cactus care

I emptied the seeds from some wilted flower pods on my cactus. I stuck them in this black plastic thing (see pic). Anyway 3 have managed to grow and I'm just looking for guidance on how to care for them over winter. They're currently in a conservatory that is heated but it also gets really cold in winter when the heating is off. Will it be OK where it is? And how frequently should I water? During summer I lightly misted the soil every couple of days.

 

Hi Laura,

I'm move this into the Cacti forum for a better response

Well done for getting the seeds to grow Might try again with mine this year.

I've got similar problems with mine overwinter, with no heating, but it survived the previous winter.

Water very sparingly over winter.

 

First thoughts are, the compost is wrong, difficult to change now though.

Seedlings would need to be kept frost free, fairly dry but not too dry.

They are very tiny to be going into winter, spring sowing is best as it allows them to grow a bit before winter comes.

 

Aw that's disappointing. I did try getting cacti compost but the garden centre didn't have any stock and the man there gave me the one I'm using. He said it would be sufficient. Actually he also said I shouldn't bother growing from the flower.

I'll try my best to keep it frost free. If it doesn't work I'll know for next time.x

 

Growing from your own seed is fine, but if its a bit late in the season before the seed is ripe it's best to keep the seed over winter until the following spring.
Think I'd try adding some fine sharp sand to the surface of the compost.
But do it very carefully and mist afterwards if the sand is dry, which it needs to be, to fill in the gaps in the compost.
Be careful to allow ventilation, otherwise you could get mould problems.

 

Try to lift one seedling very carefully and transplant it into a more appropriate compost. If that is successful do the others.

 

OMG lol I feel under pressure now I've got 3 so I'll replant one and add sand to two. I'm bringing them to work during winter as the temp is maintained throughout the winter season. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck. Thanks for all the input