Growing succulents from seeds
The 3,5 year old Astrophytum “seedlings” have grown really big and are already in need of another repotting. They’re starting to touch and I don’t want them to rub up against each other. If they do, they might lose some of their fluffyness and it won’t grow back if that happens.
I’ve had these Astrophytums (first pic is A. myriostigma and the second is A. coahuilense) for almost 4 years now and they’re the slowest growing cacti I own. These ones are special to me because they started my fascination with spineless cacti.
The bright part of the plant shows exactly how much they have grown in the 4 years I’ve had them. Normally, the new growth just blends in, but I kind of had an accident with mine. Just after I bought them, I mistakenly placed them under an aphid-infested tree and they were covered in sticky aphid poo. The poo then acted like agar, which is the perfect nutritious meal for black sooty mold. I now had two sticky, mold infested cacti. Because Astrophytums are hairy, I couldn’t remove all of the soot mold and my plants have looked dirty ever since then. The new growth on the top of the plants is perfectly clean, and it now acts as a way for me to check on them and if they’re growing like they should. And it looks kind of cool, too.
The Astrophytum trio is looking so good and puffy! They tend to flatten when they need water, so it’s easy to manage.
I discovered how well these can take direct sunlight too, compared to pretty much every other cactus I own. The little fluff balls on the surface of the plants act as protection against the harmful sun rays.
My Astrophytum ornatum now has three flowers and is three times more charming than yesterday! They smell just like your average flowery hand soap.
My trusty old Astrophytum ornatum is flowering for the first time this year! What a great way to start the weekend 🌼
I just watered these three Astrophytum seedlings for the first time this year and they have plumped up a lot. They look perfect and healthy! It still gets a little bit chilly on the balcony, so I’m being careful about watering when I know the sun isn’t going to shine for a while.
My little Astrophytums have put on a bit of weight after I started watering again. These are such slow growers. Hopefully they’ll let themselves loose this spring and summer.
So uh. My partially failed Astrophytum asterias adventure hasn’t stopped yet. It’s now growing again, sprouting a new head from the otherwise stalled body.
It’s almost 3 years old and 0,5 cm wide.
The Astrophytum seedlings are nearly 2 years old, but have yet to develop their characteristic curly spines. I hope they show up soon. The seedlings themselves look pretty healthy, though.
The Astrophytum seedlings are doing great right now. They haven’t seen water since October, but the shrinkage is minimal. They’ll be just fine for another 3 months without water.
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