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Written by Buck
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Tuesday, 21 December 1999 |
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This page is dedicated to get you through the first year of raising cacti from seed. The first thing you need to get is a small seed tray. (recommended) You can get a covered tray with 72 cells and a clear lid at Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal Mart. They cost about $2.00. Beats the hell out of the baggie method.
Since we are talking about such a small area just buy a bag of standard cacti potting mix. Fill all the cells with soil. Sprinkle 2 to 3 seeds in each cell. Then water and put plastic lid on top. Keep the seeds between 70 and 80 degrees. After about a week you will see your seeds sprouting. Keep seedling in indirect sun. Do not take the cover off. I generally only take the top off only for watering. I water when the condensation stops accumulating on the top. Do this for the first 6 months.
After 6 months of babying these plants slowly take the lid off for a couple of hours each day. Adding an hour or so each week until you have the cover off completely. If your plants start to turn brown your either getting to much sun or heat. It seems seedling go dormant in extreme heat. (100 degrees or better)
As soon as your seedlings get root bound transplant into a larger pot .(about 1 year) I have found a perfect home made potting mix for cacti. It goes like this. 1. 1 quart compost 2. 1 quart pearlite 3. = quart course sand. (play sand works perfect) Mix well and water with Miracle Grow.
Here are some 3 mo. old Cory Mac's
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