Is something wrong with my cactus setup? Pics included

13 years ago

Hi all

I have had some cactus planted for about 11 months now. I bought one of those little assorted seed packs from a garden store last year and planted them. About a month later I ordered some San Pedro seeds from eBay and plated those as well.

The first assorted pack I planted, I planted in bagged cactus soil and they all died on me. I think it was damping off disease? They became almost translucent and then sort of shriveled and imploded on themselves. So I tried again with two different cactus soil recipes I found online: one with builders sand, cactus soil and rocks and another with small busted pebbles and cactus soil. They have been alive for this long but now I think some are having problems again and im not sure why.

I have never been sure about the proper lighting. All off the seedlings started off as a nice green color then some started turning red while others seem to be a pale green color. I only have east facing and west facing windows so they would have been exposed to bright sunlight had I kept them in the windowsill so I bought one of those shop lights to put them under. I think the unit has two normal T12 bulbs if I am not mistaken - no special grow light.

I started off with the bulbs about 18 inches above the seedlings but they started turning dark and some red so I covered them with a tube framework with something like cheese cloth to cut down the light. They stopped turning red for the most part but never went back to a healthy green color. At times I would take the cover off for a while because I wasnt sure if they were getting enough light or not. For a few weeks now I have been leaving the cover off for a good part of the day.

Recently I sat some Salvia and Petunia seeds on the table and lowered the light so they would germinate. I still have kept the cover on the cacti for part of the day and taking it off for part of the day.

Well I looked this morning and my largest cactus from the assortment pack is looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and is getting mushy as well as a the bright red one next to it. Their colors have not changed with the new light I don't believe but they are dying for sure.

So for the long back story but I just wanted you all to be aware of what I have done so far in hopes that someone could advise me if I am going about things the wrong way. Its just that a select few seem to have a nice color, some are red and some are such a dark green that they are looking almost black. I usually water them about every 10 - 15 days when the pots have thoroughly dried out. At first when they were really young I watered once a week I would say.

Is fluorescent light too bright on cactus seedlings at 18" and should I have introduced a cover at all? Would it kill any new seedlings if I tried again and just used my west facing window? Finally, do these seedlings all look unhealthy? They are all about to be around a year old.

Thanks so much for the help. BTW if I have left anything out just ask and I will fill in the details.

I will include some photos of where they are sitting as well as pics of my seedlings. The photo with the circle marked is the seedling that was my largest and is now about to die. :(

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Comments (4)

wazungy
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I took a look at the images you provided.
I do not see anything wrong with your seedlings. If they are going mushy the photos do not show it.

When I plant my seeds I try to use sterilized soil/sand. I bake it for over an hour at 225 F.

I also like to keep the seeds/soil in a container with an airtight lid (transparent 6" wide by 3" deep take-out containers are good).
I like to keep my soil just slightly humid. It should not be wet to the touch. Every few days I check to make sure the soil has not dried out. If it has I spray a few spritzes of water to moisten the surface. The soil is in a sealed container so the moisture will eventually fill more or less evenly.
I keep my seedlings under a daylight fluorescent bulb. I think it is 20 watts or so. I use 4 bulbs and have the seedlings about 10-12" from the bulb.
I leave them in the sealed container for at least 6 months, sometimes a year. When they are large enough I take them out and plant them into SMALL pots. Something Like an old styrofoam egg container is good. Poke holes in the bottom of each well so it will not hold water. You can cut off the lid and use it as a base. It makes for a sturdier way to pick up the set of 12 wells.
Allow the soil to dry out between watering. At this stage you can move the plants to a bright window. Be careful to introduce the plants to strong sunlight (U.V.) gradually or the will burn (usually they go red when they burn).

That's how I do it.
ChatanoogaChooChoo
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I can't help you much because I'm only just going to start planting my first cactus seedlings, but I HAVE to say, they look so frickin cute and fuzzy I just wanna squeeze them.
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Greenthumb
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The seedlings look fine to me.
I have a bunch of haworthia and pachypodium seedlings I started in December and I have the lights right above the plants (maybe 4").

How often do you water? It is important to let your seedlings dry a bit between watering, but I wouldn't let the soil get bone dry. They are seedlings, after all.

Under bright light and low moisture, many succulents/cacti will change from green to various shades of red/yellow/orange and everything in between. I think if you give your seedlings just a bit more water and a little fertilizer, you'll see that they'll return to a nice green color.

Have you given the seedlings any dilute fertilizer (say at 1/4 the strength given on he package)?

Your soil looks quite dry so you may want to consider watering. Be careful, though, to not keep the soil too wet. Ambient temperature in the room, how long the lights are on, etc. will also have an influence on how your seedlings grow and how well they'll do.

Like wazungy, I have my seedlings growing enclosed, in Solo low-ball disposable plastic cups. I fill one with my seedling medium and then tape another on top to keep the humidity high and to prevent the soil from going too dry while the seedlings are young.

Good luck,
Mike
norma_2006
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nothing is wrong with the instructions either, the only difference is that I plant the seed 50 to a pot, they come up better crowded in 3.5" pots and sterilize the damp soil in the micro wave turned high for 5 minutes, let it cool down and plant.
Your instructions are great, thank you

Is something wrong with my cactus setup? Pics included

Comments (4)

wazungy

ChatanoogaChooChoo

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Greenthumb

norma_2006

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