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Closet Cactus
Care
by Michael S. Smith
All rights
reserved.
Starting from Seed
For the
non-professional cactus lover starting cacti from seed can be a
daunting
task, especially for those without a greenhouse and
experience. But growing these
beautiful specimens of the plant kingdom
should not be limited to those who are mass
producers. Everyone should
have a chance to start their own cacti from seed and slowly
watch them
as they grow and form into mature specimens. With the right resources
and
techniques the closet cactus enthusiast should find
success.
Seeds and Soil:
Of course first thoughts must be
given to what seeds to grow. There are a number
of very reputable
cactus plant and seed dealers, my own favorite being Mesa Garden
of
Belen, New Mexico. This company has thousands of different species
of seed to choose
from. Mesa Garden, and many other seed sellers, can
be located at the Cactus and
Succulent Plant Mall home page at
<http://www.cactus-mall.com>.
Soil choice among the professionals
can be quite an intricate endeavor. Many cacti
have very specific
ecosystems that they have evolved in, but until you become much
more
involved in cacti care you can simply use the general cactus soil
that can be purchased
from your local nursery or garden center. If you
are looking for a nicer soil I would
recommend ordering from Bob
Smoley’s GardenWorld, or many of the other cacti dealers
found at the
Plant Mall. Many professionals are now using mixes with 50% pumice
with
good results.
Getting Started:
Besides the seed and
soil other needed supplies are small plastic pots, a regular
sized
spoon, 2 deep microwavable bowls with lids (preferably glass, one large
and one
small), a set of tweezers, a can of disinfectant spray, a
bottle of bleach, and some ziplock
baggies. I would also recommend that
only distilled water is used for soaking the soil and
any future
misting of the soil or seedlings.
Getting the soil ready and killing
off all contaminates is the first step. Make an
estimate of how much
soil is going to be needed to fill the number of pots that are going
to
be used (remember, seeds should be set in the soil no less that 1/2 apart,
but an inch is
best). Take the soil and put it in the large glass bowl
and slowly add distilled water and
mix till it is minimally wet, then
microwave for about 1 minute for each cup of soil. The
soil should not
be so wet as to make it difficult to work with, the heat and steam
created
by the small amount of liquid should be enough for
sterilization, just try to make sure there
are no dry spots in the
soil. Use the small glass bowl to do the same procedure with
sifted
soil, but this time use only about 1/4 the original soil amount.
This will be the soil which
will top off the pots and allow for the
seeds roots to dig in. After microwaving the soil let
it cool. I
recommend letting it cool with the lids on since it will help the soil
avoid picking
up airborne spores. This may of course take some time, so
get cleaning.
Disinfect all the pots and tools by placing them in the
sink with a gallon of warm
water and a few tablespoons of bleach. Let
them sit for awhile. If they are previously
used they should be
scrubbed with a clean unused sponge, being careful to remove all
dirt
and mineral buildup. This step will most likely save you from the
horror of fungus
engulfing your seeds and seedlings. Many simply avoid
this step by using a fungicide in
the soil, but often this will lessen
seed germination rates, something that the closet cactus
grower, with
few seeds, cannot afford. Finish up by using the disinfectant on the
counter
top and placing the clean pots and tools out to dry on a clean
towel. I am of course trying
to stress that all items used the process,
from towels to tweezers, need to be thoroughly
clean and free of mold
and fungus spores, etc.
Sowing the Seed:
Once the fine
topsoil is ready, being slightly warm (80 to 85 degrees), start
by
filling each pot full with regular soil and then with a very thin
layer of sifted soil on top of
that. I personally use square 2.5” (6
cm) plastic pots. Gently press the soil down with
your spoon, but not
too much, it needs to stay rather loose. Give a spraying from a
misting
bottle to settle and even out the top layer of soil. Make sure the soil is
relatively
wet but in no way sopping wet. Now just take your tweezers
and place the seeds on the
soil and press them halfway into the soil.
Give about an inch between seedlings as you
should probably keep them
in these containers for at least a year.
Now you are ready to bag them
up. Two 2.5” pots fit perfectly into a small
ziplock. The trick in
bagging them is to make the bag like a tent. This will cause
the
condensation buildup within the bag to run down the sides and
collect at the base of the
pots, possibly to be sucked back into the
pots through the bottom holes. If a horizontal
ceiling is above the
pots droplets of condensation may fall directly on top of the
newborn
seedlings, often displacing the seedlings or causing them to
rot easier. The easiest way to
make such a tent is to place the pots
directly on the crease that is at the bottom of the
bags. This would
mean the ziplock is directly above the pots.
And easier way to
sterilize the soil for seed sowing is possible and quite handy if
you
are just sowing a small number of species. Simply put the soil in the pots
as described
above and place within the microwave for an appropriate
amount of time. Of course be
sure that you do not cook them to long,
leading the plastic to melt. I generally will put the
pots in a large
ziplock baggy that is partially closed, thereby lessening the dissipation
of
the soils moisture content. Then you can just let the soil cool a
bit in this large bag,
remove and sow, and then place into smaller bags
for the germination.
Creating the Right Environment - Heat and
Light:
Now that the seeds are bagged up it’s important to create
the right growing
environment of heating and lighting. This is possibly
the most critical aspect of growing
your own cacti from seed. My own
method is to place the baggies onto a reptile heating
pad that can be
purchased from a pet store. I have forgotten the brand I use, but it is
very
thin (as opposed to the ones that are thick, white, and rather
puffed up) and black with a
clear lamination on it. There are a couple
different sizes available, but they are rather
expensive, approximately
$40 for the larger one. You may want to place a small
thermometer
(sterilized) within one of the bags to make sure the internal temperature
does
not get excessive. Best germination is at about 80 to 85 degrees,
but a night temperature
around 65 to 70 degrees is also necessary. I
simply have my heating pads and lights on a
timer. A 14 to 16 hour
cycle of light and heat is good. Dependent upon what type of
lighting
you use, its heat levels, and the environment in which the baggies will be
placed,
you may not need heating pads. I start my own seeds in the
unheated basement of my
house which usually will run about 65 degrees
for the duration of the Winter, having sown
my seeds in the fall so
that they will be ready to acclimatize to natural conditions in
the
Spring.
For lighting I use two 40 watt 4’ long shop lights with
two florescent tubes. These
are elevated about 1/2’ to 1’ above the
seed containers. This is usually fine for the
germination phase but may
turn out to be too much light for best growth. Many people
believe in
putting the lights upwards of a couple inches from the soil level, but I
have
found this is not always necessary. It must be kept in mind that
though cacti are typically
desert plants they germinate and have much
of their initial growth in cracks and crevices in
the soil or under the
shade of other plants. A clear sign that there is too much light is
that
the seedlings will stop growing and get a reddish/brown color. If
this occurs you can take
a layer of cheese clothe and lay them over the
bags as needed. As I said before, put the
lights and heaters on a 14 to
16 hour timer. Germination should take anywhere from a
week to nearly a
month, so be patient and avoid opening the baggies and letting
in
contaminates.
After about two or three months you can remove the
pots from the baggies and
keep them under the lights and on the heating
pad cycle. If you find it necessary reapply
the cheesecloth as needed.
Removing the pots from the baggies is not a necessity at two
or three
months as I’ve heard of people leaving them in for six months. My own
feeling
on this is that the longer they are trapped in the stall air
environment the more susceptible
to rot they become. If you begin to
notice seedlings dying off after they have germinated
make sure to
remove the pots from the baggies and allow the soil to dry out some,
then
follow the watering directions given below, but with added
fungicide.
One additional measure I take to help recreate a natural
environment indoors is to
add a small fan to my timing system. I place
the fan directly above the cacti on low and
allow it to blow gently
throughout the area of my exposed cacti. Not only will this help
limit
any fungus and green mold growth, but it will also help with the all to
common gnat
problem. Another way to limit fungus, gnats, as well as
retain soil moisture, is to apply a
layer of fine sand or small gravel
around the seedlings once they are large
enough.
Watering:
Once the new seedlings are out of the
baggies watering will become important.
Seedlings will need more water
than mature cacti, but they also stand a better chance of
getting root
rot. I personally recommend that the top layer of soil should come close
to
being dry before re-watering. When watering is needed the pots
should be placed in a dish
of semi-warm water, allowing the water to
rise through the bottom till the topsoil is moist.
One can also
regularly apply a fine mist with a water bottle. Distilled water produces
healthier seedlings than tap water, but rain water is the best for
watering as it contain trace
minerals. If you decide to use sand as a
top cover it may be necessary to learn how to use
pot weight as an
indicator of watering time. Do this by learning the weight of the
pots
when fully watered. When the pot becomes noticeably lighter be
sure to water. This is
also a good technique for checking adult plants
as well which might have rock cover.
Though my technique does not often
afford rapid growth it should lessen the
chances for rot, thereby
securing that the small closet cacti grower has his or her
limited
amount of seed succeed. Following the directions of a good
1-7-6 fertilizer such as
Sudbury Cactus Juice may possibly increase
survival rates by strengthening the plants
natural defenses. As with
any cacti fertilizer it is necessary that they be fed from the
bottom
only, otherwise mineral deposits will built up on the cacti themselves and
can
possibly cause burns.
Growing Seedlings
Outdoors:
Since I am in a Northern clime I find it best to start my
seedling by the above
method indoors in the Fall with the anticipation
that I will put them outdoors after six
months of growth. It is very
important that when placed outdoors the seedlings receive no
direct
sunlight, but are instead placed in a nice shady spot which get diffused
light. As
with artificial lights to much sunlight will be readily
recognizable by the reddening of the
cacti. In this case the cacti can
be moved to a less bright spot or else a shade screen can
be used to
diffuse the light. My own method is to use replacement screening for
screen
doors and windows which can be cheaply purchased from your local
hardware store in
rolls. This screening can be doubled up until the
needed level of protection is found. Such
porous screening also allows
for needed air circulation as well as protection from the
occasional
cacti eating bird. Of course one can also purchase professional growers
shade
screening.
Transplanting:
Once your seedlings have
grown to about a half inch to an inch you might want to
consider
transplanting them to a new container with fresh soil. Let the soil first
dry out a
little. It is best that the soil is not fully wet, but also
not fully dry, at which point it might
harden up and encase the roots,
causing the young rootlets to tear off when removing
from the soil.
Many species have their best growth in a relatively root bound
environment
so it is recommended that the cacti be little more 1” away
from the containers edges.
Some cacti, especially those with tuberous
roots such as Ariocarpus and Turbinicarpus
also love to dive deep into
the soil so be sure to provide them with adequately
deep
containers
Once the seedlings are transplanted to new
containers and on their way to
maturity, it is time to start testing
out their natural sunlight capabilities. As with all cacti,
young or
mature, a sudden move from shade or partial sun to full sun is not
recommended.
Such a sudden shift in environments can cause the plant
to get unsightly sunburn marks. It
is best to slowly move them into
more sunlight over the period of a couple weeks, taking
care to watch
for browning or reddening over. Immediately move the plant back
into
more shade if this occurs. Also be informed that though your cacti
received strong
artificial light indoors they still might not be
capable of handing a rapid shift to strong
natural
light.
Grafting Your Seedlings:
Now that your seedlings are
large enough you might want to consider grafting.
Grafting is an
excellent method for increasing the growth rate of many of the
clumping
cacti, but is typically not done with columnar cacti. It is
also used to propagate species
since a graft will reach maturity
quicker, thereby setting off many pups which can then be
taken and
grafted themselves. The principle here is to use a fast growing columnar
species
as a base plant and graft a slower growing clumping species
onto it.
Start by selecting a nice columnar cactus for a base that is
at least 4 inches tall,
such as a Trichocereus pachanoi or
Myrtillocactus geometrizans, and that has an inner
core equal in
diameter to the core of the graft plant (scion). If the two cores do
not
perfectly match in size it is very important that you at least
cause them to connect at some
point. Now simply use a very sharp and
sterile non-serrated knife to cleanly slice the base
cactus
horizontally, being careful not to saw through the plant. It’s important
that at this
point you trim the edges of the base plant at a 45 degree
angle all the way around while
leaving a flat area equal to, or a
little larger, than the diameter of the scion. This is
important so
that as the scion grows it can basically “roll down” over the edge of the
base
plant during its active growth. If you don’t cut the edges it is
very possible that the scions
outward and downward growing pressure
will cause it to pop off the base plant.
When you slice the scion plant
be sure that it is cut very cleanly and without having
to apply much
pressure. Such pressure may cause bruising of the seedling or young
plant
which may in time become infected. Place this cut cacti directly
on top of the center core
of the base plant. My own way of ensuring the
graft is to use two rubber bands wrapped
around the base of the pot of
the columnar and over the top of the graft, each rubber band
being at
right angles to each other. This can at times be very difficult so it is
very
important that you take your time applying the rubber bands, being
very careful that they
are loose enough so as not to apply undue
pressure on the graft and cause it to burst open
at the sides, thereby
effectively ruining the young plant.
Once the rubber bands are properly
secured the graft should be placed inside a
humid environment for a
number of days to allow the two to grow together. If the graft is
not
kept humid often the base plants cut edges will start to rapidly dry and
sink, often
causing the proper connection of the two plants to fail. My
own technique is to place the
watered plant within a ziplock bag under
lighting for approximately 5 days. After this
length of time the base
plants exposed flesh should have callused over and two plants
should be
securely formed together. They can then be removed from the bag and
cared
for normally.
One of the most current grafting techniques I
have heard about is to simply place
the scion onto the base material
and make a ring of superglue around their connective
points and holding
together with pressure until the glue is dry.
Other tips for successful
growing of a graft plant might be in order here. The first
is that
often new shoots might arise from the base stock of the graft. Often one
might
want to let them grow a few inches and later cut them off to be
used as graft stock. If this
is the case then the limb can be cut off
as close to the parent plant as possible after
reaching 4 to 5 inches
and then one can follow the above directions. Since the stock will
not
yet have roots the rubber bands can just be placed around the base of the
plant for a
few days. Once the graft is secure remove the rubber bands
and place the plant upright in
a dry environment. After a couple weeks
the open cut at the base should have callused
over and the plant is
ready for planting. If you would like to grow this cut off limb
then
simply allow it to callous over and then plant an inch or so into
the soil. If you don’t want
these limbs to zap away the growing power
of the scion plant then they should be pinched
off as soon as they are
noticeable.
Winter Storage:
Many Closet Cactus Growers like
myself may not have a year round greenhouse or
live in the appropriate
environment will need to find ways to provide for the plants over
the
Winter. With my own cacti I simply slow down watering in September and
water only
a couple times in October, dependent upon the weather
conditions. I also attempt to
prevent the rain from soaking them by
putting them under cover of roof or tarp. Once the
outside conditions
begin to consistently fall around 40 degrees at night then I look to
bring
them indoors for hibernation; the soil being dry by then. Having
slowed down their
growth outdoors due to the lessening of water they
generally do not grow once I bring
them in. The medium and large plant
pretty much are set downstairs and receive little
light and occasional
misting throughout the Winter season. Most of them end up in a
couple
corners of my basement, one of which get a little bit of sun from a window
in a
southfacing basement staircase. Though some have been winterized
in complete darkness
they do not appear to be any worse off in the
Spring than the ones which received some
minimal light. I will also use
a small selection for decorative purposes and place them
around the
house or office, on the window ledges or the end tables. Unless the plants
are
starting to show moderate dehydration I will not water them at all
for the entire Winter.
A couple faults of hibernation are root die back
and no growth. Since the small
roots receive no moisture and are much
thinner than the main root sections they will often
die. This leads to
the slower formation of new growth the following season since
energy
for growth is being pushed into formation of new roots. There is
really not much that can
be done about this except to water, but
watering, along with insufficient light, will lead to
etiolation, the
yellowing of the flesh and uncommonly thin growth. Such growth could
kill
the aesthetic qualities of the cactus.
Most of my smaller
seedlings will be placed under lighting while the newest seeds
are sow
at the same time. The yearling receive watering as soon as the soil is
dried out. If
some of the smaller plants in hibernation are showing
signs of dehydration I will usually
place them under the lights and
water till they have regained some of their former glory.
Once the
small plant has regained its strength I will let the soil dry under the
lights and
then place it back in the dark for continued
hibernation.
Growing for Aesthetics:
All my plants are grown
for their beauty and so I feel that it is important to
maintain the
proper conditions for the plant which support this. By following the
already
mentioned hibernation technique one can generally keep a plant
for years which maintains
a standard diameter and shows only a small
pinch in the stock which represents the yearly
growth. Since the
columnar cacti’s diameter is dependent on the amount of sun it
receives
it often happens that a plant grown in the South will have a
larger diameter than it would
in the North. Usually I will for example
get a 4” columnar which once acclimatized here
may only be 3” in
diameter. Since such a sudden change is not very pleasing to look at
I
will usually let the new growth form for a season until there is at
least 4” of new growth.
I will them remove this acclimatized 4”
section and re-root it. I may then also cut off the
section of the base
plant which shows tapering, possibly to re-root itself if it is
significant
enough. I then at least have a nice voucher specimen in the
tip to grow completely to
form and a short and large base of equal
diameter which can be either grown to form or
from which clippings can
be taken for further specimens or trading. It may be
advantageous with
the base stock to cut the tapering section off at a 45 degree angle
so
that water does not collect on the tip and lead to rotting. By
following many of the above
techniques, and incorporating those which
have worked for you in your environment, you
should be on your way to
maintaining a very nice cactus collection.
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