Cacti

After losing countless frost tender stuff in my conservatory over the winter it is looking a bit bare. I was hit by an idea at the Hampton Court flower show. Cacti. I have one I've had for twenty years and it flowers beautifully every summer. I thought they would look pretty on the windowsill in their wee bowls covered with grit. Judging by my one and only's performance I gather they like to be quite pot bound. I only water it occasionally during the summer.
I bought a couple of packets of mixed cacti seeds for fun. Have we any cactus experts here? Any info would be most welcome.
:halp: :thku:

 

I dont class myself as an expert but I have dabbled a bit in cactus growing from seed.

With most of the globular types, growing from seed generally can be a bit of a slow process, but then these are the ones that naturally dont get out of hand and can flower for years on just a bit of feed and water in the summer.

Germination of fresh seed is fairly quick with most but some can take months.
I usually fill a shallow half pot with a very sandy mix then scatter the seed on top, you can then cover with a piece of glass but keep it out of direct sunlight, remove the glass for a short time each day.
A light scattering of fine sand can help to anchor the seedlings once they have germinated, they need to be kept just damp at all times, during the growing season.
Dont be in a rush to prick them out, its could easily be two years before you need to do that.

Surprisingly cacti need shade for the first year or two, if they get too much sun they go pink or brown in colour and stop growing, so aim to keep seedling green in colour.

 

Hi Rhylesgranny. No cacti expert here but I'll tell you what I know.
I grew mixed cacti from seed years ago with my daughter when she was a little girl. They germinated well and grew on without problem. We had them for years.
To get cacti flowering well they need a difference between summer and winter temperatures and day and night temperatures.
They respond well to a period outdoors in summer. I think it's the difference between day and night temperatures they like.
When I brought them back in from their summer holidays they always came into flower.
They were happy in small pots of gritty compost with a little water in summer and practically nothing in winter.
To repot or handle them make a ribbon of several thicknesses of newspaper, fold it round the cactus and just hold on to the newspaper..
I think that's all I know.
Good luck with the project.

 

Thank you both. I planted the seedlings in a mix of sand and potting compost. Sprinkled very fine white sand on the top and covered in cling film inn the absence of glass. I also succumbed and ordered an offer of ten on line. I imagine they will be very small but are all flowering cacti.
Alice that is a really good tip about the newspaper. Thank you :luv:

 

I put the seeds in a seed tray with a mix of potting compost and sand them covered with a fine layer of sand and then covered with cling film. They are starting to germinate :yho: