SEED CACTUS

Growing a cactus from seeds

Growing cacti from seeds – ore and painstaking process. But very interesting.

In addition, every cactusist knows, what instance, seed-grown, for the heart is many times more expensive than a bought or blackened.

You can sow cactus seeds in late February and early March. Be sure to pay attention to the shelf life and packing date., indicated on the bag. Some species (eg, rebuttal) very quickly lose germination. Others (cacti native to rocky deserts, for example ariocarpus) keep it until 20 years old!

Seedlings of cacti will develop and will not die only in comfortable conditions. Here are four basic conditions.

1. Sterile primer, oven-baked. Otherwise, young plants can easily die from infection..
2. Constant air humidity.
3. High temperature for germination (30° during the day and not lower than 20 ° at night).
4. Additional lighting during 10 h or longer.

You can take ready-made soil for sowing, intended for planting cacti. Transfer it to a cloth bag or place parchment paper on a baking sheet, then pour the soil and bake in the oven at a temperature of 100 ° for 20 min. Optimally add coarse sand to the soil (also "fried" in the oven at 250 °) and powdered charcoal (it can be purchased ready-made). All 3 ingredient, mixed in equal parts, create an excellent soil suitable for sowing cactus seeds: clean, poor in nutrients, breathable and permeable.

Cacti from seeds

To maintain constant humidity, it is necessary to spray water from a fine sprayer in the air over crops twice a day, and then cover the container with crops with a plastic bag. The next time after spraying, the bag must be replaced., since condensation forms on it, and drops of moisture falling on small cacti can destroy them. Replace the bag very carefully., so as not to knock down the drops.

Water for spraying should be used only boiled and preferably hot, because, atomized, she cools down sharply, but for seedlings the cold is destructive.

WATERING at first not needed at all, and a few days later, when will you see, that the seedlings have increased in size, healthy and strong, water them rarely and only from a pipette at the root.

MAINTAIN HIGH TEMPERATURE the heating battery will help. Place a felt rug or thick cloth on top of it, put a container with crops. Remove them from the battery at night and place them nearby, for example on a chair. You can search in stores for heaters for local heating of flower pots.. Their advantage is, that the kit comes with a thermostat, therefore the temperature can be controlled.

Cacti from seeds

PROBLEM LIGHTING a fluorescent lamp with a clothespin fastener will easily solve (convenient to fix in the right place) and a flexible part with a lamp at the end. Thanks to this, the lamp can be bent as needed and brought closer to the crops at a distance 3 cm, not higher. So the lighting will be optimal.

SEEDS before sowing, soak for a day in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. But there are already options and even exceptions.. You have to proceed from the size of the seed. The largest is better to soak for a day., even with preliminary, very gentle scarification of the semen. Smaller seeds are enough to soak for hours 12. But there are also such seeds, to be sown dry, e.g. parody seeds, they can even be mixed with fine sand, since they are more like dust, than the usual seeds.

Now, in order, about the most important points in the process of growing cacti from seeds.

PUT ON THE TABLE WHITE TABLE, put a container on it, in which you will sow, put the seeds and get down to business. Cactus seeds are tiny, however, they are most often very valuable and expensive. Can't lose one. That is why the white tablecloth. If the seed jumps out of your fingers, it will be easy to find. But paper should not be used. She is smooth, and the seeds fly away from it.

SEEDING CONTAINER shouldn't be deep, and its size depends on the number of seeds. Make holes in the bottom to remove excess water. Cover the top with a transparent cap, glass or plastic bag, securing it with an elastic band. The container itself must be thoroughly washed with soap before sowing., after all, we will use sterile soil.

PRIMING moisten with boiled water, let the excess drain.

FILL DRAINAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEEDING BOTTLE layer 2 cm, then press the soil lightly. Use a pencil or ruler to make the furrows the depth of everything 1 -2 mm. Now the hardest part. Place seeds in them one by one at a distance. 1, 5-2 cm apart. This can be done with tweezers., glass rod or pipette (the seeds stick a little to the glass). It is not necessary to cover crops with soil. Sprinkle a couple of times with a spray bottle and cover with a bag or glass. Put on battery.

MINIMUM 2 ONCE A DAY open the container, ventilate, remove the bag or glass with condensation, humidify the air and cover with glass again.

SOMETIMES SUCH ANNOYANCE HAPPENS. The seedling is unable to remove the shell on its own (seed shell), which pinches it and can contribute to deformation or, even worse, decay and death of the seedling. Here you need to act immediately. Take a seedling with your left hand, do not squeeze, but hold tight. Take a toothpick in your right hand. And carefully remove the more unnecessary "hat". If you don't, the seedling will surely die. In most cases, the operation is successful.

Cacti from seeds

Sunrises WILL APPEAR in a few days. They are not always green.. There are brown, pink, whitish. "Newborn" cactus plants have little resemblance to plants. Rather on some bugs, pearls, balls or tiny testicles. Still, all this cotyledons (like all plants). But gradually, growing up, they will change the color to normal, and the shape will remind parents.

After a while, a longitudinal depression appears on the balls and testicles., barely noticeable at first, but soon it will divide the plant into two halves. And in this separating crack, the first soft spines-hairs will appear. At this moment, make a dive.

THE COMPOSITION OF THE SOIL CAN BE RELEASED UNIT: substrate for cacti, sand and charcoal in equal parts. Adding fertilizer will only do harm. Cactus still need nutrients in scanty amounts.

ROOT SYSTEM OF KIDS very tender, but you can't damage it. Therefore, we approach the pick with attention and caution.. Using a toothpick or wooden stick, loosen the soil around the crops, pry the plant underneath. When you feel, that the roots are free and the cactus can be transplanted, take tweezers (better rubber coated, such are sold for eye lenses) and use it to transplant a small cactus into a new container. In the near future, the plant will have to build up a strong and developed root system.. Only in this case the aerial part will begin to develop..

IN THE FIRST WEEK AFTER THE PICKING cacti do not water, but continue to spray the air above them twice a day and change the bag or glass with condensation. If everything is done right, cacti will start to grow, becoming more and more like their parents.

PICKING IS CONDUCTED times in 3 months. Grown plants can be planted in their own pots. And to accustom to sunlight gradually and carefully. At first the light is only diffused. Direct sunlight will cause burns.

When the grown cacti get their own separate "living space" and see the sunlight for the first time, you, their support and "parent" for a long time, experience an unforgettable experience. As if they gave a start in life to their own children.

CACTUS SEEDS – SOWING. FEEDBACKS AND TIPS OF FLORAL GROWERS

SEEDING CACTUSES IN JANUARY-MARCH

In nature, out of a thousand sprouting sprouts from cactus seeds, at best one plant survives, but an experienced cactusist is able to perform a miracle and grow 10 of 10

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

1. Sterility of the environment.
2. Difference in daily temperatures (5-7 city.).
3. Lighting (especially important from the 3rd month).
4. Very gentle hydration.
5. Bottom heating.

BEST TIME

For sowing cactus seeds - this is January-March. In this case, young plants will have time to develop to such a size., that they will be able to fully endure dry wintering. When sowing in April-May, you can place the seed containers on a well-lit windowsill (East, south, southwest), if it is possible to provide seedlings with proper temperature conditions. With good care, they can have time to develop and get stronger before the autumn cold..

SUBSTRATE

Up to age 4-6 months, cactus seedlings are able to develop k normally in an absolutely infertile substrate. I use coarse sand washed from dirt and dust particles for sowing seeds.

IF take a mixture of sand with brick chips, then it must first be sieved, leaving the faction 3-5 mm. After all the components must be sterilized (eg, bake in the oven).

SEEDING RULES

I fill the containers with a moist substrate by about 2 see below the edge. I compact the substrate by tapping and carefully level its surface. I soak the seeds on 2-3 hours in a bright solution of potassium permanganate. To improve and accelerate germination, it is good to use biostimulants before etching. ("Zircon", Epin, "Ideal" according to the instructions).

I sow seeds on the surface, lightly pressing against the ground. Large ones can be sprinkled with sand with a layer of 1 -2 grains of sand. Seedlings grow slowly, therefore, on the square, matchboxes can be placed from 20 to 50 sunflower seeds.

After sowing, the containers are tightly covered with a transparent bag and put in a warm place. It is more efficient to arrange greenhouses with bottom heating - it stimulates seed germination and development of the root system.

The optimum temperature for germination of cactus seeds is +22-26 city, in the afternoon and +15-20 city, at night. Daily drop in 5-7 city, typical for natural habitats of "thorns".

In the first weeks of growth, tiny green balls are not very demanding on light. and the direct sun is completely harmful to them. However, with the appearance on the crown of the first translucent bristles with a lack of lighting, the cactus begin to stretch. Therefore, I immediately provide for additional lighting with a phytolamp of at least 12 hours. I turn off the heating of the greenhouse for the "night".

© Author: Andrey SHACHNEV, biologist. r. St. Petersburg

GROWING CACTUSES FROM SEEDS: VIDEO

© Author: L. KLEIMENOVA, florist