Cactus has many ways to propagate and one of the exciting ways is to grow from seed. It's possible that the baby cactus will have the different colors or shapes from their parent 
plants. However, growing cactus from seed may be not easy for the rookies and here is the easy instructions and tips to follow :
1. You should have the cactus seed. It can be find easily on the online shop or Ebay. You may choose the basic cactus types like Gymnocalycium or Mammillaria. Their seeds are not expensive and easy to grow.
2. Mix your potting soil. Use a mixture of about half perlite or pumice, half potting soil. Or add 2 inches of sand on the bottom with 2 inches of equally mixed sand and peat on top. Or you can use the cactus soil sold in the garden shops.
3. Add soil to a shallow container with good drainage, and water the soil before the seeds are planted. Use a container with a depth of at least 4 inches and pure water.
4. Plant your seeds by shaking them on the soil's surface. Distribute evenly, then gently press into the soil to a depth that equals its width. Planting too deeply kills the plant before it reaches the surface.
5. Cover the seeds with no more than 1/8 inch of potting soil.
6. Place a transparent covering across the container. Plastic bag is my best choice because it's cheap, light and easy to find. Meanwhile, you can see the baby cactus through the clear bag.
7. Set your miniature greenhouse in a warm location. Ideally, the temperature should be no lower than 70 degrees F. Your seeds will begin to germinate in about 3 weeks. Certain cactus plants need up to 10 week.
8. Once the seedlings appear, use a spray bottle to mist them keeping them from drying out. Just once a week depending on the moisture in the soil.
Tips:
plants. However, growing cactus from seed may be not easy for the rookies and here is the easy instructions and tips to follow :1. You should have the cactus seed. It can be find easily on the online shop or Ebay. You may choose the basic cactus types like Gymnocalycium or Mammillaria. Their seeds are not expensive and easy to grow.
2. Mix your potting soil. Use a mixture of about half perlite or pumice, half potting soil. Or add 2 inches of sand on the bottom with 2 inches of equally mixed sand and peat on top. Or you can use the cactus soil sold in the garden shops.
3. Add soil to a shallow container with good drainage, and water the soil before the seeds are planted. Use a container with a depth of at least 4 inches and pure water.
4. Plant your seeds by shaking them on the soil's surface. Distribute evenly, then gently press into the soil to a depth that equals its width. Planting too deeply kills the plant before it reaches the surface.
5. Cover the seeds with no more than 1/8 inch of potting soil.
6. Place a transparent covering across the container. Plastic bag is my best choice because it's cheap, light and easy to find. Meanwhile, you can see the baby cactus through the clear bag.
7. Set your miniature greenhouse in a warm location. Ideally, the temperature should be no lower than 70 degrees F. Your seeds will begin to germinate in about 3 weeks. Certain cactus plants need up to 10 week.
8. Once the seedlings appear, use a spray bottle to mist them keeping them from drying out. Just once a week depending on the moisture in the soil.
Tips:
- Soak the seeds before planting for several hours or overnight (if you can see) The seeds will grow very quickly.
- The seeds may germinate in one week, otherwise they may take significantly longer.
- Put the pot under the light shade. The baby cactus don't need the full sunlight.
- Repot when the cactus is at least 1/2 inch in diameter. This usually takes at least 3 months.
Let's have fun and enjoy to grow cactus from seed!
2 comments:
This will be my next project, growing a cactus from seed. Those baby cacti in the picture are beautiful!
Yes, they really are . I took the picture from my friend's garden.
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