Temple City, Calif. Page Twenty-Nine 
HOW TO GROW CACTUS FROM SEEDS 
TIME TO PLANT—For house or greenhouse culture without artificial heat, late spring and summer are best, but 
they may be planted at any time of the year if a minimum temperature of 65° F. can be maintained. Best results 
seem to be obtained with a temperature of 70 to 90° F., but higher temperatures in the glasshouse during the 
day do not harm them if they are kept moist. The seed pans should never be allowed to become dry, but do 
not keep them standing in water all the time. 
SOIL FOR SEED—Sift equal parts of well rotted leaf-mold and sand through a one-fourth inch mesh screen. 
(IMPORTANT—Do not use a finer screen thinking to make a softer bed for the dainty seedlings, as the soil must 
be kept ventilated by the coarse particles.) Place some coarse gravel, mortar or broken brick about an inch deep 
at the bottom to insure drainage. Also have some holes in the bottom of the container. Shallow pots, nursery 
flats or cans may be used. The one pound coffee can is ideal for two or three hundred seeds. 
SOW THE SEED thickly on top and cover with coarse sand or small gravel, about Vg to 14 inch deep. Crushed 
grit such as the poultry feed houses supply is ideal as the dust and finer particles are removed and the seeds must 
have air. Do not cover with soil as the seeds will remain dormant or smother and decay. For very small seed 
such as Mamillarias the gravel covering may be put on first and the seed allowed to settle between the crevices. 
This is the way they are grown in nature. 
WATERING—After seeds are sowed place container in a pan of water until moisture appears on top. Then 
remove and water thereafter by sprinkling lightly from the top. The covering used must be coarse enough to be 
undisturbed by light sprinkling. The seed must be kept moistened until germination takes place which is about 
four days to two weeks. Some slower kinds will germinate after several weeks. It may be well to sterilize the 
soil before planting with boiling water to kill insects and fungi. If mold or ‘‘damping-off” fungus appears spray 
with a good fungicide. Do not keep in direct sunlight, but give moderate light after seedlings appear. 
TRANSPLANTING may begin when first spines appear, but if the seedlings are not crowded they may be left 
until about pea-size or one-half inch high. Use same soil as above with the addition of good garden soil. Equal 
parts of leaf-mold, sand and loam is a good mixture. Add a little charcoal and place some of the gravel used for 
covering seed on top around the seedlings after they have been transplanted. 
CACTI AND SUCCULENT SEED 
The following seed can be supplied at 10c 
per packet except where otherwise noted. 
ACANTHOCALYCIUM CORY PHANTHA—continued ECHINOPSIS—continued 
violaceum gladiispina hamatacantha 
ANCISTROCACTUS nickelsae hybrids 
megarhizus pallida leucantha 
scheerii palmeri violacea 
ARIOCARPUS pseudoechinus EPIPHYLLUM HYBRIDS 
retusus rhapidacantha Ackermannii 
trigonus schwarziana Argus 
ASTROPHYTUM scolymoides Autumn 
asterias valida Bella 
capricorne aurea DOLICHOTHELE Cantabile 
capricorne major sphaerica Dante 
capricorne minor ECHINOCACTUS Flamingo 
capricorne senilis grandis Hermosus | 
myriostigma coahuilense grusonii Jenkensonii 
myriostigma columnaris ECHINOCEREUS Loehengrin , 
myriostigma potosina armatus Mixed large flowering hybrids 
myriostigma tamaulipensis conglomeratus Rosetta 
myriostigma tetragona erenbergit Scarlet Giant 
mixed fendleri Sunburst 
ornatum mirbellii fitchii Tulip 
CEPHALOCEREUS leonensis Vive Rouge 
senilis maritimus Viviana 
CEREUS melanocentra Wanda 
mixed and hybrids pectinatus castanea be 
Bete y ronnie Heiliveiiee Seed of BEET ETE ONCE do not 
peruvianus monstrosus pentalophus reproduce true to the seed parent, 
variabilis perbella but many new and interesting varte- 
CORY PHANTHA rectispinus robustus LMS BUELL seh The name given 
andreae ECHINOMASTUS here is of the plant which bore the 
asterias durangensis fruit, the pollen parent being Se- 
bergeriana mac dowellii lected by the bees. 
cornifera ECHINOPSIS EPITHELANTHA 
difficilis ancistrophora micromeris 
echinoides campylacantha ERIOCEREUS 
echinus eyresii bonplandi 
