TESTUDINARIA ELEPHANTIPES

November 2014. These are the seedlings sown in March 2014. They grow and will grow the whole winter. I fertilize and water them and offer as much sun and warmth as possible.

Above you can see the caudex - storing the sugar as starch - forming underground.

And here above you can see some seedlings of SCHIZOBASIS INTRICATA self-sown from seed flying in from a nearby standing plant of SCHIZOBASIS INTRICATA.

TESTUDINARIA ELEPHANTIPES

In January 2014 I again started sowing 100 seeds of TESTUDINARIA ELEPHANTIPES.

As substrate I used COCOHUM. This is made of the fibers of the fruit of the coconut. It is sterile and does have similar qualities as peat. You might use peat too.

The tray with the pots and seeds stayed on a heater in my kitchen on a south sided window. Temperature was about 12 C at night and 15 C at day. Only about 50% of all seeds developed into young seedlings.
Why? Temperature has never to climb over 15 C, as higher degrees may inhibit germination. Maybe the south sided window and the sun did allow to arouse temperature over this point. Maybe - as has been in former years - the seeds and the seed seller did not store the seeds as they should have been.

In May it looks like this...

I let them grow in a half shaded place. I offer them as much air and water as possible. I water them whenever the soil is becoming dry but never let it dry out totally.

LITHOPS C 58

It is January 2014 and it is time for sowing.

I started in the first week of January by sowing some LITHOPS species. After 4 days these are the first ones which "saw the light".