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Growing From Seed

Growing trichocereus from seed is rewarding and fun. As all species of san pedro are self-sterile, the only way for a flower to fruit and produce seeds, is to cross-polinate with another genetically diverse plant. This means two flowers from the same plant or even same clone cutting will not make seed.

There are many different "teks" or guides to growing trichocereus from seed, one of the most popular being the "takeaway tek", but they all follow the same basic principles:

  • Sow seeds on top of moist soil
  • Maintain seeds in high humidity and warmth until germination
  • Slowly introduce to normal/lower humidity

Here we will walk you through the basic overview while linking to some of the different teks if you want to choose to follow one more specific.

What You Will Need

First you will need to gather some basic things to get started.

Seeds

Obviously, you will need some trichocereus seeds.

When shopping for seeds, you may notice a format to the names. As we know, trichocereus must cross pollinate with another distinct plant, so the seed names will be labeled as "Plant 1 x Plant 2" where Plant 1 is the name of the mother plant (the flower) and Plant 2 is the name of the father plant (the pollen provider). Sometimes seeds will be labeled with only one name or with the suffix "OP" after it, which means the mother plant/flower was "open pollinated" by another unknown trichocereus plant nearby, and thus the father is unknown.

Here are some seed sources to get you started:

  • Misplant - A legendary trichocereus breeder with great genetics. Only accepts mail-order forms and cash/check. Make sure to follow all instructions as listed on site.
  • Reddit - A subreddit that sources many clones and seeds as well. Be sure to check flair for trusted vendors.
  • Pacific Cactus - Another online seed vendor

Soil

You will need to prepare a well draining soil mixture for you seeds. For simplicity, any potting soil mixed 50/50 (1 part to 1 part) with some type of inorganic drainage will do.

Many recommend FoxFarm soils:

But any bagged potting mix or cactus/succulent soil will work.

Then get yourself either a bag of Pumice or Perlite. These are the two most common drainage additives and while some perfer one over the other, either will work. Often one is more available than the other in your area, so you may have to shop around unless you ship it which can be expensive.

To prepare your mix, simply mix one part of your soil to one part pumice/perlite to make a 50/50 blend. You can also sift the soil and pumice to remove larger chunks of wood or pumice/perlite for a finer soil which may help/ 

* Note: some growers will tell you to sterlize your soil medium to kill any nasty microbes
that may be in the soil. Many will say to microwave your mix, but it is important to note  
that microwaving is not true sterilization. Adding beneficial microbes is another route,  
more info on this will be below.

Beneficial Microbes

Instead of sterilizing or cooking soil, I prefer adding benefical microbes to the soil/water used for germinating. Some I recommend include:

It is not neccesary to add these, but it does help promote healthy living soil.

Other teks or growers will use a multitude of other additives, but these are the basics for soil.

Container

You need some sort of pot or container to plant your seeds in. Per the "takeaway tek" you can use takeout containers with a clear lid but anything that can be sealed while allowing light to pass will work. Here are some examples of containers you could use:

You can also just use small pots and seal them within ziploc baggies, seed starting kits with the humidity domes, etc. The principle is all the same here, you just want to create and keep a humid enviroment while your seeds germinate.

Water

You will need water to moisten water to moisten soil. This is easy any water will work, many prefer RO (Reverse Osmosis) but tap water will be fine.

Heat Mat

Providing your seeds some warmth during the day will help germination. To aid in this a heat-mat can be beneifical. Simply place your seeds on top of the mat to maintain around 80F during the day.

Light

You will to provide some form of light for you seeds to germinate, ideally for 12 hours. This can be done with natural light (a window sill or shady spot) or via artificial bulbs or grow lights. It doesn't really matter the light you provide as long as it isn't too bright.

Something useful in all aspects of growing is PAR or Photosynthic Active Radiation. More info on this is provided in the "Light" section but a useful app for measuring light is "Photone" on iPhone. Use this (using the free sunlight setting is fine) can give you a rough estimate of how much light your plants get. For the germinating phase aiming between 100-200 PAR is usually good.

Timer

A simple timer to turn lights and heatmat is helpful if you decide to use these to aid germination

Putting it all together

With all your supplies ready you can finally grow your seeds!

First, wet and add your soil mixture to your container. You want your soil to be wet, but not dripping. A good rule to follow is hydrating your soil to field capacity. This means your soil is fully saturated and to test this slowly add water to your soil, take a handful and squeeze as hard as you can. When just a small amount or drop comes out it is at field capacity. If no water comes out, add more and if it drips out or streams, add more soil.

Next, you set your seeds on top of the soil DO NOT BURY. Sprinkle a small amount or place them evenly across the top of your soil.

Close the lid or bag and place under your lights/on your heatmat under the settings listed above. Set your timer and wait!

Within a few days your seeds should start germinating, but it can take up to 2-3 weeks.

Keep the lids on and the humid high for the first few weeks. After the seeds get some growth and their first set of spines, some people will begin to acclimate their seeds. This means either poking holes in the bag or cracking the lid for a little bit of time.

Do this slowly over a few weeks, adding more holes, or living the lid off longer.

Once acclimated to air, keep an eye on your soil and don't let it get too dry at first. Water the soil when it starts to dry and congratulations!

Freshly germinated seeds
Seeds after a few weeks/months

Here are some additional sources & videos on seed starting:


*Sources: Herbalistics