14 April 2008
Epiphyllum anguliger from seed
Posted by Stuart under: Cacti; Propagation .
I sowed some seed of this species just before Christmas; here is the first wave of seedlings in their plastic bag shortly after germination. Initially I kept them in their ziplock bag for a few weeks in the same way as all the other seedlings I’ve been growing.
Compared with growing other cactus seedlings I found the attrition rate astonishingly high. Despite having nuked the compost in the microwave before sowing, the baby Epiphyllums were damping off at an alarming rate. I removed them from the bag, but the heat from the Mercury vapour light I was using was so intense that they flagged in the space of a day, resulting in a few more untimely demises.
The next step was to move them into the bathroom. They still didn’t seem happy, but the occasional extra seedling continued to germinate, and at least they weren’t dying quite so often.
Finally, I seem to have found conditions that they like.
I replaced my grow light with an Envirolite, a much cooler bulb than the furnace I was running before, and have positioned the Epiphyllums out of the direct light, so that they’re warm but not hot, and in the equivalent of dappled shade. All of which makes perfect sense when one thinks about their natural forest habitat. At long last they’re showing signs of developing mature growth from between the cotyledons.
I can’t say for sure what it was that caused them to damp off in such huge numbers but my guess is that these probably do best if whipped out of the 100% humidity of the sealed bag not too long after germination.
Of course, had I researched the cultivation of Epiphyllums from seed even a little more, I would probably have come across this handy hint on the BCSS "How to" page:
These plants dislike lime in their compost, so composts based on the J.I. formulations are unsuitable for them. Levington compost is ideal both for sowing the seed and for growing the plants on afterwards, though it is rather difficult to keep it free from algal growth.
Mine are currently in a mixture of John Innes no.2 and grit sand - the compost preference may well account for some of the problems I’ve been having.
Incidentally I’ve found the JI2/grit sand mixture generally to be a complete pain; grit sand used to be more grit than sand, but these days it seems to be far more sandy and far less gritty, and as such I’ve found it sets like concrete when kept damp. Later sowings this year have been into JI2 plus grit and cat litter, which doesn’t have the same solidifying properties.
One Comment so far...
obione Says:
21 May 2008 at 2:27 am.
suggest next time, you use ordinary seed raising mix rather than compost..you will see then that they will grow normally..also, might be easier for you to get a plastic fruit tray with a cover, say like those they sell blueberries, and you will see they will germinate nicely too.
make sure you keep the medium moist till they germinate..but dont dampen too much.. good luck