Got my Shaman-Australis order

[Guest Eikel]

Hey Guys,

 

Need some advice from our Cacti gardeners....

 

I bought the following from Shaman-Australis:

1 x Lophophora diffusa Seed Packet

1 x Lophophora williamsii Seed Packet

1 x Trichocereus pachanoi Seed Packet

1 x Pereskiopsis sp. - Plant

 

Now, to germinate the various seeds, I was planning on putting them into a perlite/propogation sand medium and just watering them in.

I have a few questions that need to be answered....

 

1 - What do Cacti feed on? Regular nutes? Can I give them slow-release organic ferts?

2 - Will the Perlite/Propagation sand be ok to germinate the seeds?

3 - Do the seeds require any type of perperation? (Scarification maybe?).

4 - After they germinate in the pots and grow a bit - what do they get transplanted into? Sandy potting-mix or something else?

 

Any feedback/info would be great - thanks guys!

(Will be Germinating my Acacias tonight - already know how to do that heh).

[Hanky]

Check our this site http://www.sphosting.com/cactus/

 

It'll have all the info you need plus more.

[Guest Eikel]

Awesome Hanky, thanks muchly for that link, looks like I've got lots of reading ahead of me!

 

Thought I'd share with you the "Pereskiopsis sp" I received - to me it looks a bit sickly, which I guess is from the transit (and losing so many leaves).

 

I've popped it into pot full of a 3-part perlite to 1-part Seed-raising Mix. Hoping it'll recover quickly from it's journey.

 

Now what's the go with lighting - would I be better keeping this thing by a window and letting the sun get to it, or do they like Warm-White MH lighting?

[Hanky]

The Pereskiopsis should bounce back fine.

 

I've found that cacti and succulents love HID lighting, just introduce them to a shaded spot in your room and gradually bring them in to full light over a few days so that they don't burn.

 

Though some compact fluros will be fine for the seedlings untill they get a bit of size.

[Guest Eikel]

Though some compact fluros will be fine for the seedlings untill they get a bit of size.

 

Cool stuff - yeah I've got my seeds trying to germinate in my clone area, 30c temps 99% humidity.

 

How important is it to microwave the medium? Is it a MUST or just a precaution like sterlizing equipment when taking clones?.

[Hanky]

Just a precaution, I'd not be too worried about it. There's probably the same chance of infection as when taking MJ clones.

 

When it comes time to graft the baby lophs on to the periskiopsis is when you need to be pedantic about sterile technique.

[funkyfungus]

put the pereskiopsis into the grow cabinet

 

they go apeshit

 

have a look at www.mushmush.nl methods

and at the nook forums in the cactus section in the current pereskipsis competition thread

 

drool

[prier]

Check out M S Smith's Closet Cacti Care, which I think is stickied in the cacti section of thenook.org

 

Good luck with growing the seed, and don't graft all your Loph's you'll want to keep at least one for ornamental purposes, once they're grafted they just look silly as.