CUTTING CUTTING CARE

SEED CACTUS – Sunrises

Sowed a mixture of cacti in early December. And already here and there tiny green balls stick out of the ground. How to take care of them further?

Tamara RADINA. r. Tomsk

Congratulations, Tamara, with a wonderful event! Really, green balls hatch from seeds already from the 5th day at the Ailoster, mammillary, rebutations. The bulk rises through 1-2 weeks, but some species may not be shown for up to several months. Old seeds germinate unevenly in terms of timing. And caring for babies is like this.

Nuances of germination

Sometimes seedlings have an insufficiently soggy seed coat pinching the top of the head., then it must be purposefully soaked with a drop of water and gently try to remove with a soft brush. There is another "technical" problem - some cactus, especially from small seeds, grow up by their roots and cannot roll over themselves. Therefore, as they hatch, it is necessary to regularly and carefully inspect the crops and turn over such "acrobats" in time, burying them with the spine into the ground.

For this manipulation it is convenient to use, eg, the rough tip of a burnt match, especially since it does not require additional sterilization.

LIGHTING

In the first weeks of growth, seedlings are not very demanding on lighting., and the direct sun is completely harmful to them. However, with the appearance on the crown of translucent bristles-spines with a lack of light, green balls begin to stretch, what is bad for them. Therefore, it is better to immediately provide for additional lighting with a phytolamp. Cacti ok, if deep green, do not stretch, remain globular (except for columnar cereus and prickly pears), don't lean towards the light.

Too much light may cause the crown to turn dark green with a purple tint.. It is better to shade the first year of the plant from direct sun., especially if they stand on the south and west windows.

SEED CACTUS – Sunrises

IRRIGATION AND VENTILATION

Water the crops only with boiled water. To avoid waterlogging of the surface and the ingress of liquid on the stems, often recommend bottom watering from the pallet. However, this is not always convenient.. I used to moisturize from above, first from a spray bottle, which at the same time allowed wintering.

soak the hard shells, not fully liberated seedlings, then from a bottle with an impromptu "pipette" under the root.

It makes no sense to ventilate the crops before seed germination, a humid warm atmosphere is more suitable for them. With the beginning of pecking, the shelter should be removed for a short time once a day., to revise and remove condensation. Usually glass is removed through 2-3 months, but i have done this before, when most of the seeds germinated, so that seedlings are less prone to rot.

PICKING UP LARGE CACTUSES

If everything goes well, then by summer the seedlings will reach the size of a pea, will be covered with real thorns and begin to press each other in a bowl. Then it will be possible to unseat them less often., adding to the substrate to the depth 2-3 see a little sterile earth. With such a planting, they will become full-fledged small plants in six months and will be able to tolerate dry, cold

Although, if there is no complete confidence in the maturity of succulents and good lighting is equipped, cacti can be left under the lamps until next spring,by simply turning off the heating and making watering less frequent.

SEED CACTUS – VENTURE CARE. VIDEO

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