April
During March many of our plants have begun to show signs of growth and, to encourage this, they should have been sprayed with tepid water on sunny days. As we go into April many cacti will begin to flower and, provided the weather is bright and sunny, a light watering can be given. Watering should be withheld from Echinocereus and Lobivia until the flower buds are fairly well advanced. It should be possible to give the first really good drenching towards the end of the month. Many of the other succulents will also benefit from a similar watering regime but Conophytum should not be watered nor should caudiciforms until they show signs of growth. Lithops can be watered when the old leaves have shrunk sufficiently. Do not use pesticides in the first watering.
Late March and April is also a good time to sow seeds. I find that seeds sown in April soon catch up those planted earlier in the year The method I use is to fill 50mm pots about 2/3 full of my standard compost then cover with a layer of seed grade vermiculite. I then stand the pots in a tray in a tray containing a copper based fungicide solution. Do not use Chinosol because it has a tendency to inhibit germination. I sow the seeds on top of the vermiculite and, if the seeds are fairly large, I sprinkle vermiculite thinly on top. I then seal the pots in polythene bags until germination has taken place a few days to a few weeks later. I find that cacti can be left in their polythene bags until they are quite large perhaps for a year or so. Many other succulents do not like this treatment and do better if they removed from their polythene bags once germination has taken place.
By the end of the month most plants will be growing strongly. If I find any that are not doing as well as I think they should, I examine them, carefully checking for pests and/or root loss. If I find that root loss is the problem I cut away any dead roots, leave to the plant to dry for a week or so then set the plant in a peat and sand mixture.
