找到了我十几年前看到的一篇文章 - 仙珍圜

Raising cacti and succulents from seed has always been my special interest, which has resulted in the majority of my collection originating from this source. As I also tend to keep two or three of the best plants from each sowing, I have an abundant supply of good quality seed from the plants when they reach flowering size. This has encouraged experimentation with seed raising methods, as I can make proper comparisons from the different methods in the knowledge that they are based on the same seeds. Also, I can always be sure about the origin, age and quality of the seeds.

The method which has proved most successful for the slower growing cacti was discovered largely by chance. Having previously used a propagator (home made) in the greenhouse with average but variable results, I was looking for a more controllable source of heat and light, and, being a Yorkshireman, a method of heating which contributed less generously to the coffers of Yorkshire Electricity PLC. We are fortunate in having in our house a large airing cupboard with a hot water cylinder. The top of this cupboard was relatively unused and, after a period of delicate negotiations with my wife, I took possession of the top twelve inches, and installed a shelf, six feet long and fourteen inches wide Two five foot fluorescent lights were fixed to the ceiling, so that the bottoms of the tubes would be about six inches from the soil surface.

Initially, I used Grolux tubes but as these were expensive, I experimented with ordinary warm white tubes which gave identical results and I now use only the ordinary tubes However I believe that a tube which simulates more exactly the typical habitat light conditions may be better. The lights are controlled by a time switch which is set to provide fourteen hours of light per day. No additional heating was installed. The night-time temperature is usually in the 65 to 70°F range. During the day, with the extra heat from the lights, it is usually in the 75 to 80°F range, and occasionally slightly higher. The temperature variation between night and day seems to be beneficial and to some extent simulates habitat conditions Extremes of temperature are avoided, which previously caused problems. Very high temperatures used to occasionally inhibit germination, or damage the plants and particularly the fine roots, and caused the soil surface to cake. Too low temperatures caused rotting, infections and checks to the plant which retarded growth, sometimes permanently. With the slower growing cacti, these problems were often terminal, and the aim is to give them as near ideal conditions as possible and grow them fast (comparatively!), as they are only difficult when very small. Once grown quickly with no checks to their growth, they continue to develop much more quickly and become better looking and more floriferous than less favorably treated plants.

The growing medium used is John Innes number 2 potting compost (40%), washed river sand (20%), fine granite chippings (20%) and Perlite (20%), and any lumps which would inhibit the often delicate root hairs are removed or crushed. Half trays are used, as I sow quite a lot of seed, though occasionally I use smaller pots for individual sowings. The trays or pots are filled right to the top with the mixture, which is gently pressed down all over to ensure that it does not sink when watered. At this stage separators are inserted if more than one batch of seeds is to be sown in the tray. Then the trays are thoroughly soaked by standing them in warm water to which a suitable fungicide has been added. I use Murphy's Copper fungicide, though care is needed as exceeding the stated concentration or repeated applications have an inhibiting effect on germination.

Next the seeds are sown. I almost always sow seeds individually, which is not as much of a job as it may seem, and gives the advantage of saving time later in pricking out and avoids root disturbance and damage. Sowing is normally carried out in the depths of winter, when time is available. I tip the seeds into a small container such as a small lid, and use a tiny watchmaker's screwdriver. As the soil surface is now wet, since the trays are still standing in water, I simply touch the soil surface with the screwdriver, then touch the seed with the tip of the screwdriver. The seed sticks to the screwdriver where it is wet, and I then press the seed into the soil with the the screwdriver. For all but the smallest seeds, I also just cover it with a little of the compost. As this is wet, the whole operation is quite fast, and about twenty seeds can be sown per minute with practice. The spacing depends on how fast the seeds are likely to grow, but is typically about 3 or 4 per inch in each direction. As germination is normally at least 50%, and can be close to 100%, the space requirements of individual sowing are not excessive. Seeds are sown early partly because there is little else happening at this time, partly to give the seedlings as long a first season as possible, but primarily because my method does not depend on the vagaries of the English weather, and provides full control of the growing environment

When planning which seeds to sow in which tray, speed of growth and subsequent requirements need to be considered. My earliest efforts ignored this, and Aztekium was sown next to Trichocereus with inevitable results. The very slowest growing cacti may stay in their trays for two or more seasons, so it is important that they are not overwhelmed by faster growing plants, or that unnecessary disturbance results from taking out the larger ones.

After a half tray has been filled, it is taken out of its water tray, and then completely enclosed in polythene, with some support for the polythene so that it does not subsequently collapse onto the soil surface when covered in condensation. My own method is to put two half trays inside a full tray, put wire hoops at each end, stretch the polythene over the top and tuck it underneath on all sides. For smaller pots, individual polythene bags can be used, with labels as supports, and the bags sealed. I try to ensure that moisture cannot escape from the polythene coverings, so that the soil stays consistently moist and almost never needs watering. In fact if I am busy, I can completely forget about the seeds for weeks.

These conditions are particularly successful for the choicer cacti, such as Aztekium, Ariocarpus, Strombocactus, Pelecyphora, Encephalocarpus, Turbinicarpus, Epithelantha and Blossfeldia. However I also use the same conditions for sowing most other cacti Some etiolate, particularly Lobivia and Sulcorebutia, so these are sown together and are removed to a windowsill once etiolation becomes evident In some cases, seeds do not germinate very well, but when moved later to natural light, further germination occurs. I have unfortunately not documented the genera or species concerned Some larger growing cacti, or those which come from cooler habitats, such as Trichocereus, Opuntia, Maihuenia and Austrocactus, are usually germinated on a sunny windowsill in the house from late February with good success Succulents generally do not do well in the airing cupboard, and so they too get the windowsill treatment. However, they all have the same compost, sowing technique, watering and polythene bags Some succulents need special treatment. Terry Smale's excellent article in Vol 5(2), pp. 39-40 (June 1987) of the Journal gave the ideal conditions for success with Conophytum seeds.

The faster growing cacti stay in the airing cupboard for between three and six months depending on space availability The slower growing ones stay for at least six months, and sometimes all season. These never etiolate, and grow into perfectly proportioned plants, especially Aztekium and Ariocarpus. Occasionally moss causes a problem, and wherever possible I sprinkle granite chippings on the soil surface once most of the germination is complete, when the plants are big enough and so do not get buried. Usually this is just before the moss becomes too troublesome, and suppresses it completely. For Aztekium and Blossfeldia, this is not possible, and I just use my small screwdriver to dig out or squash each strand of moss, which is laborious but reasonably effective. For next year, I shall experiment with coir compost to see if that inhibits the growth of moss.

It is important that we protect habitat plants by perfecting methods of propagating the choicer plants successfully and satisfying collectors demands from these sources. I hope that this article has provided some ideas which members may wish to try out in whole or part. However I take no responsibility for any marital disharmony resulting from the wholesale requisitioning of airing cupboards! I would welcome any further ideas and tips from readers.

从种子中培育仙人掌和多肉植物一直是我的特殊兴趣，这导致我的大部分收藏品都来自这个来源。由于我也倾向于在每次播种时保留两到三株最好的植物，因此当植物达到开花大小时，我可以从这些植物中获得大量优质种子。这鼓励了对种子培育方法的试验，因为我可以对不同的方法进行适当的比较，因为我知道它们是基于相同的种子。此外，我始终可以确定种子的来源、年龄和质量。

已证明对生长较慢的仙人掌最成功的方法主要是偶然发现的。以前在温室中使用过繁殖器（自制），结果一般但可变，我一直在寻找一种更可控的热源和光源，而且，作为约克郡人，一种加热方法对约克郡的金库贡献不大电力PLC。我们很幸运，家里有一个带热水缸的大晾衣橱。这个橱柜的顶部相对闲置，经过一段时间与妻子的微妙谈判，我占有了顶部十二英寸，并安装了一个长六英尺、宽十四英寸的架子，两个五英尺的荧光灯固定在上面天花板，这样管子的底部离土壤表面大约六英寸。

最初，我使用 Grolux 灯管，但由于这些灯管很贵，我用普通的暖白色灯管进行了试验，结果相同，现在我只使用普通灯管。但是我相信，更准确地模拟典型栖息地光照条件的灯管可能会更好。这些灯由定时开关控制，该开关设置为每天提供十四小时的照明。没有安装额外的暖气。夜间温度通常在 65 至 70°F 范围内。白天，由于灯光产生的额外热量，温度通常在 75 至 80°F 范围内，偶尔会略高。昼夜之间的温度变化似乎是有益的，并且在某种程度上模拟了栖息地条件。避免了以前造成问题的极端温度。细根，并导致土壤表面结块。温度过低会导致植物腐烂、感染和开裂，从而阻碍生长，有时甚至是永久性的。随着仙人掌生长缓慢，这些问题通常是绝症，目的是为它们提供尽可能接近理想的条件并快速生长（相对而言！），因为它们只有在非常小的时候才会变得困难。一旦在不受生长限制的情况下快速生长，它们就会继续更快地发育，并且比处理得不好的植物变得更漂亮、花更多。

使用的生长介质是 John Innes 2 号盆栽堆肥 (40%)、水洗河沙 (20%)、细花岗岩屑 (20%) 和珍珠岩 (20%)，任何会抑制通常脆弱的根毛的块状物都是移除或压碎。使用半个托盘，因为我播种了很多种子，但偶尔我会使用较小的盆进行个别播种。将混合物装满托盘或盆的顶部，然后将混合物轻轻向下压以确保它在浇水时不会下沉。如果要在托盘中播种多于一批的种子，则在此阶段插入分离器。然后将托盘放置在添加了合适杀真菌剂的温水中，将它们彻底浸泡。我用墨菲的铜杀菌剂，

接下来播种。我几乎总是单独播种，这并不像看起来那么麻烦，而且可以节省以后的时间，避免根部干扰和损坏。播种通常在深冬进行，此时有时间。我把种子倒进一个小容器里，比如一个小盖子，然后用一把小钟表螺丝刀。由于土壤表面现在是湿的，因为托盘仍然在水中，我只是用螺丝刀接触土壤表面，然后用螺丝刀的尖端接触种子。种子在潮湿的地方粘在螺丝刀上，然后我用螺丝刀将种子压入土壤。对于除了最小的种子以外的所有种子，我也只是用一点堆肥覆盖它。因为是湿的，所以整个操作还是挺快的，通过练习，每分钟大约可以播种 20 粒种子。间距取决于种子可能生长的速度，但通常每个方向每英寸约 3 或 4 个。作为发芽率一般在50%以上，可以接近100%，单播对空间要求不过分。种子播种较早，部分原因是此时几乎没有其他事情发生，部分原因是为了让幼苗在第一季尽可能长，但主要是因为我的方法不依赖于英国天气的变幻莫测，并且可以完全控制生长环境

在计划将哪些种子播种在哪个托盘中时，需要考虑生长速度和后续要求。我最早的努力忽略了这一点，Aztekium被播种在Trichocereus旁边，结果不可避免。生长最慢的仙人掌可能会在托盘中放置两个或更多个季节，因此重要的是不要让它们被生长更快的植物淹没，或者因取出较大的植物而造成不必要的干扰。

装满半个托盘后，将其从盛水盘中取出，然后将其完全封闭在聚乙烯中，并为聚乙烯提供一些支撑，这样当它被冷凝覆盖时，它不会随后塌陷到土壤表面。我自己的方法是把两个半盘放在一个满盘里，在每一端放上铁丝箍，把聚乙烯拉到上面，然后把它塞在下面。对于较小的花盆，可以使用单独的聚乙烯袋，以标签作为支撑，并将袋子密封。我尽量确保水分不会从聚乙烯覆盖物中逸出，这样土壤就会一直保持湿润，几乎不需要浇水。事实上，如果我很忙，我可以在数周内完全忘记种子。

这些条件对于选择仙人掌特别成功，例如 Aztekium、Ariocarpus、Strombocactus、 Pelecyphora、Encephalocarpus、Turbinicarpus、 Epithelantha和Blossfeldia。然而，我也使用相同的条件播种大多数其他仙人掌有些黄化，特别是Lobivia和Sulcorebutia，所以它们一起播种，一旦黄化变得明显，就将它们移到窗台上在某些情况下，种子不能很好地发芽，但稍后移动对自然光，进一步发芽发生。不幸的是，我没有记录相关的属或物种一些生长较大的仙人掌，或那些来自凉爽栖息地的仙人掌，如 Trichocereus、Opuntia、Maihuenia和 Austrocactus，通常从 2 月下旬开始在屋内阳光明媚的窗台上发芽并取得良好的成功多肉植物通常在晾衣橱里做得不好，所以他们也得到了窗台处理。但是，它们都有相同的堆肥、播种技术、浇水和聚乙烯袋。有些多肉植物需要特殊处理。Terry Smale 在该杂志第 5(2) 卷第 39-40 页（1987 年 6 月）中的优秀文章给出了Conophytum种子成功的理想条件。

生长较快的仙人掌会在通风柜中停留三到六个月，具体取决于空间的可用性。生长较慢的仙人掌至少会停留六个月，有时甚至整个季节。它们从不黄化，并长成比例完美的植物，尤其是 Aztekium和Ariocarpus。有时苔藓会引起问题，一旦大部分发芽完成，当植物足够大，不会被掩埋时，只要有可能，我就会在土壤表面撒上花岗岩碎片。通常这是在苔藓变得太麻烦之前，将其完全压制。对于Aztekium和Blossfeldia，这是不可能的，我只是用我的小螺丝刀挖出或压扁每一根苔藓，这是费力但有效的。明年，我将试验椰壳堆肥，看看它是否能抑制苔藓的生长。

重要的是，我们通过完善成功繁殖选择植物的方法并满足收集者对这些来源的需求来保护栖息地植物。我希望这篇文章提供了一些想法，成员们不妨全部或部分尝试一下。但因批发征用晾衣橱而造成的夫妻不和，本人概不负责！我欢迎读者提出任何进一步的想法和提示。