Cacti Seed Potting Advice

I have grown loads of cacti from seed.
It's not too difficult.

Use a gritty, loam based compost (40% JI 2, 40% sharp sand, 20 fine grit)
Sow the seeds on top, and then cover with a thin layer of small grained grit.

Soak in water, put the pot in a bag, and then keep in a warm shaded spot.
They can be kep like this until after gernmination and the plantlets absorb the cotyledons, and start producing true bodies. At this stage they can be given more sun and gradually dried out.

 

I grew them from seeds many years ago. I used soil from the garden, mixed with sand from the river bank. I had quite a nice lot of little seedlings.

 

I think what everyone is more or less saying is they grow in almost any compost as long has it has good drainage, more important perhaps is the attention to watering/overwatering and light levels.

 

Rang my mother today - we have some seeds that have germinated!

I'll take photos when I'm next there.

I used a propagator to sow them, with a drip tray in normal compost without microwaving before sowing (as I don't have one). Let's see how they turn out - exciting.

 

You are one of the few that don't own a microwave nowadays...can I ask you why?

 

I live in an apartment and don't have much surface space in the kitchen area - plus we find them quite ugly and after 2.5 years of living here, we've never really needed one I always find they damage the area they're on top of and we don't want to lose our deposit.

My parents' broke last year and they just never bought a new one - so they don't have one either.