Germinating Loph's

Yeah, I never had to open up the plastic and mist the seeds for them to germinate either. I don't think lack of water should be too big a problem, especially considering how much plastic you covered up the top of that pot with!

 

Haha, didn't realize it looked that silly. I put 1 long piece across the whole thing, but it wasn't snug, so I put 3 pieces going the other way, then 1 long piece on top of all that, and there are no leaks in it. I check the condensation everyday, the only problem is I'm not sure I can see if any seeds start growing through the plastic, haha.

 

http://img593.imageshack.us/i/dscn0320n.jpg/

http://img90.imageshack.us/i/dscn0321l.jpg/


Hopefully those links work, just opened the plastic up for a 4 week watering, sealed them back up for another 2 weeks probably, figured I'd snap a few pictures while I had it open.

 

cool!

 

Awesome! :2thumbsup:

 

2 weeks after first watering I decided to let the little guys breath, poked 3 holes with a toothpick, one left, center, right and gave them a little spritz of water yesterday.

 

Been a while since I posted, you'll be happy to know that currently all of the loph's that sprouted are still alive and seem to be pretty happy. One is close to the edge of the planter so it's doing the stretch-armstrong sort of thing. They're all growing little tufts of hair, and the plastic on top is littered with toothpick holes, although you wouldn't know it by the amount of moisture still kept under the plastic.


One question I have is there seems to be a fair amount of a moss like growth on the soil, I keep pulling it out, I was wondering if there should be any concern with it? Should I keep removing it? Any positive/negative effects?

 

this happened to mine as well. I'm no expert, but I wouldnt worry about it too much. The moss needs an extremely humid environment to survive and it will die off one you take off the plastic (I'm speaking from my experience).

I was worried about that at one point as well, but now the plastic is off mine, all 5 are doing great, and the moss died. And we all know that decomposing organic matter acts as nutrients for the earth so I guess you can just see it as vitamins.

:2thumbsup:

 

Good Points, so as long as it keeps a safe distance away from my loph's I'll leave it.

How long did you have the plastic over the top of yours? I've been told to not rush it, but I've had mine on since April and only poked toothpick holes in it, nothing noticeable.

 

One of my little loph's is stretching up a lot, probably because it's close to the side so it needs to grow higher to gain more light. It looks a little goofy and it is a bit unstable, but is there actually any risk of losing that plant, or negative side effects from that?

 

I left them on for like 6 weeks. They also get long like that when theyve had too much moisture (or not enough sun). If its been several weeks you might want to start thinking about GRADUALLY taking the plastic off...

 

Well as long as it's alive it's better than dead..

I got a good tip here a while ago that basically said to gradually build up the dirt level around the plant so that it would be a chance to fatten up a bit. That worked pretty well for my yoties that stretched, and they seem happier and more stable now.

 

Where do you get your seeds? Im planning on doing this as soon as I get seeds, but I dont know what to even look for, San Pedro? williamsii ? from what I gathered williamsii is Peyote, but what is San Pedro? I wish walmart sold a "grow it yourself 'peyote' package"

 

L.wiiliamsii is peyote
T.peruvianus is Peruvian Torch
T.Pachanoi is san pedro

 

Great word all around, I had stacked the dirt a bit just so it wouldn't topple over... again.

I've been attacking the plastic on top to let more and more air in, with it being september I don't want to take the plastic off much later than the end of the month or I'm afraid the shock might be too much.


I got my Loph seeds from a friend who has a bit of a nursery, have yet to try any 3rd party stores or anything, but I've got a few plants I'd like to grow next year so I'll need to figure something out too haha. I also would like to get some San Pedro, or perhaps Peruvian Torches going, and some Birds of Paradise for my mother.

 

Try this excellent seed starter system!

Park Seeds offers a durable sprouting system for $24.95, plus shipping & handling. Order Park's Original 60-cell Bio Dome Seed Starter (item #6529). Germination is guaranteed! This system uses sponges to wick moisture up to seeds. We keep seedlings in these planters for several years. (Note: Peyote seeds not included in seed starter system!)

http://www.peyoteway.org/cultivation.php#seedsources

or i was thinking that an ordinary cactus starter at lowes would work too!

clay pots absorb moisture readily as well as its pourousness causes more ventilation leading to evaporation, whereas a plastic pot retains more of the moisture and more of an airtight seal around the pot.

just because clay is more natural and closer to the earth doesnt seem to increase the plants power with that theory.

 

So the plastic will be completely off by today and I need to get the little guys ready to go dormant for the winter, so I have stopped watering them in hopes that the soil will dry out before it gets too cold. Does that sound about right? or am I making a huge mistake anywhere?

 

I'm not planning to put anything to sleep. i might water them once every two weeks instead of everyweek, but since youre inside a house i wouldnt put too much importance on that

 

alright, well my house gets down to low 60's F in the winter, so I didn't know if that was too cold for my yote's to keep striving and they'd better if they were dormant.

 

I think it gets way colder than that at night during the desert but this is just speculation. I guess I could google it but... y'know

hahaha