Growing Cactus Plants from Seed – The EASY way

Hi Cactus & Succulent Growers,

Well spring is almost here and soon we will be back in the swing of things or I should say ‘spring of things’ haha with all the spring plant jobs to do with our plants, all the repottings and thinking about giving our cacti their first watering after the winter, this time of year is also the best time of year to sow any cacti seeds that you want to sow this year, growing cacti from seed can be so rewarding and there is something extra special about watching cacti grow over the months and years from seeds we have sown ourselves.

Image above: My Cleistocactus seedlings I have grown from seed, I often use small plastic trays used for cherry tomatoes in supermarkets for containers for cactus seed sowing.

I have grown many cacti from seed over the years and in this blog I will be sharing how you too can grow cacti from seed the EASY way.

I have a few different ways I grow cacti from seed including the ‘Baggie’ method, this involves sowing cactus seeds in a ‘sterile’ type of environment by sterilising the soil first by microwaving the soil for 3 minutes to get the soil as sterile as possible and then once the seeds have been sown they go immediately into the ‘Baggies’ ( clear zip lock bags ) I have made a few videos on How I do this on my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon but I have also had great success by sowing the seeds without sterilising the soil first and this is how I am going to be explaining it here.

Image above: my Parodia cactus seedlings that are now large enough to pot on individually into their own little 5cm pots, Cactus seedlings can take many months or a couple of years before they are ready to be transplanted individually.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO SOW CACTUS SEEDS ?

The best time of year to sow cactus seeds is in the spring and summer, but you can sow them at any time of the year including the Winter if you have additional heat and LED Plant grow lights.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1, Cactus seeds.

2, An empty container with some holes in the bottom. I often use recycled small plastic trays often used for fruit and cherry tomatoes in supermarkets, these can be very good for sowing cactus seeds as they also have holes already in the bottom, another option is to use small Tupperware containers used for packed lunches and put some holes in the bottom of them for drainage.

3, Well-draining soil. I recommend using a seed-sowing soil and adding extra pumice or grit (go for a 50/50 ratio of pumice or grit to seed-sowing soil). I like to use John Innes seed sowing soil but if you don’t have seed sowing soil you can use a commercial good quality cactus soil and use 50/50 ratio of pumice or grit.

4, A little bit of sand or vermiculite just to sprinkle over the top once you’ve sown the seeds.

5, A little piece of folded-up card or paper if the seeds are very tiny, this is to sprinkle the seeds over the top of the surface of the soil.

6, Water

Image above: Echinopsis cactus seedlings, aren’t they soooooooo CUTE haha!

HOW TO SOW THE SEEDS:

  1. Once you’ve mixed the soil, fill the container with holes in it up with the soil. Then tap it down gently.
  2. Water the soil in the containers thoroughly making sure all of the soil in the containers is thoroughly wetted. (Wetting the soil before sowing the seeds helps keep the seeds from floating off over the top of the soil.)
  3. Sprinkle the seeds as evenly as you can across the soil surface. If the seeds are very tiny (some cactus seeds can be almost dust-like), you can put them into a little folded piece of card and then tap it very gently with you finger across the soil to sprinkle the seeds evenly. If the seeds are quite large, you can just sprinkle them across the surface of the soil with your fingers.
  4. Lightly cover the seeds with a sprinkling of sand or vermiculite. (If the seeds are very very small, you don’t have to cover them.)
  5. Label your container with what type of cactus species you are sowing and the date it’s been sown (e.g., Gymnocalycium, March 21st, 2025).
  6. Keep the soil evenly moist at all times, its important to never let the soil dry out because when they have germinated and when they are still young seedlings their delicate root hairs can dry out.
  7. Keep the seeds warm at a minimum temperature of 70˚F in a bright window but avoid direct sunshine until the seeds have germinated, once the seeds have germinated you can move them to a position that receives more sunshine but still protected from all day direct sunshine.
  8. Cactus seeds can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 12 weeks to germinate and patience really is the magic key.

Image above: My Echinopsis subdenudata cactus seedlings that are about 18 months old.

If you want to see a video on How to grow cacti from seed using the ‘Baggie’ method then here is a video I have made for my You Tube Channel Called Desert Plants of Avalon on How To Grow Cacti From Seed: and you can watch this video below:

Keep your eyes peeled for lots more Blogs coming up on my website and remember guys not long to go now till spring is here and we can get to enjoy all of those beautiful cactus blooms again.

Happy Growing everyone and do check out my You Tube Channel called Desert Plants of Avalon for lots of growing tips and tricks on how you can care for your Cacti and Succulents.

How to Grow Cacti & Succulents from Seed

In this Blog I will be talking about how you can grow cacti and Succulent plants from Seed and talking about the method I like to use to grow my cacti and succulent plants from seed and I have had great success throughout the years using this method.

how to grow cacti from seed
Photo: My Homalocephala texensis ‘Horse crippler cactus’ cactus seedlings just over a year old

Although there are many different ways to grow cacti and succulents from seed and there is no right or wrong way, In this Blog I will be showing you how to grow cacti and succulents from seed using the bag method.

I have included videos I have made for my Cacti & Succulent Plant You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon that include step by step instructions on growing Cacti and Succulents from seed as well as a video on how to care for seedlings during their first Winter.

Why grow from Seed ? 

Growing from seed can be very rewarding as you get to see your plants grow from seedlings to mature plants over the years and although it can be very time consuming, knowing that you have grown your cacti and succulents from seed is a real buzz.

When is the best time to grow from seeds ? 

Cacti and Succulent seeds are best sown in late Winter, Spring or early Summer, this is because the days are longer and the temperatures are warmer, but if you have grow lights and additional heating then you can still sow seeds in Autumn and Winter too, the most important thing is that the seeds /seedlings are kept at a minimum temperature of 70 Fahrenheit  /21 Celsius.

cactus seedlings, how to grow cactus from seed
                                                        Photo:  My Rebutia muscala cactus seedlings at 8 months old.

What do I need to grow from Seed ? 

You will need :

Seeds, plant pots, transparent zip lock bags, a pen, plant labels or white sticky labels, 2 parts loam based seed sowing soil ( or any well draining soil ) 1 part grit or perlite and 1 part horticultural sand.

I have found that the clear fruit pots that you commonly see cherry tomatoes or strawberries sold in are perfect sizes to use as small seed pots and they fit perfect in the bags too as well being a great way to us as recycling,  just make sure that you thoroughly clean them first before using them for seed sowing.

How do I grow Cacti and Succulents from Seed ? 

If you want to watch a step by step video on How to Grow cacti and Succulents from seed then check out my video I have made for my You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon below: 

Thoroughly mix up the 2 parts seed sowing soil with the 1 part perlite OR grit with the 1 part Horticultural sand. You can use the amount of soil mix to the amount you need depending on the size of your seed pots.

If the soil you are using has stones or lumps of bark chippings in it etc its best to remove these by running the soil through a gardening sieve first.

thoroughly mix up the seed sowing soil with the perlite or grit and the horticultural sand, you can remove any hard stones or bark chippings etc by running the soil through a gardening sieve first before mixing.

Once you have thoroughly mixed up all the soil with the perlite or grit and sand then its best to sterilise the soil by either microwaving it or heating it in the oven, this is optional but its something I like to do as it helps to reduce fungus and bacterial attacks on the young seedlings after they have germinated.

If you are sterilising the soil in the microwave then put all of the soil mix into the microwave on high setting for 3 minutes stopping half way through to thoroughly sir the soil mix with a clean spoon, its important that the soil mix is extremely hot as this is what will kill any pathogens and to sterilise your soil.

If you are sterilising your soil mix in the oven bake the soil mix at 180-200 F. /82-93 C for at least 30 minutes, or when the temperature of the soil mix reaches 180 F. (82 C. you can test the temperature of the soil by using a cake thermometer. 

Allow the soil mix to cool down before putting into the seed pot/s.

Once the soil mix has cooled down put the soil mix into the seed pots and place the seed pots in a tray or trays filled with 2-3 inches of clean water, if using rainwater it may be best to boil the water first and allow to cool down so any pathogens that could be in the water are reduced.

Leave the pots in the water until the soil mix in the pots is completely soaked with the water, this can take up to an hour or more but its important to be patient so the soil mix is thoroughly moist all the way through the soil.

Write the name /s of the seeds you will be sowing on the Plant labels / white sticky labels that you will be putting on the bags, and also the date you are sowing the seeds.

Make sure your hands are thoroughly clean then sow the seeds evenly across the surface of the plant pot/s. If the seeds are very small its best to sprinkle them on like pepper as evenly apart as possible but with larger seeds such as Opuntia or Aloe seeds you can place them onto the surface individually and gently press them down. 

Once you have sown the seeds you can very lightly sprinkle some horticultural sand on the top of the soil but make sure the sand is moist. By using sand this can help to minimise moss that often likes to grow on the soil that the young seedlings are growing in due to the soil always needing to be kept moist.

Place the seed pots into the clear plastic bags and make sure to release all the air inside the bags first before sealing the bags. 

Place the bags in a bright well lit location that receives some sun but not intense sun or intense heat.

Keep the seedlings inside their clear bag/s for a minimum of 3 months but you can keep them in the bags for longer than this if the seedlings are still small, I have kept seedlings in the bags for up to 10 months if they are still small and the soil inside the bags is still moist.

echinopsis subdenudata seedlings, cactus seedlings, domino cactus seedlings, sea urchin cactus seedlings,
My Echinopsis subdenudata cactus seedlings commonly known as The Sea Urchin Cactus or Domino Cactus. These seedlings are one year old.

After Care: 

NEVER open the bag/s until after a minimum of 3 months this is to continue to keep the seedlings and soil sterile, however if you notice your seedlings have fungus or any other problems sometimes opening the bag/s may be inevitable.

The young seedlings should not dry out in the bags for up to 3 months, this is because the clear bags act like a mini greenhouse and there is no room for the excess water inside to evaporate, and young seedlings do not take up large amounts of water, however if you notice the soil inside of the bag/s looks like it i drying out then you will have to open the bag/s to water before the 3 months.

After 3 months you can gradually unzip the clear bags over a few days to allow the seedlings inside the bag to acclimatise to the drier air outside of their bag/s in their new environment after a few days you can then take them out of their bag/s completely.

If after the 3 months your seedlings are still small then they can still stay in the bag/s for many more weeks or months if the soil inside the bag/s is still moist, sometimes I will leave my seedlings up to 9 months in the bag/s if there is no need for them to come out of them.

cactus seedlings
A selection of my cacti and succulent seedlings all grown by using the bag method.

How do I care for young cacti and succulent seedlings during their first Winter ? 

This can be confusing to many people because we are told as cacti and succulent growers to keep our plants cool and dry over Winter, but what do we do with young seedlings especially during their first winter ? because a cold and especially dry period could kill them off as the are still so young and their roots will still be fine and developing.

I strongly recommend that you overwinter your young cacti and succulent seedlings indoors at a minimum temperature of around 15 C/ 60 F for their first Winter. I would also still continue to water them lightly just enough to stop the delicate root hairs from drying out.

In their natural habitats in Winter young cacti and succulents would be growing under the shade of larger plants and vegetation where they would naturally be receiving more humidity and warmth than their mature parents that are  more exposed to the elements, therefore in nature in their natural habitats in dry arid deserts even in the Winter young seedlings would still be receiving moisture from the humidity on the lower grounds of the vegetation for their young developing root systems. 

After their first year you can continue to treat them as you would more mature cacti and succulents depending on their size and what type of cactus or succulent they are.

Here is a video I have made for my You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon on How to care for Cacti and Succulent plant seedlings during their first Winter and you can watch this video below : 

If you have watched my video on How to Grow Cacti from Seed that I have made for my You Tube channel called Desert Plants of Avalon then check out the video below I have made on the update : 

Good luck with growing from seed Guys and more importantly HAVE FUN 😀