Cactus Germination & Grow Log

[ThirdEyeVision]

I have never grown a cactus from seed so this will be a learning experience. I have done plenty of research and purchased the needed supplies. I'll upload pics soon.

While I'm at it I will also to a side by side comparison to test the affects of Ga3 (Gibberellic acid) on the germination rate of the seeds.

Cactus Seeds:

Trichocereus Peruvianus: ICAROS DNA
30: GA3 Soak (300 ppm: 24 hours)
30: No Soak

Scopulicola X Juul's Giat: Hybrid
5: GA3 Soak (300 ppm: 24 hours)
5: No Soak

Soil:

1pt: Potting Soil
1pt: Sand
1pt: Perlite

Sterilized in microwave

Conditions:

Bottom Heat Incubator
Temp: 85f
Humidity: 95%
24Hrs of light.


Grow Log

6/13/2010: Started 24 hour Ga3 soak.
6/14/2010: Put into incubator.
6/22/2010: Still no signs of life.
7/3/2010: Still nothing after 20 days! I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting a little concerned!
7/11/2010: NOTHING! WTF! Conditions are ideal. Only thing I can think of is too much perlite in top preventing the little guys from being seen.


Pictures:


Seeds soaking in Ga3

Seeds placed on soil.

Seeds covered with Perlite.

 

[Adivino]

Good luck with your seedlings! I'm growing from seed too.

I'm also registering once per week the height of 7 adult cacti I have. I'll hopefully create a plot through a whole year with the info harvested.

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

Good luck with your seedlings! I'm growing from seed too.

I'm also registering once per week the height of 7 adult cacti I have. I'll hopefully create a plot through a whole year with the info harvested.

What are you growing? Have they sprouted yet?

 

[Adivino]

San pedro from seed. I planted around 50 seeds in total and now I have something like 5 1cm ones from the first batch and several smaller ones from the following batches. It's not a very good germination rate, but hey it was my first time!

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

San pedro from seed. I planted around 50 seeds in total and now I have something like 5 1cm ones from the first batch and several smaller ones from the following batches. It's not a very good germination rate, but hey it was my first time!

Nice! How long did it take to germinate?

 

[Adivino]

In my anecdotal experience, something like 90% of the seeds that will germinate do it within 2 weeks. I didn't take it so seriously as to use Gibberellic acid. Maybe you'll have faster and better germination rates.

I'm doing it just to have a little fun watching them grow from seed. I'm saying this because the 5 or so years that they'll need to reach reasonable size are way more valuable than the 30usd you can spend buying a rooted 4 year specimen.

I don't know your plans, but unless you are thinking big it sounds like a lot of time to invest.

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

In my anecdotal experience, something like 90% of the seeds that will germinate do it within 2 weeks. I didn't take it so seriously as to use Gibberellic acid. Maybe you'll have faster and better germination rates.

I'm doing it just to have a little fun watching them grow from seed. I'm saying this because the 5 or so years that they'll need to reach reasonable size are way more valuable than the 30usd you can spend buying a rooted 4 year specimen.

I don't know your plans, but unless you are thinking big it sounds like a lot of time to invest.

It's all in good fun for me. I have literally over 100 cactus growing on 5 acres. So it's not a need for cactus but a love of life.

Here are my cuttings from last month.

 

[Adivino]

Wow, you certainly love cacti! Congratulations.
I'd love to see the plantation sometime.

 

[jbark]

Wow is right!! I have two cacti that are now about 8 inches/ 1 ft long. They are taking FOREVER to grow, but they are starting up again with the warmer weather.

I guess I can't expect too much living in Canada!

Cheers,
JBArk

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

They do love the Cali sun 8)

My dream has always been to own a specialty nursery someday. I have too much on my plate these days but hopefully within 10 years I can get it going. I guess you can say I'm growing my inventory

 

[pau]

ahhh...your own cactus specialty nursery ... mix business and pleasure. You will not be the first!

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

ahhh...your own cactus specialty nursery ... mix business and pleasure. You will not be the first!

Or the last.

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

A good way to germinate cactus seeds seems to be to start them in a very humid environment and then ween them off it slowly. I germinated about 20 L. Williamsii seeds this way and I got pretty close to 100% germination. Basically I put them in wet soil with plastic wrap over the top of the pot. They germinated in there for a few weeks, and then over the next 8 weeks or so I slowly poked holes in the plastic until the humidity inside equaled that outside and then removed the wrap. The seedlings seem to do fine that way, much better than I would expect an adult cactus to do in that environment for that long. I would think trichs would do just as well with that method.

Yeah, I'm running about 95% humdity right now. It's been almost 2 weeks. No signs of lfe yet.

 

[Adivino]

That's exactly how I've germinated my T. pachanoi, Fiashly. I can confirm that it's a good method for pachanoi.

 

[TrustLoveMan]

I plan on getting some san pedro seeds soon. How long does it take till I can harvest the cacti? Can I cut them shorter if they've been growing for a year? I want to make sure I can always move them If I move out.

 

[Eden]

Growing from seed takes a very long time....usually years before they can be harvested.
A 18 monther may only be the size of a pickle.
Once they get established they take off though.

ThirdEye, how long have you been growing?

 

[pau]

say, SWIM's T. scopulicola's just flowered, and the spent flowers are about to fall to the ground in the next few days. Lots more flowers on the way, too. Is this a good time to harvest seeds? Can they be planted immediately?

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

Anyone with experience growing from seed. 20 days and nothing, reason for concern? Could there be too much pearlite? :?

 

[ThirdEyeVision]

It's been a month and I'm running a solid 0% germ rate!
Either I have old seeds or too much perlite on top is all i can figure. Conditions are perfect. Any suggestions?

 

[Adivino]

I had a good germination rate using 1/3 soil, 1/3 sand, 1/3 perlite. The mix was microwaved for 10 minutes, then placed in small aluminum containers (the ones for food), the seeds placed, and then soaked with distilled water (10ml H2O2/1l H2O).

The temperature oscillates between 20°C and 26°C with a 18hs/24hs photoperiod.

Are you using a well-known method? I found out that experimenting with other conditions/mixtures ended up being worse.