Cactus seeds and seedlings

Last November, I ordered seeds of 12 different Echinopsis/Trichocereus hybrids from Patrick Noll, a German hybridizer who runs a popular YouTube channel under the name Cactus Jerk. Unlike most growers who sell live plants, Patrick offers seeds of his own hybrids on his website, Trichocereus.net. While the parents are clearly stated, there’s no sure-fire way of knowing what the flowers of these hybrids will ultimately look like. If you’re interested, check out my August 2023 post to “meet” the parents.

I started with approximately 240 seeds and ended up with the 82 seedlings you see below. Some have grown much faster (and larger) than others even though they have all received the same water and fertilizer – genetics at play! My goal is to grow these seedlings on until they flower for the first time. Then I’ll decide which ones to keep.

I'm hoping that at least a few of these hybrids will be as beautiful as this one, Echinopsis 'Paul Ehrlich'

As if 80+ seedlings weren’t enough, I’ve also been collecting seeds from my own cacti. Not any cacti, just ones I really like. Below are a few examples.

Note that I did not pollinate these cacti myself. Some are self-fertile (i.e. they can pollinate themselves), others aren’t and require pollen from another plant to set seeds. At the height of the cactus bloom, there was a lot of flowering going on, with bees and other pollinators busy flitting back and forth. For this reason, it’s quite possible that at least some of the seeds I’m collecting are hybrids. But that’s OK. I’m not trying to propagate pure species; I just want cacti with beautiful flowers.

⤥ Echinocereus dasyacanthus

Echinocereus dasyacanthus fruit

Echinocereus dasyacanthus in flower

⤥ Echinocereus reichenbachii.

Echinocereus reichenbachii fruit

Echinocereus reichenbachii in flower

⤥ Echinopsis ‘First Light’

Echinopsis ‘First Light’ and ‘Flying Saucer’ flowered at the same time back in May (see this post). My hope is that the fruit I collected from ‘First Light’ is actually the result of ‘First Light’ hybridizing with ‘Flying Saucer’. I think that could be something special. I’ll let you know when the seedlings flower for the first time – in five years or so.

Echinopsis ‘First Light’ fruit

Echinopsis ‘First Light’ fruit split open

Partially dried up Echinopsis ‘First Light’ fruit

Echinopsis ‘First Light’ in flower

Echinopsis ‘Flying Saucer’ in flower

⤥ Cleaning the seeds

The cacti above produce wet seeds that need to be separated from the fruit flesh before they can be sown. I simply scooped the pulp into a small bowl, added some water, and squished the pulp with my fingers until the seeds came loose.

I poured the pulpy water onto two or three layers of paper towels, let the seeds dry, and then used my fingernails to scrape the seeds from the paper towels. Voilà!

⤥ Starting the seeds

I usually grow succulent seeds in small pots sealed inside a plastic baggie or in plastic containers with a tight-fitting lid. In the example below (Echinopsis ‘June Noon’), I repurposed a food takeout container. I also tried a new two-layer mix: commercial seed starter mix (well moistened and sterilized in the microwave for 5 minutes), a very light sprinkling of Osmocote 14-14-14 controlled-release fertilizer, and a thin layer of vermiculite.

Seed starter mix plus Osmocote 14-14-14

Vermiculite on top

I scattered the seeds on top of the vermiculite and sprayed them with a fungicide. Then I snapped on the lid. Since the seed starter mix was damp, there’s enough moisture in the sealed container for several months.

June 30

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t open the container for a few months, but in this case I popped the lid off quickly to take this photo of the sprouting seeds:

July 10

After 3-4 months I’ll slowly acclimatize the seedlings to outside air. When they’re about an inch in height, I’ll transplant them to individual containers. The slow-release fertilizer I added should provide enough sustenance until then. It’ll get crowded in the container, but cactus seedlings seem to like growing in close proximity.

© Gerhard Bock, 2024. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.