If you see a seed germinate from a plant as large as a tree or a palm tree, when a cactus seed germinates it is easy for you to suddenly feel a kind of affection towards these small seedlings with thorns. And, if I may say so, they are so cute… 🙂
But to enjoy that moment you have to prepare the seedbed at the right time. So I'm going to tell you when to plant cacti.
How do they germinate in habitat?
As a curiosity, and before moving on to the topic at hand, I am going to explain to you how the seeds of these plants manage to germinate in their natural habitat.
Cacti are a type of plants native to the American continent, found mostly in Central America. In their habitats the daytime temperature is usually very high, over 40ºC, but the night temperatures can drop to 0ºC and even more during winter. The precipitations are very little; However, they can survive thanks to the dew. These small droplets of water fall both on the thorns and on the cactus bodies themselves, through whose pores they are absorbed.
The seeds they produce are tiny (there are some, like those of the Rebutia, which are about the size of the head of a pin). While they are inside the fruit they remain hydrated and protected from the sun's rays, but once the fruit dries and they fall to the ground they have to get the desert sand to cover them a little before the rains come with the action of the wind. After the long-awaited rainfall has discharged all the water they contained, the small cacti will begin to germinate.
When to plant cacti?
The best time to plant cacti is in spring or summer, when the minimum temperature is 20ºC. I do not advise doing it in autumn since if these plants germinate they would only have three months to grow and it is likely that they would not survive the winter even if the seedbed was placed indoors.
To ensure that all the seedlings will have a good growth rate, it is very important to use a substrate that has excellent drainage, so we can mix black peat mixed with perlite in equal parts or vermiculite. We will spread the seeds on the surface and cover them with a very thin layer of peat, or if we want it with previously washed river sand, and we will keep the soil moistened by always watering below.
In general, they will germinate after 7-10 days, after which we can treat them with spray fungicides to prevent the proliferation of fungi.
Good planting!