germinating opuntia sp.

[philistine]

ive just collected a bunch of opuntia seeds from a pirckly pear I found on the ground, and Ive been wanting to sprout them to use as grafting stock.

Do they need any special treatment?

Would I germinate them the same way as Ive been doing Astrophytums and Lophophora's? (on a heat mat, in a propagating dome/lidded box thing)

[smogs]

they are a weed in oz so i presume they germinate very easily

i would go the same

i just germinated 10diff genus of cacti all the same way and they all looking good with 60-80% germ rate

i mix course sharp sand with peat about 50/50... get it wet but not soaking wet put into take away food containers with lid on but not sealed... nuke it for a few mins till steaming

then put lid on (while hot) and let cool overnight

then i just sprinkle seeds on top

last time i used heat mat because was winter but this time ive just left outside in sydney in very shady spot that gets no direct sun and they are doing wonderfully

i check like once a week to make sure its still damp and for fungi... spraying with a dilute common antifungal seems to get rid of it without damaging little guys

[narayan]

I sprouted some opuntia seeds collected locally the same way I grow my other cacti. By putting the seeds into punnets and then putting the punnets in plastic zip lock bags, then the bags go under flouro lights with bottom heat.

It wouldn't surprise me though if you could grow them by just sowing the seeds in a pot and putting it in a sunny position, they seem to grow pretty easily everywhere here in SA so I don't think you'll have too much trouble.

[Rev]

depending on how cold tolerant the opuntia are there may be germination delays/difficulties

stratification or leaching seed might assist

I read opntias come up over a longer period

but why seed?

pads pup faster

[philistine]

Rev: Why use seed?

Ive got a whole bunch of pad cuttings going as well, but I want to try the seeds so I can hopefully just chop their tips off after 6moths-a year and have them as convieniently sized grafting stock, rather than rooting chunks and having a large pads sprout out and have awkwardly balanced pots all over the place.