Growing T. Peruvianus from seed....

[Humanfuel]

I planted some T. Peruvianus seeds about a month and a half ago.....

I used a commercial Cactus Mix.... let soak up water from below and sprayed a fungicide over the top... dropped about ten seeds on the surface and put a further 3mm of the cactus mix over the top...

I then put a clear plastic, over the top of the pot with an elastic band around it..... sort of making like a shower cap over the pot to create a mini green house effect.... placed on my window sill (Where it gets about 4-5 hours sun each day)..... I also open the plastic twice each day to let fresh air in.....(Morning before work and in the late arvo when I get home)!!!!!

Just wondering..... if I have done this all correctly.... because no seed germination has occured yet...

Can any one tell me how long it takes for T. Peruvianus seeds to germinate..... have I maybe left them in the Queensland sun for a bit too long each day.... cooking the poor things to death....???????

[Flip]

All the cacti see that I've dealt with has all germinated very rapidly- within 3 days time. these seeds can't hold enough energy to push their way through soil and they're not designed to work around objects much.

If I may suggest, I've had good results using powdered peat mixed with sterilized sand, or a good seed starter mix to be found at the better gardening stores. do not use potting soil or cacti mixes as the former is too nitrogen rich and promotes mold and the later is usually too course.

place in a shallow plastic container (tupperware sandwich box)

wet mix till damp and scatter seeds on the top.

Do not cover with additional mix.

cover with provided lid and expose to moderate sunlight

do not let it get over 80ºF.

you should have some condensation on the sides when cool inside the container but not enough for pooling on the bottom. keep the lid on and relax but check every day

do not use a fungicide

you should have sprouting within a few days time.

keep them in that container unmolested for a few months and then transfer to a individual pots after gradual hardening to drier air.

Mind you that their roots will be cotton like fuzz for awhile and can be easily damaged - even by water droplets. If one of the sprouts tips over, you may, try to prop it up by pushing a ball of peat up against the plant. the tradeoff is slower development via "cotton root" damage but at least the plant will develop.

real roots will develop after a month or so, at that time you can relax a bit more..

control mold by exposing to air and water evaporation.

if it gets out of hand I've found that a light direct dusting of anti fungal foot powder can be effective.

good luck.

[ 04. May 2004, 12:31: Message edited by: Flip ]

[Humanfuel]

Thanks Flip.....

... just another 2 questions.... once sprouting occures... do I leave the lid on and if so.... for how long...?

...and once the lid comes off.... how often do I have to water them..... because seed mix will obviously dry up quite quickly...???

[Flip]

Leave the lid on, what you're trying to do is create a high humidity enviroment in there.

The seeds will soften swell break open and then you'll see a pale soft body expaning out from it. light filtered from the closed transparient lid will tigger the plants to turn green.

keep the humidity high so that the seedling can have enough moisture to asorb and force off the softened shell casing.

if not, the seed shell will be hard it' will "cap" your plant and damage it.

what you have to watch out for it overheating and mold (if you have too much water/humidity).

Poor germination and capping if there's not enough.

keep that humid enviroment going untill the plants have a proper roots and have started thickening and growing.

the sprouts in the image (below) are still too young to leave exposed directly to the air 100%. At this stage I left the lid lying on top of the container rotated 30º to allow for some air transfer and to prevent over heating when in the sun. give them Bright indirect light and some direct sun.. use your best judgement. The lid is sealed at night.

over the next few months I gradually exposed them to greater amounts of air until they we're hardened and producing spines.

they can live in the container for a year quite well. if you're doing this correctly the plants will thicken and set themselves well in the soil.

when still using the lid water should not be much of a problem

you should be holding most of the water in the container. when you add water lightly pour in a unoccupied corner and reseal.

the water should distribute well.

once the plants are hardened you can transplant into a larger container they should be at least 1" tall or 2.5 cm.

Those seedlings pictured above, took 6 months before transfer.

Here are the same seedlings after 1.5 years. As you can see there is a fairly wide amount of difference among the individual plants.

Just for comparison, here's a image of Lophophora W. young seedlings I found on the net.

They still seem to have a way to go before I would tramatize them with transplanting.

helps?

[ 06. May 2004, 15:41: Message edited by: Flip ]

[Humanfuel]

Helps...????

....and so much more....!!!!!

Thanks for the tips.... will be starting on the weekend most prob..... hope they grow this time around.....!!!!....I will keep you posted....