Advices request for sowing some species

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Aiko
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Aiko »

I can use some more advice on sowing some species! It concerns some species of the genera:

Glandulicactus
Ancistrocactus
Echinomastus
Pediocactus
Sclerocactus
Toumeya

Some of these genera I have no experience with (Echinomastus, Toumeya), or only have had mixed results (Glandulicactus, Pediocactus). I usually sow in late April in an unheated greenhouse without additional lightning. It can be warm in the greenhouse, but just as well I can have quite some dark days and cold nights. For most cacti this is fine enough, such as Gymnocalycium and Mammillaria. May provides more of some real heat in my greenhouse. I do wonder of the above genera will do better when the greenhouse gets really warm in May. Anyone with some specific advice on when to sow?

Glandulicactus, Ancistrocactus and Pediocactus I have tried before. Sometimes I had a good result, but a bit more often nothing at all germinated. Do these genera require really warm weather? Would it be better to wait sowing these in May?

How about Echinomastus? do these required heat specifically? Or will April be "good enough" like for most cacti?

Regarding Sclerocactus and Toumeya I will probably need to chip the seeds first for them to germinate well. Is it also adviced to wait for sowing these when proper spring heat has arrived?
Terry S.

Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Terry S. »

Adult plants of Pediocactus, Sclerocactus and Toumeya only grow during cool weather: February-June and then a second growth spurt in September. They completely close down in the heat of summer. Apart from chitting which might help, based on habitat conditions I suspect the seeds need a really big daily temperature swing perhaps something like almost freezing at night to 30C or so during the day. And all that without experience of ever successfully raising them from seed! Some of the successful German and Czech growers seem to use 100% pumice as a growing medium.
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Patrick »

Good luck with that lot Aiko! It's a labour of love and getting them to germinate is the easy bit in some cases. I was lucky enough to visit and get some advice from the West country sclero wizard who has amazing plants. Some of my notes for sowing here:

Sclerocactus from seed:
Flick end off with needle, put seeds slightly under cat litter & water, put in bag in cold frame in summer. Flicked seeds will germinate in a few days or not at all. In 3 years only grown 5-10ml but then they speed up and double in size quickly.

Can try soaking the seeds in boiled luke warm water for several hours before sowing.

Echinomastus and ancistrocactus are easier to germinate
Pediocactus easier than Sclero, spinosior, nyensis, pubispinus, glaucus are all ok for germination. Whipplei, wightiae, parviflorus are very hard.

Suggested mix for sclerocactus: Cat litter, horticultural grit, a little Cornish grit and loam dust, pinch of gypsum. On top 10mm of just cat litter. Dampen horticultural grit and just mix loam dust around it.

The others can have more loam, echinomastus are a doddle in comparison, I even kept some alive. I have kept ancistro and glandulicactus alive too and one sclero but that one is grafted on a ferocactus and it likes the early sunshine here.
Patrick. Small varied collection of North American, Mexican and Andean Cacti. Variegated Agaves and Echeveria. Developing a succulent garden in Portugal. Joined Somerset BCSS and forum in 2007.
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Aiko
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Aiko »

Thanks for the advice.

I have all set up and enough experience for twenty years to know how to grow from seed in general. I will stick to my main plan, which has proven to work well for basically everything I sow.

The only thing I am in doubt and the one thing I cannot control is the right temperature. Now it is sunny and the night are cold, so that would be a good time for Ancistrocactus, Glandulicactus, Sclerocactus and Echinomastus to sow. But once prolonged dull days come by, the greenhouse does not heat up so well anymore. So that makes things risky regarding heath during the day.

Waiting a few more weeks will be very beneficial for prolonged heath during the day, but by then the nights will be warmer too (although could well be chilly every now and then until sometime during May).

So I am still a bit in doubt as the right time to sow.

More experiences out there by anyone regarding Ancistrocactus, Glandulicactus, Sclerocactus and Echinomastus? Preference to sow in April like any "ordinary" cactus genera, or wait for prolonged warmer weather in May?
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Aiko »

Aiko wrote: Sun Apr 05, 2020 10:08 pm More experiences out there by anyone regarding Ancistrocactus, Glandulicactus, Sclerocactus and Echinomastus? Preference to sow in April like any "ordinary" cactus genera, or wait for prolonged warmer weather in May?
I just sowed these in April. Did well for basically all species.

Now I have another question. This time on Fritillaria. When will be the best time to sow these in an unheated greenhouse? Early spring, or would the autumn be better?
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by edds »

Aiko wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 6:31 pm Now I have another question. This time on Fritillaria. When will be the best time to sow these in an unheated greenhouse? Early spring, or would the autumn be better?
Sow it as soon as it is harvested IME. If you have it now, sow it now, cover it with grit and pop it outside (ideally against a wall for a bit of shelter) and hope for a few cold nights. If it hasn't started to germinate in 4 weeks I'd stick it in a bag in the fridge for 4 weeks to stratify it and try again.
Ed

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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Aiko »

Thanks. So I should have asked this a few weeks back when I got them and the cold was still to come!
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by edds »

Ideally but we should still have a few cold enough nights, probably! If it is purchased seed I find it much more difficult to germinate regardless, home collected seed comes up like cress!
Good luck!
Ed

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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by Aiko »

I got it from the Dutch rock garden society.
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Re: Advices request for sowing some species

Post by edds »

Should be pretty fresh then so fingers crossed!
Ed

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