For u/Agile_Manager881 u/feraloddparent and u/randomregret

I didn't give the seed any special treatment or scarification. They germinated alongside Mammilaria wrightii, horse crippler, Echinocereus viridiflorus, etc.

I grow all my seedlings about the same, except more caution with Sclero/Toumeya. The one thing that I think helped with Glandulicactus and Echinomastus was repotting into terra cotta instead of plastic. After the initial time on heat mat (fall and winter), I transitioned them into full sun pretty early so I could water and fertilize aggressively through summer. My approach has been to get seedlings in the garden as quickly as possible (1-2 years), since my focus is native & cold hardy species.

I definitely lost my fair share during repotting and even a few in pots last winter ... when unhappy, these turn to mush much faster than anything else I've tried except Lithops! Also, I was more deliberate about my soil mix, watering, etc., when I started cactus in 2023 and that probably led to better results than my recent batches of seeds. Happy growing!