Cactus Seedlings Growing Big

So some of you may remember that earlier this year sometime in January I think, I planted some cactus seeds. Well, some died just a few days after sprouting, some others grew a while then died weeks later, and some have done really well. When they were just sprouting, I misted them once until the top of the soil was moist every week or two. Now that they are bigger, I water them like a regular cactus...so not very often at all...and they seem to love it. I have kept them near a bright window the whole time. They grow pretty slowly, but I took some pictures so you all can see how big they are now. Unfortunately, I cannot find where I put the older pictures of them, but my earlier post is floating around here somewhere.


( photo / image / picture from FlowerFreak22's Garden )


( photo / image / picture from FlowerFreak22's Garden )

 

Thanks Eileen! They were a lot of work at first, but after they got to a decent size they were not to bad.

 

I've never heard of anyone growing they own cactus from seed. I'm not even sure if I could spot a cactus seed or not! Great job on getting these to grow for you.

 

Thanks Frank and Cheryl! I'll keep giving updates, however, they will have to be pretty spaced out because they grow so slow.

 

I can't remember who told me this... but the slower a plant grows, the longer it lives.
Hope this is true for cactus too!

 

They look healthy,..slow to grow is right,..i have several growing in an old fish tank,..its only when i compare pictures of past and present that i become aware they grew so much in seven years,..i give them liquid food now and then as a treat.

 

I hope they live long and get nice and big. The pack of seeds I got them from had many different kinds of cacti in it including barrel cacti and saguaro cacti. I hope I have a saguaro growing, I really like their distinct look. Although, if I do have one, I have no idea where I would keep it when it got really big.

 

Very nice, my cactus seedlings all died... any advice? Is the risk of over watering as high in these early stages? How did you germinate them?

 

Masket, first off you need a good well draining cactus mix. You can probably find this at a local nursery or a store like Home Depot. Then, just sprinkle the seeds over the surface of the soil with out actually planting them. You then need to keep the soil moist until you see the first seedlings. Before I put the seeds on the soil, I first drenched the soil under a faucet until I was satisfied the soil was wet. Then wait until there is no standing water on the surface of the soil and spread your seeds over it. Then put a piece of clear glass or plastic like suran wrap over the container to keep the humidity high. You shouldn't need to water them until they sprout. When they sprout, make sure to keep the soil moist and keep the glass or plastic on them for a while. Be sure not to over water! The best way to do this is by keeping an eye on the dew level on the glass. If there if a lot of dew on the glass you are ok and do not need to water them. When the amount of dew on the glass is very little or non existent, then you should mist the seedlings until the top of the soil is moist. Then recover them with the glass and repeat as necessary for about a month or two. NEVER water by pouring water over them. Oh, be sure to keep them in bright light, but no direct sun at first. When they start to get small spikes on them you can remove the cover. At this point, you can wait until the soil is dryish to mist them again to get the soil moist, just don't wait until it is to dry. When they get a noticeable amount of small spines on them, you can start to water them like a regular cactus, around every two weeks. Now, what I did here is I gently poured water over them until it covered them, but had enough room to drain all the way through the soil in the pot and left the water that came out of the bottom in the saucer to slowly soak back into the soil. This is how I watered them every two weeks or so. At this point they should have sufficient mass to start to look thick and hold water and start to look like a cactus.

 

Did you prep the seeds at all before germination? I typically use hydrochloric acid as a chemical abrasive before attempted to germinate cacti seeds. What type of cacti did you plant? and how did you treat them? Thanks!

moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules