Arkham's Botanical - 'How To Grow Lophophora Williamsii From Seed' (Peyote Growing Guide/overview)

‘How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed’ | Version 1.
0 | 5 October 2018
Arkham’s Botanical Presents

‘How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed’
One of the questions our customers most frequently ask us at Arkham’s Botanical is how
to grow the marvellous and venerable ‘Peyote’ cactus. Because of this – in an effort to
show everyone how to grow Lophophora williamsii from seed – we’ve put together this
(by no means comprehensive) overview!
What is Peyote?
For those of you who don’t know anything about this

great species, Lophophora williamsii is a much-loved
cactus which is sadly considered to be vulnerable to
extinction due to population decrease.
Peyote’s rapidly-shrinking native habitat covers parts

of Mexico and Texas in the USA and is constantly under
threat due to predators including erosion, land devel-
opers and commercial and other harvesters. All the
more reason to do your bit by growing some cacti!
How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed
As we’ve mentioned before elsewhere on our website, Peyote and other Lophophora
varieties can be easily (albeit rather slowly) cultivated at home in most climates. Our pre-
ferred method is currently by means of an enhanced ‘Takeaway Tek’, which you can read
more about in the guide we posted here.
As outlined in more detail in the guide, our approach to growing Lophophora williamsii
seed basically involves filling a clear plastic tray with an adequately-hydrated mix of soil
and volcanic stone, sowing the seed and then sealing it inside a plastic freezer bag for
a minimum of three months without doing anything. We know, sounds like hard work,
right?! Plants grown using this technique will reach a diameter of several centimetres af-
ter a year or so, presuming they’re somewhere with a climate relatively akin to their natu-
ral environment. Maintain a temperature of
roughly 20°C to 37.5°C until the plants are
more mature, avoiding frosts at all costs!
How to Speed Up Peyote Growth
Many of our customers also want to know

how to grow Lophophora williamsii from
seed but somehow speed up Peyote growth.
www.arkhamsbotanical.com
‘How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed’ | Version 1.0 | 5 October 2018
While there’s no rushing perfection, it is entirely possible to maximise the rate of growth
by various means. The simplest of these is also the most obvious; make sure that you’re
doing everything you can to help the plant by providing a welcoming environment in
which it can grow!
Unlike Trichocereus and many other cacti, Lophophora come from Northern America and
so do not handle intense sun as well as their South American cousins! While handling
full desert sun of a reasonable intensity, Peyote often naturally occur in (relatively) shady
spots and/or are often partially covered by sand or soil, so use your judgement – espe-
cially if you want to avoid burning young plants!
A fast-draining mineral soil should be employed, repotting annually if grown in contain-

ers. Some people further suggest adding small amounts of organic fertiliser, such as worm
castings or coffee grounds, to soil intended for cactus cultivation.
Watering Your Lophophora williamsii Cactus
The next area to consider when you grow Lophophora williamsii from seed is the amount
of water that you give them. While definitely having an unfortunate tendency to rot
should they be over-watered, dependent on the climate you can speed up Peyote growth
a little by regular but sensible watering. This is something you need to experiment with a
bit yourself, but you should soon get the hang of it (it’s easy to ascertain when Peyote is
too wet: it rots!). The best course of action is to ensure that your williamsii‘s soil is com-
pletely dried out before the next watering.
Our next advice relates to the use of fertiliser. Personally, we avoid the use of inorganic
fertilisers and other nasty substances entirely, so choose to apply an organic one two to
three times per year. We use a diluted, cactus-friendly (low nitrogen, high phosphorous,
an N:P:K ratio of 3:1:5 is fine), liquid fertiliser for all of our Lophophora, yet tail this off
during the cacti’s (semi-)dormant period. Other organic fertilisers and nutrients added by
many growers include blood, bone, charcoal, chicken pellets, coffee grounds and gypsum.
Beware of fertiliser abuse, however, as too much will make the cactus start to crack and
split! Advanced growers also often apply a little plain water to their Peyote immediately
prior to applying a fertiliser solution, to minimise the liquid lost running through other-
wise dry soil.
Advanced Techniques to Speed Up Peyote Growth
Now we’re well on our way to discovering how to grow Lophophora williamsii from seed
fast! This section covers several more advanced techniques, for those among you who
hope to speed up Peyote growth to the maximum.
The first, grafting, is in essence the simple art of splicing one species to another, thereby
achieving growth rates more like those of the ‘mother’ plant. For example, many who
prefer to graft Lophophora williamsii choose to do so onto a much faster growing colum-
‘How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed’ | Version 1.0 | 5 October 2018
nar Trichocereus species, such as Trichocereus pachanoi. However,

it’s not quite as simple as that, with more involved in the proce-
dure than just sticking the two plants together any old way! In a
nutshell, the two species’ circular vascular bundles must sufficient-
ly overlap in order for the mother to transfer nutrients and water
to its scion.
While we’ve not as-yet tried our hand at grafting, it’s undeniable
that it often produces impressive results. If only there were enough
hours in the day…
Top tip: Many cultivators grafting Peyote advise that maximum growth can be achieved by
treating the resulting plants as though they were the ‘mother’, rather than the scion spe-
cies.
The final technique we’ll take a look at here is the addition of various hormones to either
the Peyote’s growth medium or watering schedule. The theory is that this will super-
charge the plant’s chemical processes and therefore hopefully speed up Peyote growth.
We don’t have any practical experience with this rather advanced technique, but we have
heard good things from a few inquisitive members of the community! If you’re interested,
one of the most commonly employed hormones to speed up Peyote growth is Gibberellic
acid (chemical formula C19H22O6, also called GA, GA3 and Gibberellin A3).
Found naturally in plants, GA3 is a non-toxic organic compound which, when used in very
small quantities, promotes the growth and elongation of plant cells. A very potent devel-
opmental hormone, practically minuscule concentrations of GA3 have a quite profound
effect on plant growth! For more on this and other cutting-edge horticultural experi-
ments, we heartily recommended checking out the excellent Share the Seeds forum.
Final Thoughts on Growing Peyote
So, there you have it; we hope that this short overview has successfully demonstrated
how to grow Lophophora williamsii from seed! Notwithstanding the fact that it’s a very
slow-growing cactus species, propagating williamsii in this fashion is a highly rewarding
pastime. Not only that, but it’s up to us as responsible citizens of the planet to do what
we can to conserve this (and every other) endangered species!
Watching young williamsii as they develop through the various growth stages is a fascinat-
ing education and well worth the minimal effort involved. It’s an indescribably fuzzy feel-
ing of accomplishment when you gawk proudly at your first-ever batch of Peyote seed-
lings! Of course, we think everyone should have a Lophophora cactus or three in their
garden – and there’s no time like yesterday to plant a seed!
ARKHAM’S BOTANICAL sells high-quality ethnobotanical seeds and plants,

focusing especially on Acacia, Lophophora and Trichocereus species

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‘How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed’ | Version 1.

Arkham’s Botanical Presents

For those of you who don’t know anything about this

Peyote’s rapidly-shrinking native habitat covers parts

How to Grow Lophophora williamsii from Seed

How to Speed Up Peyote Growth

Many of our customers also want to know

A fast-draining mineral soil should be employed, repotting annually if grown in contain-

Watering Your Lophophora williamsii Cactus

Advanced Techniques to Speed Up Peyote Growth

nar Trichocereus species, such as Trichocereus pachanoi. However,

Final Thoughts on Growing Peyote

ARKHAM’S BOTANICAL sells high-quality ethnobotanical seeds and plants,

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