Peyote Soil Mix
3 parts sand- all purpose, coarse
3 parts perlite
5 part pro-mix or peat moss.
No dirt of any kind, worm casings, bat guano, or any of that stuff.
These plants require a meagre existence. Peyote appears to thrive under neglect. It will not tolerate being wet or cold. 10°C and wet means death to a peyote, 20°C to 40°C is best. You must let them dry out completely between watering, even if it takes 6 months.
Peyote may take 20-30 years to mature, under natural conditions, but with your care, patience and protection, you may help them to maturity in half that time.
Starting Cactus from Seeds
Pro-mix
No dirt of any kind, worm casings, bat guano, or any of that stuff.
To start you need a tray with a clear plastic cover with a depth of no more that 2 inches (mini greenhouse). You will also need a damping off agent like No Damp.
Fill the tray with soil mix and water it with the No Damp solution. The soil mix should be completely wet. Cover the tray with the plastic lid and after 30 minutes drain off any excess water. Cover the tray and let it stand for 24 hours. Now take your cactus seed and refrigerate it for the same 24 hours (the cold snap will aid in germination).
After 24 hours you may plant the seeds. Simply place the cactus seed on top of the soil. DO NOT BURY THE SEED. Then put the cover on the tray and place it under a florescent light, about 12-15 inches away. If you are using natural light be very careful not to over heat or burn your plants with sunlight. I recommend you use a shade cloth on the tray that will block out 40 -50 % of the light, something like a cheese cloth, chiffon or organza. Temperatures should remain between 20-30ºC.
Cactus seed germination times will vary between varieties. Peyote will be between 5-10 days. Depending upon conditions it could take up to 25 days. San Pedro cactus takes between 10-20 days to germinate. Other varieties may take up to 100 days. So be patient and do not assume that you have failed if your cactus doesn’t germinate quickly.
After your seeds have germinated and your plants are about 3 weeks old, you should be able to see little white dots on your tiny green plants. These will be the beginning of hairs on the peyote or needles on your cactus. Once they have started to develop you may start to remove the cover slowly; only a few minutes at a time in the beginning and then more as they begin to harden off. You can also punch little wholes in your cover and as time goes on you can put more wholes in. Do not be in a hurry to get the cover off. Oddly enough these little desert plants require such a high humidity early in their life. It makes you wonder how they ever grew in the wild (in a high humidity environment moulds and damping off is always a concern).
3 parts sand- all purpose, coarse
3 parts perlite
5 part pro-mix or peat moss.
No dirt of any kind, worm casings, bat guano, or any of that stuff.
These plants require a meagre existence. Peyote appears to thrive under neglect. It will not tolerate being wet or cold. 10°C and wet means death to a peyote, 20°C to 40°C is best. You must let them dry out completely between watering, even if it takes 6 months.
Peyote may take 20-30 years to mature, under natural conditions, but with your care, patience and protection, you may help them to maturity in half that time.
Starting Cactus from Seeds
Pro-mix
No dirt of any kind, worm casings, bat guano, or any of that stuff.
To start you need a tray with a clear plastic cover with a depth of no more that 2 inches (mini greenhouse). You will also need a damping off agent like No Damp.
Fill the tray with soil mix and water it with the No Damp solution. The soil mix should be completely wet. Cover the tray with the plastic lid and after 30 minutes drain off any excess water. Cover the tray and let it stand for 24 hours. Now take your cactus seed and refrigerate it for the same 24 hours (the cold snap will aid in germination).
After 24 hours you may plant the seeds. Simply place the cactus seed on top of the soil. DO NOT BURY THE SEED. Then put the cover on the tray and place it under a florescent light, about 12-15 inches away. If you are using natural light be very careful not to over heat or burn your plants with sunlight. I recommend you use a shade cloth on the tray that will block out 40 -50 % of the light, something like a cheese cloth, chiffon or organza. Temperatures should remain between 20-30ºC.
Cactus seed germination times will vary between varieties. Peyote will be between 5-10 days. Depending upon conditions it could take up to 25 days. San Pedro cactus takes between 10-20 days to germinate. Other varieties may take up to 100 days. So be patient and do not assume that you have failed if your cactus doesn’t germinate quickly.
After your seeds have germinated and your plants are about 3 weeks old, you should be able to see little white dots on your tiny green plants. These will be the beginning of hairs on the peyote or needles on your cactus. Once they have started to develop you may start to remove the cover slowly; only a few minutes at a time in the beginning and then more as they begin to harden off. You can also punch little wholes in your cover and as time goes on you can put more wholes in. Do not be in a hurry to get the cover off. Oddly enough these little desert plants require such a high humidity early in their life. It makes you wonder how they ever grew in the wild (in a high humidity environment moulds and damping off is always a concern).