Temperature for optimum germination: night minimum to day maximum:

1. 60’s to mid 70’s F (approx. 17 to low 20’s C)
2. 60’s to mid 80’s F (approx. 17 to upper 20’s C)
3. 70’s to mid 80’s F (approx. 20 to low 30’s C)
4. 60’s to near 105F (approx. 17 to near 40 C)
5. 70’s to near 100F (approx. 20 to upper 30’s C)
   Time to plant seeds:
6. any time of year with proper temperatures and day length (ca.13-14 hours); you can extend day length with artificial lights.
7. fall and winter are best time, avoid heat of summer, short day length (ca. 11 hours)
   Special notes:
8. remove from closed humid atmosphere soon after germination (ca.3 days)
9. slow to germinate, scarification and stratification help, freeze and thaw both wet and dry. Don’t keep wet, but alternate wet and dry with changing temperature. No luck? Save pot and try again next year.
10. closed humid atmosphere important, distilled water useful with tiny seeds.
11. rot easily, right after germination: not too wet, dry air and stronger light.
12. soak in warm (approx. 80F, 27C) distilled water about 12 hours before planting the seeds; do not allow to dry between soaking and planting.
13. needs soil with basic pH when first transplanted (add limestone), especially in areas with acidic water.
    Hardiness of strong seedlings or adults in good health and culture:
14. no frost at all, fatal, keep above approx. 40F (approx. 5C)
15. occasional light frost, above 28F (-2C)
16. frequent moderate frost, above approx. 20F (-7C)
17. very frost hardy, above approx. 10F (-12C)
18. often snow-covered, safe easily to -10F (-23C)

Cultivation codes for mesembs and some other succulents: (germination temps)
A-robust shrubby spring growers that grow rapidly and flower in the spring. When the heat of summer comes they go dormant. Some will grow only as annuals and die in the summer heat (50-65F, 10-18C)
B-spring growers that stay compact, actively grow and flower in the spring, needing deep soaking waterings. They can be cool to cold and dry in the dead of winter. (60-75F, 16-25C)
C-grows in the fall and winter when cool with short days. They like frequent light waterings and lots of mist, mosts come from regions with fog appearing at night. They go dormant in late spring when hot conditions arrive. During the heat of summer often shade is very helpful. Very little water given all summer long. (50-65F, 10-18C)
D-opportunistic, will grow anytime from fall to spring when moisture is given. Grow and water them when you have periods of sunshine, and they go dormant in the heat of summer when less water is needed. (60-75F, 16-25C)

Pediocactus, Sclerocactus and Toumeya

With winter approaching in northern latitudes, the best time for sowing Pediocactus, Sclerocacus and Toumeya is here. In places with hard frosts in mid winter, you can sow the pots outdoors to give exposure to multiple freezing/thawing occasions. In habitat there will be more than 100 nights with subfreezing temps, while during the day the sun will warm the air to thaw the ground surface.

Then in most of these habitats there will be some rain or snow in the spring. Then in spring the ground will be cool and very damp. Many seeds will germinate in early spring under cool damp conditions, after the needed freezing/thawing cycles of mid winter.

In the summer often it is dry, occasionally there will be thunderstorms. The ground will experience very high surface temperatures, be mostly dry, but occasionally very wet when thunderstorms come frequently in short bursts.

If you live where sharp frosts occur in the winter, try to sow the seeds by the end of January if possible, so that enough freezing/thawing cycles can occur.

Summary of sowing method used here in New Mexico:

1. sow in mid winter, keep mostly dry, occasionally wet, freeze at night and thaw in day
2. damp in early spring when cool, occasional light frost, warmer in day. Keep evenly moist and germination will start.
3. very hot in mid summer, mostly dry with occasional soaks. More germination will occur after thunderstorms soak the pots. Avoid prolonged soaking now.
4. mostly dry in fall, occasional soak only. Allow to dry out for winter dormancy. Sometimes plants will bud in the fall, do not keep the plant any warmer for the winter, just let the buds sit until spring when it would naturally flower anyway.

We use only the naturally occuring temps, there is no protection from cold at all. The pots are sown outdoors in plastic pots. The pots are housed in wooden boxes which are covered with nylon window screen. Suspended above the boxes is a layer of shade cloth. These two layers will break up heavy rain drops and give protection from hail.

If long heavy rains are possible where you live, it would be best to put the pots under cover after some germination has taken place. The outdoor treatments are designed to accomplish germination. For example the plants do not like long soaking rains in late summer and into the fall, so you might have to move the pots to an unheated greenhouse or coldframe once they have sprouted. However a long soaking rain is very beneficial in promoting germination.

The easiest to sprout are: Pediocactus simpsonii, Sclerocactus spinosior, pubispinus, and brevispinus. They will often sprout in early spring when it still freezes a bit at night. They find early spring a very active growth time when it is cool and moist.

Good afternoon! We hope this finds everyone well. We have decided to give an update about the COVID-19 virus and how this is affecting us here at Mesa Garden.  First and foremost Aaron, myself, our children and all of our employees and their children are well. We are working towards staying this way. As of today the number of cases in our state is unfortunately rising. Fortunately though, there are currently no cases in our county. Our state has mandated social distancing and our schools have been closed for a week now. They will remain closed for another 2 weeks, maybe more. We only leave to go the the post office and the store for grocery pick-up. Some of you have reached out to us and we are grateful for your kindness and concern.

As of today our Governor has mandated that all non-essential businesses close for a few weeks and/or limit to gatherings of 5 people. Since our business is mail order, and we have little to no contact with many people, we have decided to stay open but have created a plan with our employees to limit their contact with one another and us. We will still complete orders and essential business duties, such as watering and pollinating all while having little to no social contact with one another. What does this mean for our customers? We will still be completing orders and we can ship your orders but the US postal service has stated that there could be delays internationally.  We will also not be taking mail to the post office every day but we will take it every 2-3 days.

In essence we do not want to panic nor cause panic but we do want to be wise. We are limiting our social interactions and staying home as much as we can per our governments request. We do hope and pray that all of our customers are safe and well. Please know we appreciate every customer and your support of us and this nursery. This virus has taken this world by storm but we look forward to this passing. Please take care and we are open for any questions you may have.

Tarah Morerod

Mesa Garden