cactusandrain – Page 2 – Kihaku-Gato's Garden Blog (tumblr import)

cactusandrain:

Growing cacti/succulents from seed

Environment
Surroundings need to be humid. I use a plastic box (from daiso) that can contain 6 pots of seedlings, 20-40 seedlings per pot. You can use any container or cover the pot with a plastic bag to make the air humid. They are in a shaded spot with no direct sunlight.

Water
When germinating seedlings, I will add rainwater so that there is at least 1cm of standing water in the box. Once they sprout I reduce watering so that only the potting mix is moist at all times.

Potting Mix
I use fine sifted volcanic rock (particles less than 1mm) mixed with a bit of compost and cactus mix (the larger brown clumps in photos). I do not sterilise the mixture beforehand but you can always do so.

Seeds
For larger seeds like cactus I will arrange them in rows. For smaller seeds like echeveria I will sprinkle them on the surface randomly. After sowing, spray with rainwater to lightly push them into the surface of the potting mix. Pictured seedlings are frailea phaeodisca and mixed astrophytum seedlings of 3-9 months old.