Harvesting echinopsis cactus seeds

Growing cacti from seed is quite easy, but it requires patience. Depending on the genus and species, it may take two, three, four, or even five years for seedlings to grow into flowering-size specimens. I already have well over 100 cactus seedlings in my care, between the German echinopsis hybrids I mentioned recently, other open-pollinated echinopsis hybrids (‘June Noon’, ‘First Light’, and ‘Flying Saucer’), as well as dozens of assorted Astrophytum asterias. If you got tired just reading this, I sympathize.

However, I had so many spectacular echinopsis hybrids flower earlier this spring that I decided to harvest seeds from two of them. The first is a German hybrid, Echinopsis ‘Liskes Feuerzauber’ (in the U.S. usually referred to as ‘Magic Fire’). It debuted this year with flowers that blew me away:

Echinopsis ‘Magic Fire’

Echinopsis ‘Magic Fire’

Some cacti produce seed pods that dry up and release the seeds when they’ve become brittle. To harvest the seeds, all you have to do is break open the dried seed pods.

Other cacti, like echinopsis, produce fleshy fruits, with the seeds embedded in a moist pulp (think dragon fruit). Harvesting the seeds is a messier undertaking. The photos below show how I do it.

In the next photo you’ll see two echinopsis fruits. I prefer to leave them on the stem as long as possible, ideally until they split open on their own. Fortunately, I don’t seem to have any critters messing with the seed pods, otherwise I might have to pull them off before they’re completely ripe.

Typical echinopsis fruit; one has already split open

Hairy and a bit shriveled (don’t go there)

Split open to reveal the pulp and seeds inside

I carefully pull off the outer skin to release the pulp:

I put the seedy pulp in some water and squish the fleshier bits between my fingers to release the seeds:

When most of the seeds are free, I pour the contents of the bowl onto a few layers of paper towel:

There still are some pieces of pulp. That’s OK.

When the paper towel is dry, it’s easy to scrape off the seeds. Here’s how many I got from this one ‘Magic Fire’ fruit:

Seeds from Echinopsis ‘Magic Fire’

You can save the seeds for later (I use small coin envelopes like these) or you can sow them right away. Some people say cactus seeds have to “cure” a little before they’re ready, but I’ve had no problems getting them to germinate right away.

My standard method is to fill a small plastic receptacle (like a nursery pot or even a clean takeout container) with seed-starter growing medium (something like this), water it until it’s thoroughly soaked, then sprinkle the seeds on top. The pot then goes inside a plastic baggie which will remained sealed until the seeds have germinated and the seedlings have grown to the size of a fingernail. The environment inside the sealed baggie will remain humid enough so you won’t have to add any water. I keep the baggies inside, close to a window with bright light.

Sealed plastic baggie with Echinopsis ‘Magic Fire’ seeds sprinkled on top of seed-starter medium

When the seedlings are big enough (“big” being a total judgment call)...

...I carefully separate them and put each one in its own 2" pot:

After a year or two (depending on how fast they grow), I move the seedlings up to a 4" pot:

When they’ve outgrown their 4" pots, they go into 1-gallon pots. There they’ll stay until they flower for the first time. This is when I pick the keepers and toss the others.

German echinopsis hybrids I grew from seed, now in 1-gallon pots

Since this is such an involved (not to mention lengthy) process, I plan on collecting seeds from only one other echinopsis hybrid this year, Echinopsis ‘Pink Stripes’. As mentioned earlier, ‘Pink Stripes’ has the same parentage as ‘Magic Fire’ and is just as beautiful:

Echinopsis ‘Pink Stripes’

My seeds from both ‘Magic Fire’ and ‘Pink Stripes’ are the result of open pollination. In other words, the flowers were pollinated naturally, almost certainly by bees. The pollen could have come from other flowers on the same plant (probably not) or, more likely, from other hybrids blooming nearby. 

In other words, there’s a good chance the seeds I collected won’t come true but will be an entirely new hybrid. That’s perfectly OK with me, considering all the echinopsis planted in the front yard produce flowers that I like. In fact, it’s that element of randomness — and the possibilities that come with — that I find exciting.

I’ll have an update for you in, oh, three or four years.

© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.