My Tiny Cactus Garden
When I was a kid, my mom often had a cactus garden in the living room. It usually consisted of a few tiny cactuses in a wide shallow pot, a little gravel road, an a tiny clay chiva. A Chiva is a traditional Colombian bus that is used in the rural regions. It is painted up in the colors of the flag and was always packed to overflowing with people, chickens, bananas, plantains, and all sorts of other things.
I wanted to start my own miniature cactus garden for my dining room table. I was going to buy some small cactus as the greenhouse, but then I spotted this pack of seeds at the hardware store for only $1.19. I figured I’d give it a whirl and try starting my own tiny cactuses from seed.
I wasn’t hoping for much, I’ve heard they can be difficult to start from seed. I started by filling a seed flat with a mix of equal parts potting soil and coarse sand. On February 13th I sprinkled the cactus seeds on top and lightly worked the top of the soil. Then I sprayed well with water, covered it with a plastic dome, and put it down on the heating mat in my basement seed starting area. I checked the flat daily and sprayed it with water when the top of the soil dried out (which happens quickly when you have things on a heating mat). Seven days later, on February 21, I noticed three tiny cactus seedlings in the flat.
These seedlings are TINY. They’re very hard to spot, especially since they look a lot like the larger pieces of sand. You can see in the photo below, I used a very small sewing pin to show scale. I thought it would help show you how tiny these plants really are. Right now I have 8 tiny cactus seeds that have germinated. I wonder what varieties I’ll have when they grow up?
I’m super excited about these tiny seedlings. It will be interesting to see how long it takes them to grow big enough to plant in a cactus garden to surround the small chiva. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on how these do.
Have you ever had a cactus as a houseplant?
Filed under Seed Sowing | Comments (18)
Aren’t those the cutest things! I’ve bought seeds, but never did get around to sowing them. I think I need to now….I guess I was just intimidated by the thought that they would be difficult.
to Sue's comment
I love how the seedlings already look like tiny cacti. We have a few cacti at this house. Obviously, I didn’t have any in Arizona. Seems kind of like overkill there, right?
to kristin @ going country's comment
I figured you’d have a couple in your house I’m surprised they can take those cold nights in Blackrock Mansion during the winter!
to Susy's comment
A cactus can withstand pretty low temperatures–the desert does get very cold at night, after all. What they don’t deal with well is freezing and thawing a lot. Which is why we bring them inside. We have one that’s about 50 years old–I think it was the MiL’s father’s or something–and that thing is HEAVY. Hate moving potted plants in the fall and spring.
to kristin @ going country's comment
I had a cactus in a pot that an aunt gave me. I don’t know what it was exactly but I called it a prickly pear because it would grow orangy-red looking bulbous things that looked like fruits but I never tried to eat any. :-)
I had it in my living room for a few years. Finally, I got tired of getting almost microscopic needles stuck in my feet so I stuck it outside on my patio one spring. At this point I didn’t care if it lived or died because I was just sick of the needles. Imagine my surprise when one day I saw it full of yellow flowers! It was so pretty. I was amazed because I had never experienced a cactus in bloom before. After the flowed died off, that’s when the “fruits” formed” Anyhoo … because of the flowers, I decided to try and keep it alive. I had it for about 10 years but left it there in my divorce. It was really pretty but soooooo annoying when those tiny needles got under my skin.
to Rhonda's comment
I love growing cacti from seeds – they grow so slow, and when you buy a mixed bag, you don’t know what kind you’ll end up with for a while. I have a few that I grew about 7 years ago, and they still fit into 4″ pots. I keep them in the sunniest window I have, and water them infrequently – they’re my favorite houseplant. :)
to Jennifer Finch's comment
That is fascinating ~ never thought of doing that before. Can’t wait to see the progress.
to Liz J's comment
Never grew cacti before but had a Chiva and didn’t know it! How funny is that? Love this post! Can’t wait to see how they grow!
Had a small cactus once as a kid. The cat knocked it off the window and rolled it up in the fringe of the oriental rug in the dining room. That was the end of the cactus.
to Beegirl's comment
That’s too funny that you had a chiva – small world moment!
to Susy's comment
Living in Phoenix, this sort of makes me chuckle inside. I suppose it’s like someone from Atlanta reading about someone starting a Kudzu garden. ;) Good for you, and with cactus, the most important things to do are not water and be verrrrrry patient!
to rachel's comment
Very cool! I haven’t grown cacti myself, but I did give one as a gift to a friend for her first housewarming. She was into kitch, so I planted one of the tallish-with-the-hot-pink-top ones in a glass kitchen container (the kind that looks like a fishbowl with a metal lid), complete with a plastic camel and some bamboo skewers to use to maneuver should the thing fall over inside. She was a black thumb gardener but kept the cactus alive for years on her kitchen window sill. Too fun!
to Amy's comment
No, but I may try to grow them from seeds-super cute! Thanks for the idea
to Kathi's comment
How exciting! Keep us updated please.
to Katrina's comment
I’ve never had one, but my Mom had a tiny one when I was growing up. I stuck myself once and decided cacti might not be for me. Trying to grow them from seed sounds fun though.
to Anne's comment
Amazing!! I am just starting with cacti! I was hoping to propagate this one that I bought that was covered in tiny babies. Turns out it was what they call a “moon cactus” which is two cacti stuck together, the top is red. I thought it was a neat plant, but it’s just a regular cactus that’s been irradiated and lost it’s chlorophyll!! It’s leeching off the bottom cactus. Why on earth would anyone make this abomination? Creepy.
Luckily, I also bought a haworthia, so that should work out… I hope…
Good luck with your seeds! Really looking forward to seeing the progress
to Stacy M's comment
not until recently but now I have gone succulent MAD! I have:
-hylocereus undata ‘Dark Star’ – cutting
-hylocereus bruni – cutting
-echeveria glauca (I think)
-Haworthia fasciata
-Anacampseros telephiastrum ‘variegata’ (sunrise plant)
-Gasteria liliputiana (ox-tongue plant)
-Anacampseros rufescens
I love them! It’s hard to not add more to the collection but I need for these to get a little bigger first.
to melissa's comment
I grow cactus from seed every year. I just started mine 5 or 6 days ago (along with some Lithops seeds). Some of the cactus seeds germinated in 3 days! I’m hoping to get a nice variety this year since I sowed about 150 cactus seeds and 100 lithops seeds.
It’s a very slow process, but fairly easy and fun!
to Daedre Craig's comment
[…] table. It was a fairy garden of sorts, a desert version with cactuses and a tiny little chiva (which is a traditional Colombian bus). I’m thinking next summer I might make the area around my garden pond a fairy garden of sorts. […]
to Fairy Gardening Kit Giveaway | Chiot’s Run's comment