Bolivian Torch Cacti Grown from Seed + Mimosa Hostilis and San Pedro's - Questions about germina

[ChristianMeteor]

I started the Bolivian Torch from seed about two years ago now with fantastic success. A couple of them died of from my own neglect, but overall they have come in well.

I also started both of my Mimosa Hostilis trees from seed. I had some problems with powdery mildew but found that the best fix is just a baking soda and water mixture, as well as consistent light. This plant is such an interesting one because it grows extremely fast and also has photo-reactive leaves. They will actually pre-emptively close up with my lighting schedule, so I can predict when its getting to around 8pm by my plant :d

There's also some pictures of my San Pedro Cacti. I asked about a black spot a while back, and a friendly nexus member offered that it could be a flower. Sure enough, there's a growth there that appears that way. Super exciting. I picked up a 6 inch san pedro back in 2016 and now have three separate cactus's after successful cloning. One of them, as you can see, is HUGE, and would probably like to be cloned into some more babies.

I've also included a little picture of my Jade Tree and Prickly Pear Cactus.

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I also considered making a separate post for this question but figured I'd just include it here. What's the best practice for germination chambers? The setup I used for these was a empty 75 gallon aquarium with a full 10 gallon aquarium inside of it. I had a bubbler and heater going inside of the 10 to produce warmthy and humidity. I also covered the aquarium in reflective foam board to trap the heat.

This method worked very well, but now my 75 has live plants and fish in it. I tried doing a cold-start with humidity bags, but I have not had any success. Heat is an indispensable part of germinating IMO. I've looked into heat mats, but read a lot of mixed reviews. My girlfriend suggested that I try a 5 gallon bucket with a LED lamp paired with a humidity tent.

Curious what members on here have had success with. I live in a northerly climate, by the way.

 

[braindrops]

Hey ChristianMeteor,

I'm in a northern climate and grow most of my plants indoors too.

For my cactus seedlings I didn't really notice much of a difference in germination rates between ones that had extra heat provided and ones that didn't. I do the takeaway tek and just keep the containers somewhere with indirect light that is also away from a window's draft. The containers are then placed under an LED grow light after the cacti sprout.

For mimosa, I scarify the seeds with sand paper and let them soak in distilled water until they look bloated. After that, they are placed into a large yogurt container with a clear top. I like the yogurt containers because they can be pretty tall and allow the plant to grow a little with humidity. I fill the container about 1/3 of the way with soil so the seedlings have some room in there after sprouting. Until the seeds sprout, I place the containers on top of my router to keep them warm. Then after they sprout I place the containers in a tent with an LED grow light. Initially I open the containers for ~5 mins a day, then for a little longer each day until eventually I transplant to a larger pot. I have no set amount of time that I do this for, I just go by how healthy the plant looks. If it looks the same with the container's top off for 2 days, then I transplant. This helps acclimate the plant to my (basically) no humidity environment. This method has worked well with sceletium tortuosum too.