My Frithia didn't make it after all. Something in the care was wrong for it, pumice, water. I've gathered it's seeds from a seed capsule I bought it with and sown 10 of them as a test. Nine germinated and look fine so far. I hope they'll survive, even though I'm not sure how it'll go from here. I lack info on when the first true leaves are coming or when the substrate may be allowed to dry. Hope to figure it out in time.
Frithias are SO DIFFICULT! Mine is the most demanding plant in my collection. It is blooming, but always threatening to rot. Go figure. I don't know what to do with it exactly. So you have my sympathies, and I hope the seedlings thrive!
ReplyDeleteYes, they are. :/
DeleteAt least they seem to want a special kind of conditions and don't fail to threaten you as soon as they don't get something they want. Thank you for good wishes! I'll need keep an eye on them.
They are the divas of the succulent world....
ReplyDeleteMine germinated in about 4 days and took about a month to get their first true leaf. Instead of a pair like most of my other mesembs it started as what looked like a little circular bump in the center of the plant. From above it kind of looked like a little eye. This eventually grows up to be the typical little finger like leaf. Looking at my photos it looks like a few months later some of them had grown another leaf. It seems different than Fenestraria which always grows its leaves in pairs. I am not 100% sure but I feel like Frithia leaves always come one at a time. So far mine have been slow growers. They are a year and a half old now and are not very big though I haven't lost any.
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere that they prefer acidic conditions but to be honest I don't give mine any special care. I should probably pay closer attention to them now as they are the plants that got me interested in growing mesembs from seed.
Thank you so much for all the information Kaveh! This is what I couldn't find :)
DeleteSlow is okay for me, I'm used to it with lithops. My first goal is to keep them alive long enough to figure out what's best for them.
I'm so looking forward to that one first leaf. Frithia and the recently sown Delosperma are my first non-lithops mesembs I'm trying to grow from seed so everything's exciting and new.
I've looked at some photos of fenestraria seedlings and you're right, those come in pairs. :)
I keep this seedlings under a see-through cover and don't let the soil dry (much like with lithops kids). Is it okay for them? When have you removed the cover from yours? My guess is when they've already had a couple of real leaves already or even later...
All of my mesembs I remove from cover (I sow them and put them in ziploc bags) as soon as they germinate. They go on a western facing window with quite strong light and heat in the afternoon. I put them in a dish with water for bottom watering so the small seedings won't be disturbed. Sometimes when they are larger and stronger I overhead water them which sometimes results in new seeds germinating.
DeleteOnce I move them up into their own pots (usually 2 inch because that is what I have handy) they go in a big communal flat outdoors in full sun. I have to cover them with netting to protect them from quails and other birds. My Frithia and a few other of my first mesembs I grew from seed I have on shelving in a slightly more sheltered area but they are still outside.
The only ones I keep indoors are Lithops because I have really bad luck with them. I also only have a half dozen of them that have survived so I have room for them on the window sill.
Very interesting to read about your method. :) Good idea with the dish with water. I keep them under covers longer so that I don't have to water that often. The dish with water would do the same thing, I guess. I'll try that some time.
DeleteThanks!
Seems ok, I have had no luck with frithia seed, I recently had been informed that they need to be fresh. As for acidity, it is true and they are summer rainfall plants, but I think rainwater, which is slightly acidic should do the trick well enough. We have high humidity and not very high temps, so I lift my covers early and spray (mist) them every day. That may result in slower growth but I am used to that.
ReplyDeleteNothing against slow growth :)
DeleteHm I'll need to see how I get acidic or rain water. Hopefully they'll grow with some change in water and soil...
I just found this pic: http://www.ispot.org.za/node/152505 It apparently grows in shallow quartz deposits. I'm not sure whether the pumice you use is full of little holes which hold water. Quartzite is completely non absorbent so I imagine they will have pretty perfect drainage in the wild. There will be very very little organic matter in that soil. They seem to grow in full sun without shading from other things so as much as possible light would be good. The rainfall here on the highveld in SA (pictured) is spread over a fairly short period in summer, from around September or as late as November for about 5 or six months. Winters are dry but sunny. Hope that helps :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! Those are nice pictures. :) As soon as the plants are big enough to be transplanted (and don't need that much water) I'll get them out of pumice and into something non absorbent.
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