How are the saguaro cactis growing? The Saguaros are actually doing ver well. As you can see, they were very small last week. Only 4 of them looked like they sprouted. Although almost 12 new sprouts appeared, they look less pale green and more vivid green. Read to see how they are doing.
Saguaro cacti grow extremely slow except when they are sprouting.
This is what they look like today. They kind of resemble dragon fruit seeds, but their lives are thicker. I would say half of the seeds the kit came from sprouted. Let's look closer.
Under a microscope this is what the sprouts look like. Notice how they look like hearts. Tiny spikes come out of the middle, and soon a small cactus will grow. In about two or three months, the sprout will be half a centimeter. In a year, the cactus will be only one inch tall. Think of a small green porcupine with long giant sprouts.
Some of the seeds have not sprouted yet. Not all wild seeds sprout because birds and other animals eat the fruit. When they come in kits, not all of the seeds are viable.
The soil is a very light mixture of foam and glittery bits of plastic. It does not resemble real desert soil, and it is a miracle that the sprouts are still growing.
The cacti are growing underneath a big light and a nice humid plastic covering. As you can see, many of the cacti are at different stages of growth. They will be replanted as soon as three or more sprouts have spikes.
You can buy the exact same saguaro cactus here.
When will the cacti be replanted?
We are hoping to replant each individual plant. That said, we will have 25 different cacti instead of planting the strongest healthiest one. We believe that none of the sprouts should be wasted because they are a strong part of the desert ecosystem.
Where in the backyard will they be planted?
We don't know. Saguaro Cacti need a lot of sun and heat to survive. The TMAD is hot and sunny, but too for one, much less 25 cacti to grow. Plus, we already have plants to plant Cholla Cactus and Creosote bush there.
Please vote.
Where should the adult cacti grow?
The 2nd floor balcony.
Inside the TMAD.
Elsewhere (specify in comments)
The Second Floor Balcony gets the most sun out of all the places in the CCAG. It gets more morning sun than in the TMAD. On average, it gets 6 hours of sunlight. However, the deck is very small and there are no pillars to hold it up. Big cacti like saguaro and joshua tree might cause the deck to collapse. They also have to be grown in pots instead of planted in the ground.
Inside the TMAD is dry and hot, but not always sunny. It has better soil, but is way to small for big species. It has the best desert soil, and the cacti will not collapse or get to heavy. It is mainly meant for smaller cacti—ones that grow wide instead of tall. However, we can plant the big cacti in temporarily.
Everything else
Even though 3 people have came here to visit the TMAD, you can still suggest places where the cacti could survive.
PLEASE PUT YOUR VOTE IN THE COMMENTS if YOU DONT WANT TO VOTE ABOVE! It is valuable information that needs to be figured out
Please vote! If you don't these cacti will either not survive, or be thrown out. We need to protect these plants. There is a 12 year deadline. This means the polls close in 2036, so the plants have enough time to grow.
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