"winter growers" simply refer to species that prefer to grow actively at the time of year when nights are cool (~ in the 50s to low 60s F +/-). When nights are hot, they enter a semi-dormancy. When it is too cold, they also become dormant.

Do not use the calendar to determine the growth season. It depends on your climate. Probably for most areas in the US, the ideal growth period for "winter" growers is in the spring and fall.

The same rules generally apply to seeds. They will just sit there until the temps are right. For seedlings that become dormant, it becomes a struggle to keep the tiny plants from rotting while at the same time keeping them constantly moist.

Most folks will recommend sowing hot-weather dormant species in the late summer or early fall, then growing them through into the spring so that by the time the weather turns hot again, they are big enough to withstand it.

Spring tends to be the worst time.

x

Good Mornign X,

Thank you very much for your help.

This is kinda what I figured, but wanted to make sure. I will need to do some research then before I order. :)

JoJo

Let us know what species you are considering and you can get a more accurate response.

x

Hi x,
Looking back at this, I realize I worded it wrong and meant to put winter dormant.

So if winter dormant, could I start them now? I'm in AZ, a little warmer than most.

It's a pretty long list, some are common. My son wants to grow his own too.

Right now I am looking through Mesa gardens and just picking names I don't know and then google it.

A few are

Echinocereus Cacti~
Avonia quinaria~
Notocactus~
Neoporteria~
Neolloydia~

Common would be like
Crassula~
Mammillaria~
Haworthia~
Gasteria~
Stapelia~ Which I just had my own seed pod open, and waiting on two more. Really neat!

Thanks for your help!
JoJo

The cacti should not be a problem.

Avonia, Crassula, Haworthia and Gasteria will do better if sown after the summer's heat wanes.

The rest should do OK, just remember to keep seedlings constantly moist. Do not treat them like adult plants.

x

xerophyte_nyc, I wonder how much experience you've actually had with starting winter growers like mesembs in the spring...I'd guess not a lot!

-R

I actually have had a lot of experience with mesembs in the spring. Germination is great, days are warm, nights are cooler. For the dwarf species, however, by the time it gets hot, it is hard to maintain the proper water balance to keep the seeedlings alive. It can be done, but it seems to be much easier to wait until after the summer. Especially Conophytum - they are literally toast in the summer. Some Lithops species (and Dinteranthus) do OK others just melt away into oblivion. Muiria and Gibbaeum - almost as bad as Conophytum.

If you live somewhere that doesn't get hot in the summer, like on the West Coast somewhere, there will undoubtedly be more success.

Here are some of my mesembs and other small S. African plants:
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