Succulent Seed Starting

Succulents aren’t my specialty but I thought I’d give succulent seed starting a try. Over the years I’ve grown some, and I recently bought a couple of echeveria plants. I ordered seeds from three different vendors, and so far the seeds have arrived from cactusstore.com and outsidepride.com.

For a starting mix I used a mixture of perlite, lava rock, and brightly colored aquarium stones.

The seeds from cactusstore.com arrived promptly and well marked.

Pot 1

Echeveria seeds

If you look closely, you may be able to see the tiny seeds in the bag. Echeveria are at least supposed to be (from what I’ve read) a pretty easy plant to deal well with. The two echeveria I have are a Miranda and an Arctic Ice. Hopefully if the seeds are a bust then I’ll be able to propagate those via leaf cuttings.

Pot 2

Lithops seeds

Lithops are cool, they are pebble looking plants that have a reputation for being finicky or at least demanding of a particular watering schedule. Known to be prone to overwatering.

Pot 3

Argyroderma seeds

Argyrodermas are similar to Lithops, but are apparently slightly more tolerant of moisture. They aren’t as unusual looking as lithops but still cute. Sometimes compared to looking like a human bottom.

Pot 4

Sempervivum seeds

Sempervivums are similar to echeveria, but flower from the center rosette which dies after flowering. These seeds are from Outsidepride.com. My order was fulfilled quickly and without incident. I planted all 1,000 seeds in the same pot, in hopes at least some sprout.

I also ordered some seeds from another vendor, but they have not yet arrived.

The pots fit into a standard 1020 tray (I prefer the double or quad thick versions if available). They are covered with a clear plastic dome, and will be checked for moisture daily. Current lighting an LED fixture. I am curious to see how many (if any) sprout from the different pots.