Aztekium from seed grow log

[hostilis]

So, I'm doing my second go at Aztekium from seed. I thought I would document it here for you all just to keep better tabs on it for me and to share my method. I used 30 riterii seeds and 100 hintonii seeds.

So, I usually soak my seeds in GA3, but I'm not going to do that this time. What I did was I got some fine sand and washed it with distilled water. I then microwaved it in a closed container with a small opening (to steam it) for 10 minutes. I got some worm castings and sifted them to get out any big particles. I made a mix of 20% worm castings to 80% sterilized fine sand. I got a small (2") clay pot and put a layer of perlite about half way up to the top of the pot. I put some water on the perlite and then I put the pot in the microwave and put a plate over the top portion (to steam the pot) I cooked it in there for 5 minutes. So then I put my substrate into the pot leaving about 2cm empty. Then I got some coarser white sand and washed/microwaved it. I put a small layer on the top over the worm castings/sand. This allows me to see the seeds better and provides stability for the seedlings.

I then watered with distilled water from the bottom up and then put the seeds on top. I marked on the pot so I knew which side had the riterii and which side has the hintonii. I then put plastic wrap around the pot to keep in the moisture and poked 3 holes on it. I put it in my seedling germination tank with a 1' T5 fluorescent bulb over it. This is how I germinate most of my cacti seeds.

Here is a picture for reference:

If any of you have experience please share! I will be updating periodically to show the progress.

Edited December 30, 2013 by hostilis

[naja naja]

All I know is I had a acket of seeds and when I went to plant them the label read Astrophytum.. Plants trickin on me.

[hostilis]

Weird. Well there's a pretty clear difference between aztekium and astrophytum seeds. Azyekium seeds are like grains of fine sand and astrophytum seeds are like pebbles.

[incognito]

Any chance on a pic of ur tank m8 ?

Been messing around with a few ideas would love a comparison

Edited December 31, 2013 by incognito

[hostilis]

When I get home from work I will post one.

Here's my old set up. I have since modified it. But this one is a reptile aquarium with a heat pad under. I put those plastic bins in there to create a gap between the pots and the heat pad to stop overheating. Then I put a 1' T5 light over it.

I'll post my modified tank when I get home.

Edited December 31, 2013 by hostilis

[Nemisty]

One guy in NZ has had success growing aztekiums from seed and I image most plants from in our country come from him. Planning to pay him a visit in the next couple of weeks and pick his brain for as much info as possible. From what I've heard through the grapevine is he used one of the best cacti growers in the country but sadly now battles with a few demons I wont go into detail about.

[hostilis]

Damn. I hope whatever demons he faces are overcome. And I was doing pretty good with mine but i knocked the pot over when the sand was dry and lost all but a few seedlings. I grafted 4 of them and 2 took. One died when i took it out of humidity but the other kept growing. It grew about 4 new areoles and then I had a thrips issue. I soon died after the thrips got to it. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do it this time again. But i guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[hostilis]

Here's my modified set up. It's one of those plastic humidity domes rather than an aquarium. I have a metal cookie sheet on the bottom to to lift up the pots a little bit. And I also put a white piece of shiny white poster board behind it to reflect off light.

Edited December 31, 2013 by hostilis

[woof woof woof]

it's going to take a long time. remember the seeds are small and after they germinate the beginning seedlngs will take a long time to emerge too. so patience is a must with these guys. and yes Good luck! ;-)

[hostilis]

Yep. I've done this before. Had them growing for 6 months before i knocked them over accidentally. *facepalm*

[hostilis]

Looks like the first few seedlings are popping up. Both riterii and hintonii.

[hostilis]

I regret not using GA3 this time because my germination rates kind of suck. I guess I could still pick the seeds that didn't germ out and soak them then put them back in. I'll probably wait another few weeks before doing this though.

Here's some pictures of the little babies.

EDIT: Wish I had some A. valdezii in there. Hehe. It just doesn't feel complete anymore. I just don't want to pay $250 for 100 seeds.

Edited January 18, 2014 by hostilis

[zelly]

hey hostilis I dont mean to hijack your thread but I figured it was better to post here than start a new one on aztekiums...

well anyway I was looking at one of my grafted aztekiums & thought i saw a speck of fly shit on it. I mean it was too tiny to be rodent droppings...

here's the mama plant where i saw the speck of fly shit.....

so i got out my pocket magnifier (blind as a bat otherwise) for a better peek at the speck of fly shit. Hmmmm the magnifying lens makes it look like incredibly tiny rodent droppings.....

So then i zoomed in a little bit, because even with a magnifying lens, I'm still blind as a bat

well I'll be damned, doesnt that look like a sack of rodent droppings off to the left of the cluster of wool?

more zoom zoom

aztekium spines & rodent droppings

I guess the name of this post should be Aztekium to seed

Damn seeds are too small to see with my tired old eyes.....

but didja see them spines!

[hostilis]

Nice plant dude!

Update: The aztekium seedlings are just growing their first areoles.