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Mrdbrewer
Mr



Registered: 06/17/13
Posts: 3,974
Loc: Galafrey.
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watering cacti seedlings
#18888591 - 09/25/13 10:12 AM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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How often do i need to water my seedlings they are P.trich and peyote seedlings all 3 months old and they have recently been taken out of the bags and now the soil is getting dry will they survive due to it being autumn now or do i still need to water them i dont want to if i dont need to but i dont want my little babies to die and for 3 months they are very very small compared to my "3 year old" p.trich which is 6" tall?
-------------------- Constantly checking my dick and nips to see if im not dying
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
Posts: 2,627
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Re: watering cacti seedlings [Re: Mrdbrewer]
#18889785 - 09/25/13 03:19 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Water the soil after it is completely dried if your temps is not over +25-30C at day time.
Don't rush the watering of seedlings, 3months old seedlings doesn't die if they are several days in dry soil.
My 3 month old lophs are above heat pad, I water them once per week after soil is dried completely. however, they are under plastic dome so they are getting heat and some moisture after watering.
Depends on your conditions, temperature and so on how much you can water your seedlings but 3 months old you can start keeping dry and wet periods for them.. You can see yourself when it's time to give water to seedlings, if you rush to watering and temperatures are below +25C, you possible get seedlings to rot.. That age seedlings doesn't matter if they shrivel smaller before they got new watering.
Even I have heat pads and +35-40C day temps and I water only once per week or sometimes not even once per week, seedlings doesn't shrink and they are now at cycle of dry and moist at age of 3 months.
You can see from seedlings when they need watering, they seriously doesn't need as much water as you can offer. Best way to ensure you don't kill seedlings is let the soil dry to the bottom before watering again.. They are cactus plants, they are used to get hard times with water and 3 months old cactus can be week or two without water easily.
I have test subjects actually, doesn't know species.. They are year old but size is 5mm.. I have watered them very very randomly and keep them dry long time.. Still I have two 5mm size seedlings alive even they has been at summer 1,5months without water at all.. At spring I had 12 seedlings alive, now two.. I have tested with random species how cactus can survive, they are very tough! Only thing what human can do is kill it to watering too much.. Water after they are near dehydrated to be sure.. Without heat pads growth speed is slow in my climate and also I have failed lots of seed grown and kill seedlings cause of too much watering even surface of soil is dry..
Don't water them before they seems they starts to shrink or something.. That's best way to make sure you don't over water them and rot your seedlings.. 3 months old or even younger cactus can be care like adult cactus, let soil dry before watering to make sure you don't over water. But if you want fast growth, super speed.. get a heating pad and miniature greenhouse to allow yourself to spray water more frequently, some loph growers water their plants two times per week, seedlings every day, but temperatures are +40C or something.. Some of them water even seedlings only randomly when soil is dry for good, not just from soil.
Before I have failed all seedling projects, with heat pads and miniature greenhouses, success and rotting is not a problem and I keep watering away and I dare to water without fear of rot. Cause my climate is very cold. These are ~3months, I water them 7-10day period.
Edited by intelligentlife (09/25/13 03:22 PM)
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Maito
Stranger



Registered: 03/31/12
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I uprooted a few tricho seedlings last year and set them on my desk to see how long they can go. They're still alive, getting lighter green and a little more stretched out by the day.
I soak the soil once when I plant seeds then stick to the mister bottle from there on out, soaking the soil every few weeks and giving a few sprits in the morning and evening. You'd be surprised how little water a cactus seedling can survive on provided the humidity stays up.
Edit: Did you slowly introduce to seedlings to the drop in humidity?
-------------------- You can't spell 'healthcare' without 'thc'
Edited by Maito (09/25/13 05:40 PM)
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intelligentlife
Noaidi



Registered: 10/18/10
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Re: watering cacti seedlings [Re: Maito]
#18892006 - 09/25/13 11:53 PM (10 years, 4 months ago) |
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Yes seedlings can handle lots of dry time..
Everything depends on temperature cause the rule for seedlings "moist the surface when soil is dry" doesn't matter if temperatures ain't high enough.. I have rotted this way almost like 10 patches of seedlings cause of these kind of information around internet.
I have realized that some of seedling cultivation rules works only when temperatures allow the excess water dry out faster than at tempteratures <+25C
Before I used heat pads to heat cactus seedligns, the do fine even there were lots of sudden deaths but the amount about good amount of water between amount of excess water is very thin line and more harder the watering goes when temperatures drop and it cause rotting.
I have not any major problems now with seedlings when day temps are +35-40C and night temps are somewhere maybe at range +17-19C cause of heating pads used. Sudden deaths has not more problem at the start, more seeds will germinate and also watering them doesn't mean always whole patch can rot. Before I tried grow seedlings without bottom heat and room temperature was somewhere +20-23C it's not a ideal situation and every spraying of water I fear to kill seedlings and that's how it actually ends and only best water tolerance seedlings survive but I have lots them too also.
Depends ofc of the climate but I have understand many hot or relatively warm climate growers will use botom heating to cactus seedlings to success better and guarantee better growth. I suggest to all cold climate cactus using bottom heating even to adult plants what are from very hot deserts originally.
I am using now bottom heat to adult plants, used for some months. I realize arioarpus takes their natural appearance, peyote likes it too.. Overall they are from hot deserts and I imitate hot conditions to them but from bottom. It's not necessary but many rot prone cactus(adult one) does very well now when using bottom heat to them in cold climate. Before my problems was rotting with cactus without heat pads. I still not use heat pads to cactus species like trichocereus, opuntia, mammillaria, and few other species. Istead of lophophora, ariocarpus, ortegocactus and turbinocarpus can enjoy my bottom heat table even they are older and no seedligs anymore.
Now seedlign growing has come to point to success when I am using bottom heat but trough many mistakes I have learned the heat is key factor to say how much watering you can spray/pour to young seedlings. Also using a heat pad during the day to imitate desert for even adult lophs and ariocarus has give benefit to me even I have grown lohps without them but now I am testing it and after winter I continue this. Also because I can imitate the desert environment is good for that kind of plants, I can use more different soil what hold more water and lophs has not rot. Before I have to use only rocks to loph cause fear of rot in room temperature At winter I plug off adult plant heating pads to let them be at shady light and cause sun goes away, they cannot get even sun.
About the seedlings, they seriously are tough.. Best advice is to say "remember it's cactus!" they are used to dry environment even they need to germinate in humid and moist.. Mostly in nature, they germinate after big rainstorm and can be without water and stop germination process also and start germination after water is again there.. Also they can be in a place where humidity says and sun is doesn't dry up the place but give heat there. In nature seedlings can be very small over year easily cause lack of water, even they can took more water but mother nature doesn't give it so they are survivors.. Most people(like me in the past) has killed seedlings with combination of low temperature and moisten too often cause I read information about moist the soil from top after soil surface is dry.. This piece of advice with seedlings seems to work only when temperatures at day time rise as far up as +45C or maybe +50C..
If there is cool air around the cactus and no heat to soil, regular room temperature and moisten the surface of soil when it's drying cause it can stay long time moist beneath the soil level.
anyway, water how you like it, but don't even think they "need" water.. They don't need it.. You can keep them dry long time easily and water them when they show signs of dehydration to make sure they are not already at good condition and avoid giving too much water and watering cause obviously rotting, maybe one or two rot or all of plants rotting after one watering time. Less heat = Less water cause excess water doesn't evaporate cause of heat. More heat = More water cause excess water evaporate fast and cactus roots can dry before new watering.
And obviously, more heat guarantee fast growth if you water much, but you can go hard grown with lots of heat but watering is not so often used, this way comes nice peyote plants by their appearance over the years.
I have still seen success without heat pads and miniature greenhouses, however, from 30-40seeds only two of them are alive at the moment. So sudden deaths especially linked to watering can occur at when growing seedlings at low temperatures like regular room temperature from +19-25C.. But I consider +25C as a "line" what I would not come below at day time with seedlings and possible with adult cacti cause mostly all of them can take serious heat during the day and it's more than just a room temperature. Temperatures has a quite big role and more role with temperatures there are when growing from seed.
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