How to Grow Succulents from seeds | Tips and Guide |

How to grow succulents from seeds | Tips and  Guide |

 If you are reading this article, you are probably already in love with this beautiful group of plants - succulents. Not surprising, because they perfectly decorate any room, and are famous for a spread of colours and shapes. Many had Aloe growing up in their home since childhood, and now we have the opportunity to replenish our home collections with more rare and interesting specimens. 

                                         

Growing from plants

Sowing by seeds is the most common type of plant cultivation for many years. Fans of succulents, for sure, want to buy something new in their collection, something special, rare, unusual, at an affordable price.

For this, sowing of seeds is often used, which can now be easily purchased in online stores . Having learned the essential principles of sowing and care, it's quite possible to grow many healthy, strong plants on your own reception .

It will be very interesting for you to watch the germination and development of the seeds of these wonderful plants. You will be ready to select for yourself the foremost interesting specimens of seedlings, thereby replenishing the collection. 

Selecting a container for sowing

You will need shallow (about 50mm high) plastic containers with holes at the bottom and transparent lids. You can make one greenhouse out of a large box with a lid, or cover it with plastic wrap by placing several small boxes of substrate and seeds there. The stores sell suitable greenhouses, but you can use an ordinary plastic container, the main thing is not to forget about the holes in the bottom of the container.

The soil 

• Conventional mixtures containing a coarse mineral base are suitable, such as sand, agroperlite, fine gravel, you can also add a little crushed or granular coal.
• You can purchase a universal peat filler - slightly acidic humus and add sand, crushed coal, and perlite to it in equal proportions.
• For the preparation of the sown land, it is better to use quality ingredients purchased from specialized stores. If you want to take sand, gravel or coal from a garden or forest, you need to thoroughly treat everything with a disinfectant solution, steam it or fry it. 

If the seeds are large, they can be sown into granite chips or gravel and sand. Sowing seeds in purely mineral substrates reduces the likelihood of seedlings dying from decay in the first couple of months of their life. But in this case, you need to water the seedlings almost every day, applying special fertilizers.

Succulents such as Aloe, Haworthia and Gasteria are great for sowing on pure perlite. Perlite has a high moisture capacity and breathability. But don't forget that there are no nutrients in such a substrate. Before sowing, perlite should be well moistened with water.

Sowing seeds

For even distribution of seeds, it is recommended to take a thick sheet of paper, bend it in half, and pour the seeds into it, then tap it with a thin stick or needle and scatter it into the substrate. Change is sown on top of the substrate, covered from above with a mixture of earth or a small layer of coarse sand, about 2 mm. The sprinkled layer should not be thicker than the size of the seed itself, therefore, if the seeds are very small, for example, like a ficus, then it is better not to sprinkle them at all. 

"Do not forget to form plastic tags indicating the sort of your plants, because of which you'll always determine the name of your friend, and clarify recommendations for his care"

From above we water with a small amount of filtered water at room temperature (you need to water it with a spray bottle), by spraying, so as not to erode the soil with seeds, and prevent seeds from penetrating into the depths of the earth. Next, cover with a lid or foil. You need to cover the greenhouse before the seeds germinate and after, as long as the plants get a little stronger and reach a size of 1-2 cm.Then we gradually stop covering.

Seed germination varies over time for different species. So the seeds of the families Agavaceae and Liliaceae germinate faster, while Apocynaceae and Asclepiadacea have a long germination time, sometimes up to three months.

All this time, the seeds should be in moist soil, and only after 60-90 days they will begin to hatch. Therefore, you should not stop watering, thinking that the seeds were bad. Higher germination is observed in freshly harvested seeds.

Sowing care

To obtain maximum germination, factors such as temperature, lighting, no and watering:

• The optimum temperature for seeds in the daytime is +20 - 26 degrees, the greenhouse should not be in the open sun. In summer, the temperature will be up to + 30 degrees during the day, and + 18-20 degrees at night. At night, the seeds need to rest from daytime temperatures. Drafts should also be avoided.

The seeds of Havortia and Dioscorea need a temperature of + 18-20 degrees for germination. It is better to sow them in winter or early spring, so that the seeds germinate in optimal conditions, and in summer they can gain strength and grow stronger.

"If you want to plant seeds all year round, you will need to install a greenhouse and special lighting."

• Good lighting is required, but direct sunlight should be avoided, which can harm delicate, immature plants. If during the summer young shoots do not have time to get stronger, and to reach the size suitable for a comfortable life in winter (2-5 cm), it is recommended to use phytolamps to extend the growing season.       

• Watering the substrate should be regular, the soil should not be allowed to dry out completely, but the water should not stagnate either. It is best to water a little as the top layer dries and sometimes leave it on for a couple of days to dry the bottom soil. Particular attention to watering is required in the first year of life. The first couple of months, the soil should not be allowed to dry out for a day or more. Then you can gradually teach the young plant to dry out the soil. In summer we water more often, in winter a little less often.

As you grow, you can plant seedlings in pots. A plant with a height of 2-5 cm, which has several strengthened leaves, is ready for transplanting (Read about how to transplant a succulent in this article). The amount of water for watering one independent plant is about 3-4 ml. It is convenient to use a syringe for these purposes.

 

Fertilization and disease prevention

For medicinal purposes, and in order to prevent seedling diseases, fungicides can be used (Vitaros, Maxim). It is necessary to breed them following the instructions. Insecticides are also used, but only liquid, low concentration. If you use nutritious soils, then additional fertilization is not needed in the first six months. If the soil is completely organic, special fertilizers for cacti and succulents are suitable, clearly according to the instructions.