Hey Squirrley: We don't field grow anything "officially" but dig and divide from the garden. I start as soon as anything pops up because you want to be able to provide water at this critical time. For example, I've stopped dividing now because we will shortly be going into a complete water ban here. Cramps the style! At church we use Fafard for potting. Shrubs, daylilies and larger perennials get a mix of Farard and "pine bark fines". Sunshine mix is another great potting medium that pro growers often use. If you can get a business # then you can buy in bulk at wholesale and it is feasable. If not, these are expensive growing mediums. The pine bark fines help drainage, and they also help to keep the pots from getting too dry. The main reason growers don't use peat based mixes is that they dry out and are hard to re-wet. So there has to be a very concentrated effort on keeping everything moist all the time. The hardest thing to do when home growing is to try and have plants ready for the public. Professional growers may field grow but then pot up early into greenhouses and force bloom for buyers. You need to build up a customer base locally that will understand you are not seeing blooming plants. It can be done. GGG

The SA Xanthorreas I have grown from seed germinated rapidly without any treatment. I think fresh seed and germination in part shade is important. I have had one (X quadrangulata) flower in about 8 years from seed which is no longer than many Banksias, so don't be too pessimistic about the time frame, particularly since by doing so you are avoiding buying a plant which has been ripped out of the bush and has a good chance of dying. Check the archives on this one - there are a number of threads on this topic. Dan

Mtrdredux- My mum gives me seeds every now and then. She's the one who started it all lol I started a few mums from seed this spring, they did well in spite of my abuse and even put out a few blooms. Had I planted them out of their four inch pot prior to September I'm sure they would have clumped up and put on a great show, but I'm sure they will for next year now that they're in the ground. Maybe three years ago I had mum seedlings coming up that had self sown off potted mums siting on the front steps. The parents died but the seedlings bloomed beautifully the next year! I might even have a few seeds leftover in the packet I sowed this spring. They're not all that small.

1. Sterilize substrate (3+ minutes in microwave or 50 mins in oven) 2. Planters should be about 1.5 inches deep. Fill a container with good draining soil. Good drainage is important, 50% regular potting soil with 50% coarse sand, perlite or pebbles (~0.15 inch) 3. Echeverias have tiny seeds which should not be covered with soil. They germinate best at 18-20 °C temperatures. 4. Equally Water the substrate with water - placie a piece of a napkin on top of the substrate and slowly pour the water over it. 5. Let the container soak up water for 5 minutes. Leave the container to drain out the water surplus. 6. Spread the seeds over the substrate, leave some space between them. 7. Put the whole container into a zip bag to keep humidity 8. Avoid exposing to direct sunlight, but provide them light on some bright place. 9. The germination process usually starts within 4 days – 2 weeks 10. Start opening the container gradually so that the seedlings can get used to the new air conditions. Seedlings need some moisture, substrate shouldn’t be dry, but don’t overwater. and they need an ample amount of light – but not direct sunlight 11. Repot them when you notice that seedlings are space-limited 12. Examine pots daily for fungus infection. Treat with fungicide if appears 13. Buy only fresh echeveria seeds, and only from reputable sources, like www.rareplant.me