Growing San Pedro and peyote

[neverwas]

On Wednesday night I planted 31 each of peyote and San pedro. Both were obtained from different sources. Peyote from kadasgarden and San Pedro from a random google retailer. the original instructions to germinate came from a topic on mycotopia which I csnt get to now as I'm on my phone. I have a few questions on my method of planting and am asking for tips and constructive criticism.

First off, I baked a 50/50 potting soil/perlite mix in the oven for over an hour to sterilize. Then I put some of this into my trays and lightly patted it down. It was still kind of wet at this point, holding maybe 40-30% of the water. The tray wasn't sterilized. I then put a thin layer of sterile sand on top of this and finally put the seeds on that and lightly squished them down into the mix. The guide mentioned lightly misting the rest of it and covering it with saranwrap. As I had no spray bottle I poured less than one dinner spoonful of water into each compartement. I then covered it with wrap and labeled one side as being peyote and one as being San Pedro. Both species are physically divided as well for future ease if transportation.

I am concerned as to how much water was actually needed and am thinking I put too much in I initially. I drained quite a bit out yesterday (a few ounces) and have been just following recommendations since then. I bought a warming pad for them today and they've been there all day. The other days I just had to chance the sun to keep them warm.

Are my concerns justified? I figure a few will at least germinate but wondering if they'll drown or be ok in their less than sterile environment.

I appreciate any and all information that anyone can offer. This is my first attempt at cultivation of anything but hopefully only the beginning.

 

[dragon-n]

i'm not super experienced so i can't comment on whether everything is correct with confidence.
i just started growing some peyote from seed for the first time too.
here are the instructions i have been sent about it:

"Use a soil based SEED mixture (as John Innes seed compost) with the addition of 25% washed horticultural sand. (This is a fine soil with NO fertilizer because fertilizer burns seedling roots)
Fill pot or seed tray.
Water from below. By standing the pot in a bowl of water for a few minutes.
Leave to drain for 12 hours.
Sow seed on surface. Do not cover seed with soil. I gently press the seeds flush with the soil surface with a wine cork, ensuring that no seeds stick to the face of the cork.
Place sown pot or tray of seeds in white plastic bag and seal.
Put sealed pot or tray in light but not bright sunlight. North window is best.
Keep at 25oC. A warming element from garden shop or home brew shop is good for this in colder climates.
Germination is sporadic, as an adaptation to their natural growing opportunities.
After a few days some of the seeds will germinate, little green beads on the surface of the soil.
After about a week slowly introduce air into the sealed bag, over a period of three or four weeks make small then slightly larger holes then slits in plastic covering. This acclimatizes the babies to the big bad world.
They will not require any more water until the cover has been off for a week or so.
I water when necessary, from below, by sitting the tray in 25oC water, for a few seconds, until the surface appears just to moisten.
They can stay in the tray until big enough to handle, one or two years."

that's what he told me to do...now here's what i ACTUALLY did (HAHA):
used 75% cactus potting soil with 25% perlite. did NOT sterlize (out of laziness).
let the water drain for 12 hours like it said.
and tied a plastic bag around and let it them all sit on top of my stove (warm) for 2 weeks now.
i planted 7 seeds and 6 of them are little green blobs now!!!!!
what a huge germination rate!
i think as long as you keep it real moist and humid in there you should do okay...i wouldn't worry about it.
live and learn.
after all, nature is much harsher than we are when we're pampering them!
good luck friend!!

 

[neverwas]

That's good to hear friend! I'm hoping I will have similar luck. I figured plant as many as possible now because since they take so long to grow without grafting it'll be nice to have an abundance when they are mature.

Would it be possible to post pictures of the little guys?

Edit: here's that link. I can't do hyperlink from my phone sorry.

http://forums.mycotopia.net/mescaline-cacti-succulents/5351-cactus-seed-growing-tek.html

 

[dragon-n]

Would it be possible to post pictures of the little guys?

alright, here goes!! i won't have pics of the seedlings for a few more weeks. they're not out of the bag yet....
these guys are 15 years old!!!! i don't think they'll be ready for another 30 years!! geez....that'll be the day huh?

 

[neverwas]

Wow those are cute! They've been around 15 years and they still aren't ready? What a commitment these guys are huh? Did you start them yourself or elsewhere? I like your avatar too. I wish I had the space for that kind of setup.

 

[neverwas]

Does anyone else have any information?

 

[LawnBoy]

Growing your own is a tedious process, especially when considering peyote. This doesn't mean it isn't rewarding. SWIM started with 11 peyote and 35 peyote seeds, about a year ago, and has propagated just under 2 dozen from those so far. Growing from seed is ever so tedious, and grafting really helps this process. SWIM only got 2 seedlings out of the 35 seeds, but SWIM got 1 seedling from flowers of the original 11. This was probably due to lack of sanitation and lack of humidity. SWIM took the first eleven and cut the top off of each one to allow it to root on it's own. These formed roots and a whole new set of plants. Also, the original 11 produced 1-4 pups each. SWIM is still pulling pups off of some of the original eleven.

SWIM has gotten seven good grafts and three aborts. SWIM tends to have the greatest success using bridgessi monstrose as a rootstock. Mites have gotten in and are very hard to combat. SWIM uses neem oil. SWIM has found the lighter the soil the better, even if it involves watering the plants more often. Hydroponic media works great for peyote. SWIM would add perlite to Miracle-Gro cactus/citrus mix. The trichs seem to handle the wetter soil much better than peyote. All of the cacti love the lack of attention. As long as the light is on and is bright, then they are happy. They can go a whole month or 2 without water and be perfectly happy.

Yea, I don't feel like I added much good info. My main point is that you only need a few peyote to get a lot. But they are rather slow-growing.

 

[eagleeyes]

nice cacti garden .........may it continue to bloom and grow and serve you well ...plant as many as you can and give some away to get others started preserving these precious plants......

 

[dg]

sounds good op, best of luck,
in a few years they can look like this if grafted....

 

[dg]

oils can give cacti sunburn, careful!!

 

[BananaForeskin]

dg- did you have to graft a load of pups onto that trichocereus in order to get so many buttons, or is that only from grafting on a few which spread?

 

[neverwas]

Holy crap that picture just made my day! I was definatly going to graft some of the pups when they get to that point. I'm curious, how large/old do they have to be in order to achieve graft? I'm in it for the long haul but curious because I want to enjoy what I created asap.

 

[1664]

Does anyone else have any information?

I made a little thread on repotting a few weeks ago - hope it is of some help now or in the future

repotting

 

[neverwas]

It's been a week and nothing has sprouted. I know it may even be to early but I'm getting antsy. I poked a hole in the Saran wrap over every planter (72 in all) to allow for more air. Is that a bad idea? It's humid but obviously less now.

 

[dg]

dg- did you have to graft a load of pups onto that trichocereus in order to get so many buttons, or is that only from grafting on a few which spread?

nope, grafted seedling to pere, it grew to golfball size in 5 months

cut button in half, grafted both halves to pc pach clones

3 years later they were quite large, and produced hundreds of seeds for future gens..

these were seed from plants grown out via graft 8yrs ago from buttoms i recieved as half dried and ready for consumption

ok, another pic?

 

[sigmundfreuid]

Very nice, more pics please.

By the way, i have a san pedro and its barely growing, i never fed him fertilizer yet.is there anything you recommend ,not a brand name but
the solution formula like 90-94-12 etc.

I also just bought some Lophophoras and what to know what kind of soil mix i should make for them and what fertilizer would be good for them


Thanks in advance
S.G

 

[dg]

Very nice, more pics please.

By the way, i have a san pedro and its barely growing, i never fed him fertilizer yet.is there anything you recommend ,not a brand name but
the solution formula like 90-94-12 etc.

I also just bought some Lophophoras and what to know what kind of soil mix i should make for them and what fertilizer would be good for them


Thanks in advance
S.G

if ya wanna eat your cacti(poor things), organics like guano cant be beat
i'm lazy, and dont consume cacti, so i use osmocote 20-20-20---VERY SLOW RELEASE like the nurseries use
20-20-20 miracle grow isn't suitable imho
dg
ok, one more pic...

 

[camdemonium]

@dg: Your my hero! say hi to Mescalito for us!!

 

[neverwas]

Wow those are some really great specimens you have there! I always thought grafting had to be done Much later but grafting that early on gives me hope. I just hope they germinate soon, I'm still seeing nothing. I wonder if putting some sand in the soil would have been a better idea. I was confused when it came
to adding sand.

Does anyone know what the quality of kadas peyote seeds are? Like how much mescaline content are they when mature? I'll speak with him when I get a chance though.

 

[Tropical]

.