Astrophytum caput-medusae; second generation

[NaZzAtAzEr]

@ralph or others, any tips for sowing these? Open-air or baggie method? I will be sowing these 5 seeds in a 1:1 mix soon and I hope they're still viable! I have had these seeds since May from the BCSS seed pool.

[Mike P]

My experience is that they germinate well either way. The problem I have is getting them to survive beyond the first year....having said that last years sowing still has one seedling surviving....
I have two plants currently - both from ELK - one grafted and one on it’s own roots. Both flowered this year but annoyingly not at the same time as I was hoping to generate some seed of my own.

[esp]

My experience is that they germinate well either way. The problem I have is getting them to survive beyond the first year..

Agreed, in my experience. The first 6 months seems straightforward, with good growth and robustness.
Then they die for no obvious reason as they start to become more adult.

[NaZzAtAzEr]

Yeah I would hate it for my plants to suddenly die...

[ralphrmartin]

Well, It's one I haven't grown from seed, some I can'r really offer any specific advice. But as adult plants, they develop a tap root, but still need a bit of water in winter, in my experience. All my Astrophytum seedlings get the same treatment as others, which is to keep watering them through their first winter.

[MikeT]

I can't help with an answer, would very much like one before I try again.
I had a pot of a few 2nd year seedlings, but over the summer they have slowly dwindled in number, and the last one has just died. It had several thin tubercles, and having pulled the dead plant up, a hollowed out taproot. I'm sure I didn't overwater it, but wonder whether I should have given more. Anyone tried giving more water than usual? Is that the way to get them through the second year?

[Ali Baba]

I've grown them very successfully for a few years now on their own roots: baggie method or closed propagator, just keep warm and watered all year around until they are 2 years old, the baggie/propagator keeps the thrips away which can kill young plants.
The seed pool seed may be from my plants, I donated a lot to the seed pool a couple of years ago because the BCSS seed list declined them. If it's been kept refrigerated (which I believe it is) it should be viable.

Once 2 years old they will have a big tuber but very little in the way of feeding roots, so best kept in smaller pots than you might think. My oldest plants are in 3.5 inch long pots but spent the first 5 years or so in 2" pots. No special requirements otherwise, but they do like more water than you think in the growing season because of the pot being mostly full of tuber.

I find them aesthetically rather odd, and not sufficiently cactus like to bother with, in fact I will be giving my plants away at some point once covid has died down (if that ever happens )

[Aiko]

The seed pool seed may be from my plants, I donated a lot to the seed pool a couple of years ago because the BCSS seed list declined them.

Why was this? Too little in amount?

[Ali Baba]

The seed pool seed may be from my plants, I donated a lot to the seed pool a couple of years ago because the BCSS seed list declined them.

Why was this? Too little in amount?

No, just a decision not to include it on the list because the Mexican authorities have never issued a permit for seed to be exported, so technically all plants in cultivation result from an illegal acquisition of seed.