Cactus Seed Growing System Kit Instructions

Step One: Remove plastic wrap from seed starting supplies; 10oz cup, peat pot, seed package and plastic baggie containing growing medium.

Step Two: Pour growing medium into peat pot at bottom of 10oz cup, and set plastic baggie aside.

Step Three: Pour 1/8 cup of distilled or filtered water into 10oz cup, soaking the growing medium and peat pot. Water may take several minutes to soak in.

Step Four: Open seed package and sprinkle seeds on top of wet growing medium.

Step Five: Keep seeds wet inside of plastic baggie, and then remove baggie after seeds begin to germinate.

Ambient daytime temperature for seeds to germinate will need to be over 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Germination times will vary between 1 to 4 weeks, and some cactus seeds may germinate as late as 2 years after having been planted.

After seeds begin to germinate remove plastic baggie keeping seedlings uncovered. Water seedlings alternating between wet and dry growing medium until seedlings are large enough to transplant into their own small flower pots.

Escobaria vivipara

Adult Plant Growing Information

Five-Spine Rating - 3^?

Yes - small container size plant. This variety will occupy a small flower pot comfortably and remain a manageable sized house plant.

This variety will do their best as houseplants with lots of sun and they become stressed with inadequate light which could result in poor health or even death.

Yes - does well with cool winter time temperatures. This variety will tolerate temperatures down below 50 °F. if the roots are kept dry, and will do very well in a home with energy saving thermostat setting.

Yes - easy care root system. This variety stores water in the parts of the plant which are above the soil leaving the root system small enough to fit into a proportionally sized flower pot.

This variety is unlikely to flower as a house plant and they should be chosen with flowering as a low priority.

good locations

Potential living space locations include; East, West or South windows and three to four season rooms are good, but it will grow better outdoors. Please provide winter conditions below freezing for this plant, otherwise it will never bloom. This is a very cold climate cactus and will survive winters down to -10 °F. This variety is going to grow better and bloom if it is planted in an outdoor rock garden between zones 7 to 4, and really should be kept outdoors.

These cacti range from low to high altitudes in a vast habitat from Southwestern Canada to Northern Mexico, and west of the Mississippi River. Throughout their habitat these cacti have a generally similar appearance, but are divided into several subspecies. Some populations will only grow as singular stemmed plants while others will make offsets by the hundreds. Their flower colors are very florescent in intensity ranging from pink to magenta and violet tones. Their spines help them blend into the appearance of dry grasses and rocky ground making these cacti most easily seen when they show the intense colors of their inflorescence. They survive best in very dry conditions and often tend to rot with exposed to soggy soil conditions.

This is a species with a vast native habitat and the cold hardiness of plants varies because of varying habitat conditions A few populations may survive climates with heavy rainfall, and nearly all tolerate very cold winters. These plants are survivors in extreme environments, but any individual plant's abilities will vary depending on plant habitat because they are widespread. They are able to grow in rocky soils where day and night time temperatures widely vary, and are a very impressive example of a cacti which survives extreme conditions.

size

The stems of these cacti usually grow a few inches across and no more than a few inches high, but some versions of this species will produce taller stems. Some varieties remain single stem plants, and others can grow into mulit-headed clusters of more than 100 stems.

ancestry

Western North America, often in semiarid regions with grasslands.

seed propagation origin

Plants and seeds are grown and propagated by windowsillcactus.com.

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