Nothing is more satisfying to the cacti enthusiast than germinating seeds or caring for peyote seedlings grown from ones own seeds.

Nursing lophophora cacti seedlings through to maturity, seeing the first flower bloom and in turn harvesting the  seed of a second generation plants offers opportunities to experiment with genetics. For the purposes of this information page seeds of Lophophora Williamsii  (peyote) have been used but this technique is effective for most types of cacti with the main difference being that some cacti germinate in the dark whereas Lophophora and similar species require light to germinate. As a consequence loph seeds should not be buried.

Prepare soil: If you want to be absolutely careful you can bake or microwave the soil to sterilise it. Be warned this can create some fairly noxious smells. Personally I don't bother as moulds and fungal spores are all about us. I prefer to use a mild dose of antifungal copper-sulphate for the first watering. For best results follow these easy steps.

1.    Fill chosen pot with soil. Either John Innes No1 or better still John Innes No2 with a layer of John Innes potting compost or No.1 on top (about 2 cm.) Press the soil down firmly but not too hard.
2.    Make sure the seeds are free of all pod and flower debris. Place them on the soil.  Do not cover them. The way you place them is not important. If you like order you can place them in rows say 1 cm apart. That will give them space to grow for a year or two at least. I use a 10cm square pot to germinate and scatter the seeds so that they nestle together but are not on top of each other.
3.    Label and date your seeds- small cacti all look very similar.
4.    Place a sandwich bag over the pot and secure with an elastic band.
5.    Place the seed pot into room temperature rain water which is about 5cm deep for at least 20 minutes.
6.    Remove pot from water and place in a warm sunny place- somewhere warm but not too hot. If you have an electic propogator so much the better.

7.    Light requirements are this stage are modest, young seedlings can scorch easily.
8.    Remove the bag and check your seedlings every week. If you see signs of mould apply copper sulphate, 5g in 1 litre of water.
9.    Keep your cacti seedling damps for at least six months. As they start to resemble peyote you can snip open a corner of the bag so that they can start to harden off.
10.    Be sure to have gradually exposed the cacti seedling to normal conditions and dried out the soil completely for their first winter.