Sclerocactus - to freeze & thaw or not to freeze & thaw

[MaciejW]

Have you handled conc sulfuric before? If you haven't, I'd advise you not to.

no I haven't - so probably will not do it this time either. Thank you!

[Rob]

Sow them during a Thunderstorm!

Not at all sure where that gem was given to me, I think it refers to someone being at Brack's place during a monumental storm and then seeing loads of Sclero/Pedi seedlings germinate within hours.

Cant remember who told me or even if they were the original observer.
Perhaps someone else hereabouts knows the tale better.

Cheers!

[iann]

Sow them during a Thunderstorm!

Not at all sure where that gem was given to me, I think it refers to someone being at Brack's place during a monumental storm and then seeing loads of Sclero/Pedi seedlings germinate within hours.

Cant remember who told me or even if they were the original observer.
Perhaps someone else hereabouts knows the tale better.

Cheers!

Makes more sense than all the freeze/thaw stuff. These are late summer germinators, both immediately after ripening if they get lucky with a thunderstorm, or in later years if necessary. Germinating in spring in their dry summer snowy winter habitat climate would be suicide. Having taken all that on board, I still start them in spring since my summers are far from fatal for a baby Pediocactus. Sclerocactus should do even better, being adapted to higher temperatures than Pediocactus, but I don't have so much experience with them.

[Al Laius]

Sow them during a Thunderstorm!

Not at all sure where that gem was given to me, I think it refers to someone being at Brack's place during a monumental storm and then seeing loads of Sclero/Pedi seedlings germinate within hours.

Cant remember who told me or even if they were the original observer.
Perhaps someone else hereabouts knows the tale better.

Cheers!

There was a short piece about this on page 231-232 of the December 2012 CactusWorld Journal

Cheers
Al

[gerald]

Sow them during a Thunderstorm!

Not at all sure where that gem was given to me, I think it refers to someone being at Brack's place during a monumental storm and then seeing loads of Sclero/Pedi seedlings germinate within hours.

Cant remember who told me or even if they were the original observer.
Perhaps someone else hereabouts knows the tale better.

Cheers!

Yes that was me

The seeds had been sown for quite some time with limited or no success, but one day in August there was a massive thunderstorm, and it's this that prompted germination en masse. Steven was quite surprised, and delighted of course. My theory was that it's not just the availability of water itself that encouraged the seeds to germinate, but the allround combination of atmospheric conditions that give rise to a thunderstorm ie pressure, temperature, humidity, perhaps even static charge.

Obviously desert plants whose seeds evolve to take advantage of thunderstorms will have a higher chance of survival than those that do not.

[MaciejW]

The seeds had been sown for quite some time with limited or no success, but one day in August there was a massive thunderstorm, and it's this that prompted germination en masse. Steven was quite surprised, and delighted of course. My theory was that it's not just the availability of water itself that encouraged the seeds to germinate, but the allround combination of atmospheric conditions that give rise to a thunderstorm ie pressure, temperature, humidity, perhaps even static charge.

Obviously desert plants whose seeds evolve to take advantage of thunderstorms will have a higher chance of survival than those that do not.[/quote]

Right, thunderstorm might prove a bit too difficult to be arranged for, but I can always try!

[T_B]

The seeds had been sown for quite some time with limited or no success, but one day in August there was a massive thunderstorm, and it's this that prompted germination en masse. Steven was quite surprised, and delighted of course. My theory was that it's not just the availability of water itself that encouraged the seeds to germinate, but the allround combination of atmospheric conditions that give rise to a thunderstorm ie pressure, temperature, humidity, perhaps even static charge.

Obviously desert plants whose seeds evolve to take advantage of thunderstorms will have a higher chance of survival than those that do not.

Perhaps someone should try wiring up some seeds and zapping them lightly to see if they germinate?

[Rob]

Aha, so it was probably something I read rather than was told!

See Al, we do read it all, it just doesn't all sink in properly! (into my poor braincell at least)

Cheers

[gerald]

Perhaps someone should try wiring up some seeds and zapping them lightly to see if they germinate?

You know that's not that bad an idea! A little far fetched perhaps but why not indeed put seed pots outside during a thunderstorm next summer, under some cloth to disperse large raindrops?

[jfabiao]

There is a wonderful site that congregates the sowing experiments of several growers:
http://www.semeurs-de-cactus.fr/

If you can read french, there's a lot to be learned there. For Sclerocacti, the highest success rate has been achieved by soaking the seeds in depilatory cream for 10 minutes and then sowing them in bags. Beats handling concentrated acids every day.
http://www.semeurs-de-cactus.fr/public/ ... re/key/107