Buying ready-made cacti is not nearly as exciting as growing new varieties from seeds you have harvested yourself. This guide explains how to pollinate flowering cacti, harvest the seeds and start your very own cacti grow. Use our tips for successful cultivation.
If you want to grow cacti yourself, you need patience
Pollinating flowers and harvesting seeds - this is how it works
Cultivation begins with 2 flowering cacti. When the pollen has a powdery consistency, it is mature. Now use a hair brush to transfer the pollen from the first cactus to the stigma of the second cactus. When the flowers wither, they turn into fruits with seeds. After a ripening period of several months, you can harvest the seeds.
instructions for cultivation
First fill the seeds in an empty tea bag and soak them in lukewarm water for about 45 minutes. In the meantime, fill loose seed compost or coconut fiber substrate into a seed tray that has a transparent lid. Alternatively, use small growing pots. Already with a size of 4×4 cm they are big enough for 10 to 30 cacti. Spray the substrate with lime-free water. This is how it goes on:
- Sow the soaked seeds
- Sieve thinly with lime-free quartz sand (15.85€) or vermiculite and press down
- Close the bowl with the lid and place in a partially shaded window seat
- Keep slightly moist at ideal temperatures of 16 to 28 degrees Celsius
Although germination can occur within 14 to 21 days, further cultivation takes up to 14 months. This is how long it usually takes for cactus seedlings to reach a diameter of 0.5 to 1 cm. This is the earliest time to prick out the seedlings. The longer the spiny dwarfs can develop undisturbed in the seed pot, the better they will survive the repotting process.
tips
You can quickly and easily grow single-variety cacti from offshoots. Kindel, leaf or head cuttings root quickly in cactus soil that you have thinned with a little sand. The best time for vegetative propagation is between mid-May and late August.