ariocarpus fissuratus propagation

[incognito]

right, this is driving me nuts. im loosing seedlings at an alraming rate.

i have lophs seedlings, ario trigonus, ario retusus, ario kotch, and ario fissuratus growing, all germed on the same day (bout 2 months ago). everything is poweing satisfactorily...except the fissuratus. they have gone bright red and are dying fast. they r under blue fluoros on a heat mat. I cant work it out.

I almost cant be fucked trying to grow em anymore.

What i want to know is, have peeps here had success? whats the secret?

[Ethos]

sorry that i am of no help incog, but i would also like more information on how to grow ariocarpus fissuratus from seed , and incognito don't give up half the process is trial and error, its just very sad there is more error then success going on.

surely the only thing i can think of is because they are slow growing cacti they may need to adjust to daylight/heat conditions far more gradually. Mainly while researching i found a certain grower who keeps them indoors growing, to keep temperature and humidity to a constant and doesn't let them see sunlight until they are in their second year of growth , and then again i don't see a problem with your method, spring heat coming on may be a factor??

more info anyone?

[incognito]

nah i dont think so. im starting to think its the quality of light.

im starting to think they need a much stronger light than the fluoros give off. all the other ario vars grow fine under them.

what does red seedlings indicate again? to much light i thought? this cant be the case under flouro. heat pad s set at 24 degrees, i mean all my cacti seedlings are strated this way, with no problem, except for fuken fissuratus, sexiest of all cacti IMO.

[nothinghead]

I've had no probs germinating Ario. fiss the same as most of the others you've mentioned. They have a tendency to turn red without it indicating a problem. Are they actually dying, or you just think they are because of their turning red? Are they shriveling, or looking deflated or anything? If not, I wouldn't worry. Maybe put a layer of cardboard between their container and the heat mat to reduce heat a little. I've germinated them using a standard fluoro tube about 30cm above the seed tray (the tray was sealed in a ziplock bag for humidity), so can't say much about the blue light.

[incognito]

can u post pics? what size r they now?

a few of mine have shrivelled and died, they r all red. ive lost a fair few from the original germination, probably 150 germinated, i have about 40 left, but they seem to be struggling.

[Ethos]

it may be the light quality what spectrum are these blue fluoro's, but am not quite sure, also how many fluoro's just one?, i am pretty certain reding means too much light/heat stress

very confusing indeed that only your ario. fiss' are doing this and other cactus are fine

[incognito]

yah the other arios are a picture of health. so are my lophs.

ive got about 5 sp of ario going, the fissuratus r th onl ones who look like they r struggling.

i have 2 fluoros.

ive tried growing fissures b4 with no success either.

if someone here has grown one from seed to a sizeable plant, please spea 2 me!

[zelly]

two questions

I'm curious about your germ rates for each var of seed &

what do you think of a full spectrum grow fluoro instead of the blue fluoro........

[incognito]

germ rates where great on all of the seed itsthe fissures who are struggling to survive. prolly close to 100% germ.

thanks for the seed btw zelly, u will hafta post a picof ur cuts! full spectrum could be the go, i think light is the key factor here. im gonna move them out ito filtered sunlight nnext week i think if this pisspoor growth rate and death continues.

[Hellonasty]

I have grown Fissuratus with much success. I rekn too much light incog, Fissuratus and Arios in general like filtered light when young. If you are gunna move them into sun light make sure it is seriously filtered, as in full shade

[kadakuda]

ditto, cut the light or put on some shade cloth.

what does red seedlings indicate again? to much light i thought?

yup

this cant be the case under flouro.

yes it can. seedlings can burn easy under fluoros, even less sensitive ones....when i move my ario seedlings outside i put em under 80% shade cloth. even adults get some shade.

[incognito]

this must mean that fissuratus is alot more light sensitive than ario retusus, ario agavoides, ario kotchbeyanus and lophs.

i will try a piece of shade cloth over the container under my flouros.

[Hellonasty]

Let us know how you go. Remember to keep a consistant watering schedule for seedlings in the warmer months

HN

[weedRampage]

Arios are pretty much the same plant as Loph

with similar needs.

They grow on alkaline clay gentle slopes in association with shrubs (shade)

Or they grow on exposed sedimentary valley floors in alkaline sands overlying clay, being watered from

ground water below.

They like the consistent warmth with low humidity that you find in moderate altitude in the dry tropics.

The growing environment is a difficult one to duplicate. Which is why there a so many turb/loph/ario

rot stories.

My tips...

1. Keep the organic matter level low, say 5% peat moss in the lower half of the pot

2. Grade to pure river sand/scoria/bauxite at the top of the pot to minimise rot.

3. Grow in big pots or even big plastic boxes at seedling stage, as long as the mix is right and you don't water too

often the increase in size translates into a more stable root environment.

4. Water them thoroughly when you do water, I think as much rot is caused by too little water as too much.

5. Make sure the pH is above 7.5. One of the ways to maintain the pH is to water them from below by standing the pot in water.

This makes the alkaline salts move upwards in the pot instead of downwards and mimics the high evaporation natural growing conditions.

I have never done this myself but it sounds like a good idea if you had a flood and drain tray to do it in. Alternatively a bit of fine (~5mm) limestone/scoria/crusher dust in the top of the potwill keep the pH right.

The best fissuratus I have was seedling grafted on T. Bridgesii.

They are a notoriously slow growing cactus that is a bit ugly when grafted.

[incognito]

in my exp. theres a fissures have a much different growth requirement to other arios. i think the difference is in quality of light. im going to trial fissure seed in take away containers with some shade cloth over the lids.

think this could be the trick.

[weedRampage]

I bought some very nice astro super kubutos recently and they all had stuff in the pots that presume was bone charcoal.

Never used in mixes myself but it makes sense.

Alkaline, good source of calcium and phosphate, good moisture and nutrient exchange surfaces.

Here's a recipe if you want to make some.

Get an iron pot and fill it with short sections of cow bone

Top it up with sand

Put it in a fire place and build a fire on top of it.

Burn for a few hours.

The hard bones will become brittle enough to break with your fingers