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Tuesday - June 01, 2010

From: Macon, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Propagation
Title: Are the seeds of my Graptopetalum paraguayense in Macon, GA fertile?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I have a Graptopetalum paraguayense that has finished blooming. I put several of the dead flowers into a Ziploc bag and shook them around, and a few hundred seeds came out. They are oblong and very small -- about half the size of a period. Are they fertile? And if so, how do I plant them?

ANSWER:

Graptopetalum paraguayense, although native to northern Mexico, is considered a non-native in the US. This article gives an interesting description of the plant and an explanation of its name. The article describes the seeds as being cylindrical and very small; 0.7 x 0.2 mm.

Are your seeds viable? The only way to tell is to see if they will germinate. This article from Arizona Cooperative Extension gives general procedures for germinating seeds from cactus and succulent plants.

The most common means of propagation is from cuttings.