You’ll need more patience than anything else to grow succulents from seed. This includes cactus seeds.
Most kinds of succulent seeds germinate and begin showing characteristic shapes (spines, too!) within a matter of weeks. It takes several months for them to reach enough size for potting.
Succulents started this spring or early summer will be useful in many ways around the garden next year.
Outstanding Succulent Collection At Low Cost
Growing cactus and other succulents from seeds is an ideal way to have a collection of outstanding plants at very little cost.
One mixture on the market sells for less than $10 with 1000 seeds and includes such famous Southwestern cacti, such as:
- The giant saguaro
- Hedgehogs
- Mammillarias
- Notocactus
- Golden Barrel
- Parodia
- Prickly pear Opuntias
A packet of mixed hybrid sedums (the stonecrops) will yield more than 300 seedlings, all of them interesting as pot plants or as ground covers outdoors.
Specialists offer more varied mixtures of cacti and other succulents.
Some specialists feature deluxe mixtures with seeds from over 75 species.
Seeds of succulents may be purchased in one exciting mixture or divided into stone faces, living rocks, or haworthias.
Useful Hybrids Of Sedums And Sempervivums
It is not difficult to find other cacti and succulents in listings of house and greenhouse plants.
Kinds I see frequently include:
- Echeveria hybrids
- Aloes
- Kalanchoes of many types (Hummers Hybrids, for example, include flowers of salmon, pink, red, rose, and scarlet),
- Oliveranthes regale
- Rebutias
- Orchid cacti (epiphyllums)
For all gardeners, few succulents could be more useful than the sedums, and the sempervivums (hen-and-chickens).
Seeds started now will yield plants of useful size by next spring.
There are countless species and hybrids of sedums and sempervivums so a good seed mixture of either group will provide years of gardening pleasure.
You may have heard that seeds of cacti and other succulents will not germinate unless they are very fresh.
However, I find that most kinds sprout readily even after 2 or 3 years.
Although a few rare kinds may need to be absolutely fresh, I believe it is more important that seeds of any age be provided with good growing conditions.
Ideal Conditions To Grow Succulents From Seed And For Good Germination
Seeds of cacti and other succulents start best in the warmth of a sunny window or greenhouse.
Four conditions set the stage for good germination.
They are the following:
- Uniform heat, between 70° and 80° degrees Fahrenheit
- Even moisture
- Ample fresh air
- Suitable growing medium
Starting in reverse, let’s consider the growing medium.
I have used successfully a simple mixture composed of equal parts well-rotted leafmold (if not available, substitute peat moss), screened sand, and good garden loam.
The seeds may be started in any flat or pot of convenient size.
Here are the steps to follow:
- After filling this container with the moist growing medium, firm, and level off the surface with a circular wooden block, or the flat of your hand.
- Sow fine seeds over this, thinly and evenly, and press them lightly into the surface.
- Covering is not necessary. Barely cover larger seeds, say mustard-size, with a sifting of sand.
Keep The Succulent Seeds Evenly Moist
- Apply moisture to the newly planted seeds from below by setting the base of the container in 2” or 3” inches of water.
- When the surface glistens with beads of moisture, remove the pot or flat, allow it to drain, then place a piece of glass or polyethylene over the top.
- This will keep the seeds evenly moist until germination occurs.
- As soon as seedlings begin to show, raise the cover a little each day, increasing the time until after about a week, no covering is needed.
- Take care that the surface never dries out severely.
Seedlings of cacti and other succulents need lots of sunlight and fresh air, but they can’t stand burning heat, dry soil, or a hot draft—protect them!
Proper Way Of Transplanting Succulent Seedlings
Just before seedlings begin to crowd, transplant them to community pots or flats, 1” to 2” inches apart, or individual 2 ¼” inches clay pots.
Be very careful with these soft, juicy seedlings.
Damage at this stage may leave a permanent scar.
I use a small plastic label with a V-shaped notch trimmed out of one end to pick up and replant each seedling.
Succulent Seedlings Need Moisture
- Transplant to nicely moist soil, but don’t water in the seedlings for at least 48 hours.
- This period allows damaged roots to heal over.
- Protect from direct sunlight for a few days, also.
After a week or two, the seedlings will become established again, at which time they will need ample sun, fresh air, and light waterings, often enough to keep the medium nicely moist but never dripping wet, and preferably not bone dry.
Older cacti and other succulents are prepared for long periods of drouth, but tender seedlings are not.
Fertilize Succulent Seedlings
Fertilize seedlings of cacti and other succulents after they are 3 or 4 months old.
Use any good houseplant food, diluted in water, and applied in place of regular watering once every 2 or 3 weeks.
Watch for insect attacks, especially:
- Mealybugs (gray or white ovals which form a cottony mass)
- Aphids (usually pale green and in large numbers).
Control by misting with pesticide from houseplant aerosol.
Various Uses of Cacti And Succulent Seedlings
You’ll find many exciting ways to use seedlings of cacti and other succulents.
Of course, they make delightful potted plants, either in a sunny window, a hobby greenhouse, or outdoors in the summer, where a varied collection can be displayed on a sundeck, terrace, patio, or porch.
They’re enjoyable also in strawberry jars, and trailing kinds make ideal subjects for hanging baskets.
Cold-Hardy Succulents For Outdoors
These plants are unexcelled for planting outdoors, and fortunately, there are enough cold-hardy kinds so that this is a possibility in any climate.
Sempervivums and sedums can be the trouble-free mainstays of old-fashioned rockery.
They can also be in one of today’s modern kinds, which may be Oriental in feeling or starkly modern with the uniform sizes and shapes of different hen-and-chickens varieties planted in geometric designs with white pebbles or gravel in-between to emphasize the patterns.
Anyone with more than a passing interest in cacti and other succulents will find it educational and a lot of fun to be a member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America.
Learning how to grow succulents from seed is a great way to improve your growing techniques and increase your collection.