I just got some seeds from massonia.com, and bert helpfully has advised on how to grow them. He uses sieved pumice + perlite. (50/50). Pumice is really difficult to get in this country!
I currently have on hand:
perlite
sanicat pink
john innes no1 and no2
silver sand
grit sand
I really want to ensure these seeds germinate! Thanks guys
How easy is it for you to get your hands on loam?
That is what I use. My main mixture for a lot of plants is 50% loam and 50% rough pebbles / grit.
I know Bert uses a more "open" and airy mixture than I do (I have visited his collection a few times, he lives not far from me).
In both mixture the plants grow well and flower every autumn.
I don't think Massonias are very picky regarding soil. But if you sow Massonias from seeds, be aware the seeds can be erratic. If they don't germinate, keep the seeds and retry them again in spring. If they don't germinate then after a few weeks, again allow the pots to dry out and wait for autumn again. And repeat this a few cycles. You might be surprised after a few retries (although disappointment is a bit more likely when you are in this situation).
If silver sand is what I think it is, don't use it. It is too fine. You want the rough stuff.
I use something very close to my standard lithops mix, i.e. 40% moler clay (aka cat litter), 40% loam and 20% store-bought 'cactus mix' (which is anything but, but that's a discussion for another day). I use the same mix to grow all of my SA hyacinthoids (Massonia, Daubenya, Lachenalia).
As Aiko mentioned, germination can be erratic sometimes. Make sure to use a large enough pot so you don't have to repot for two seasons.
Astro wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:54 am
Make sure to use a large enough pot so you don't have to repot for two seasons.
My experience they will stay rather small for the first few seasons. I guess you have better winter light to allow them to grow much faster. It takes about five years for the plants to produce the horizontal leaves (and therefor needing wide pots). Until that time, the leaves are small and stay upright. Then they are perfectly fine in small pots of 4 centimeters as I use for all(most all of) my seedlings.