Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

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MissyLee5
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Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by MissyLee5 »

Good afternoon everyone! I've been growing about 30 varieties of mesembs since early summer with ease, except for a few types that I am either having difficulty germinating or keeping alive after germination. I'm hoping someone with experience in these varieties can offer some advice. It's been 1 month now since sowing and here's what I've got...


-Lithops Meyeri, these are more difficult than Optica Rubra for me! Germination rate is a bit low, and those that do germinate end up dying after about 2 weeks. I've only 2 left that were sown in early July, these 2 are healthy and doing well. Everything sown since then hasn't made it. I'm wondering if it's more sensitive to humidity and high temperatures than other lithops since they start out so tiny?

-Conophytum Minimum Witteburgense took about 3 weeks for just 1 to germinate.

-Conophytum Burgeri isn't germinating. It's top sown. I've read in the forum it may like a little heat during the day unlike other conos to help germination, and that sometimes it can take a while to germinate.

-Argyroderma Pearsonii low germination. Only 1 germination on this one. I haven't found as much info on growing Argyroderma from seed as what's available for Conos & Lithops.

-Dinteranthus Wilmotianus no germinations. I know they like heat to germinate. I read about the method of putting the sown pot in a water bath then covering the entire thing in plastic & placing in a sunny area for a few days before moving out of the sun & switching to a standard germination method. I'm thinking about sowing a new pot and trying this. So, funny enough... as I was about to hit the publish button I actually looked and saw a tiny green dot in the pot. Then I looked closer and saw 2 tiny green dots. They are smaller than the grains of sand! So they must like the heat outside, not sure how long they've been there but couldn't be too long.


I've currently got all of these guys outside where it's mid to high 70's during the day and low 60's at night. I started with them inside under a humidity dome where it's a constant 70F for about 2 weeks before moving them outside so they would have the nightly temp drop since nothing was germinating. I'm in the US. Does anyone has any germination tips on these particular varieties they could share? Thanks in advance!

Julie
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Aiko
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by Aiko »

I would keep temperatures down to 15C-20C (sorry, I don't do fahrenheit) for mesembs at warmest if you can aim for it, anything above 0C during the night. This basically goes for all mesembs for as far as I know, I can't think of an exception to keep a species in heat to get them to germinate. Sure, they don't mind a very warm day during the germination process, but in general aim for low night temperatures and not too warm day temperatures.
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by iann »

There's nothing really special about any of the species you mention, just a little more refinement of the techniques for any other Lithops/Conophytum/similar. Cool nights, warm days, start out humid and progress to good ventilation within a few weeks of germination. Dinteranthus can be tricky to get started and sensitive until the first true leaves come through.

You don't say where you are in the US, but almost anywhere is going to be a little on the warm side for sowing in July. Getting the tiny sprouts through the dog days could also be tricky. You might get germination when you can give them nights below 50F, and they'll definitely grow better. Aim to have good-sized little plants with their first true leaves before the worst of summer hits.
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MissyLee5
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by MissyLee5 »

iann wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:29 pm There's nothing really special about any of the species you mention, just a little more refinement of the techniques for any other Lithops/Conophytum/similar. Cool nights, warm days, start out humid and progress to good ventilation within a few weeks of germination. Dinteranthus can be tricky to get started and sensitive until the first true leaves come through.

You don't say where you are in the US, but almost anywhere is going to be a little on the warm side for sowing in July. Getting the tiny sprouts through the dog days could also be tricky. You might get germination when you can give them nights below 50F, and they'll definitely grow better. Aim to have good-sized little plants with their first true leaves before the worst of summer hits.
Thank you Iann and Aiko for the responses. I feel like I know you both after reading through the forum for hours each day :lol: I've learned so much from both of you. I only feel it's proper to thank you for years of sharing your knowledge with everyone!
Im in Ohio for reference. I actually finally got my first germination for C. Burgeri and a few other germinations yesterday, hopefully they will continue. It's been getting pretty cold at night the last few nights, around 50F, I'm sure this helped. So from what you said it seems I'm much better off keeping them outside then rather than inside where temps are more consistent, which is how I initially started these. I do have them in baggies and will remove after most have germinated. I've read about the difficulties on growing Dinteranthus as they are so small. I was surprised to see how tiny they actually are! Other forums members have said they can suddenly melt when watered and seem to do better when kept drier, so I am worried about keeping them alive now that I finally have a few germinations. Should I bottom water them, or just spray with a spray bottle only enough to keep the top moist?
I too was surprised I had such good luck the first time around being outside in the heat when I sowed in July, I know it's not an ideal time but I had just got my hands on some seeds and couldn't wait to sow. These were almost all exclusively lithops though, and I've always had good luck with them. I've only lost a couple of those and that was my fault, I left the tray lid on one sunny, hot & humid day and cooked them. I'll see if I can post some photos of them now that they are almost 3 months old. They are doing beautifully, I can't wait for their first split.
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by MissyLee5 »

Here are a few photos of some of my Lithops seedlings, sown in July. I started giving them a very diluted low nitrogen fertilizer with watering a few weeks ago and they are growing nicely. I only sowed around 5 per variety to start, just to make sure they would make it through the hot summer. Now it's time to sow more!
Attachments
L. Verruculosa Rose of Texas 3 months
L. Verruculosa Rose of Texas 3 months
Dinterops 3 months
Dinterops 3 months
L. Lesliei 3 months
L. Lesliei 3 months
L. Ruschiorum 3 months
L. Ruschiorum 3 months
L. Aucampiae 3 months
L. Aucampiae 3 months
L. Hookeri Niekerkshoop 3 months
L. Hookeri Niekerkshoop 3 months
L. Hallii Green Soapstone 3 months
L. Hallii Green Soapstone 3 months
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by iann »

They look good so far. Just keep them in a fairly bright place over winter, and water occasionally. Direct sun is OK if you have good air movement, but they could be killed in a stuffy place like behind a window blind. Soon they will start to split and show the first new leaves. Don't water too much while this happens and all should go well.
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MissyLee5
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Re: Difficulty germinating a few mesembs

Post by MissyLee5 »

iann wrote: Sun Sep 26, 2021 6:25 pm They look good so far. Just keep them in a fairly bright place over winter, and water occasionally. Direct sun is OK if you have good air movement, but they could be killed in a stuffy place like behind a window blind. Soon they will start to split and show the first new leaves. Don't water too much while this happens and all should go well.
Thanks for the tips Iann. I've been keeping them drier than younger seedlings, but I did not know to water less during the splits. I'll be sure to keep an eye on them. I keep them at the window most of the time, but have a ceiling fan running all the time and they stay pretty cool. Once they begin to split I'll add some photos!
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