Henry Shaw
Cactus Society
A CSSA Chapter
St. Louis, Missouri
www.hscactus.org
info@hscactus.org

[ CONTACTS ]

Get Dirty -- and Learn!

Pam Schnebelen, Henry Shaw Cactus Society's Education Committee chairwoman, offers hand-on workshops to assist other members in their plant growing. E-mail pam@hughes.net or call 636-257-0946 to register and get directions to her home, which is located in Pacific, south of Eureka, about 45 minutes from the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Growing Plants From Seed

February 20, 2010
1:00 p.m.
(Free for HSCS members)

Most of us purchase adult plants for our collections. Purchasing plants, however, is only one of the ways that we can acquire wonderful plants. Another way is to grow them from seed.

The joy of sowing seeds and watching them germinate and grow is a rewarding aspect of our hobby. Growing plants from seed is not expensive. It does not take a lot of space. It is educational and very entertaining.

There are as many techniques to growing succulents from seed as there are people doing it and seeds to sow. The HSCS library has many good books that cover seed propagation. Growing plants from seed, though, is much like caring for mature specimens.

For identical plants, each of us uses a different soil mix, waters and fertilizes on a different schedule, and has different temperature and light conditions. The plants thrive -- or not. And, we learn what works in our own unique combination of circumstances.

In this hands-on workshop, we will use several different procedures for seed propagation. We will discuss seed preparation and how water and temperature affect germination and seedling growth. Light, too, is very important. And we will cover several methods to prevent damping-off -- the number one reason succulent seedlings die.

In addition to seeds that HSCS members have donated, field-collected seeds have been purchased for several genera. Everyone will go home with several pans of seeds ready to go.

Attendance is limited to six members. To register, call Pam Schnebelen at 636-257-0946.