treatment; I just think it's a very fortunate consequence of a founders' effect of sorts - the individual plants that grow faster bloom first and these are tendencially the ones that pass on more of their seeds to the next generation. Multiply this by 10 or 20 generations and you have plants with very little in common with their wild counterparts when it comes to growth speed.

In the photo you can see the size variation within a single pot. Now, which one of these plants do you guess will pass on their genes to the next generation...?

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[habanerocat]

Does anybody use cling-film instead of bags?
I find the bags a bit bulky, messy and expensive.
You can't really reuse them either as they stain.

I use cling films and plastic containers found in the stationery section of what I believe you call "pound shops" (we call them "chinese shops" here, as they're mostly owned and operated by chinese citizens). If you shop around you'll find them in various sizes to suit your particular size of pots and number of species. The whole thing gets wrapped in a single layer of cling film and if done properly will stay moisture tight for months.

Nice tidy job.
I'll try something similar this year.