Cacti seeds

I've received some cacti seeds as a present, and I've sown them properly. Now I have many"babies" emerging. Some of them already have a cactus appearance, but still on the two first leaves(those that emerge from the seed, I don't know the name in English). When should I move them to a new container or to my garden? We are at the begining of fall now. I have them indoors.Should I wait till spring? Winters are relatively cold here, but usually not below 0 degrees.Thanks for helping!

I would probably wait until spring, there are a lot of things that are working against your little seedlings if you try to put them out now. I don't know what your winters are like in terms of rainfall, but cacti generally hate to be cold and wet at the same time, so if your winters are rainy then that won't be great for them. Also I'd check the hardiness on them, some cacti don't like frost and wouldn't be able to handle freezing temperatures even when they're full grown, but others would be fine so it also depends on which ones you have. But if they're borderline at all, seedlings are going to be more sensitive to frost than full grown plants so I probably wouldn't take chances and I'd keep them in for the winter. Also I would not transplant them anywhere until at least they have their first true leaves (which are the next ones to come out after the cotyledons or seed leaves).

I agree with what Ecrane has told you, however, not knowing how long your winters last, then perhaps once they grow more leaves, say about four good strong leaves, then maybe you will need to plant them into individual pots of soil mixed with some sand and fine grit to help with drainage, that way, once spring comes, then you wont be trying to separate larger plants for planting outdoors, some cacti seedlings change in appearance rather fast and you could have a problem if they grow too large inside all winter, but dont plant outside till spring, the fluctuating temps could kill them off. good luck. WeeNel.

Thank you very much for your ideas.Winters are not usually very rainy in the south of Uruguay, but the air is always wet because we are on the coast. I'll keep them in till spring. Would you call true leaves what you see on top of the seed leaves? Do you know what will happen next? They don't look like cacti,by th moment.

I've never grown cacti from seed so I'm not sure at what point they go from looking like seedlings to looking like cacti. I suspect the stuff you're seeing on the top is the cactus equivalent of the 2nd set of leaves starting to form, but I really can't help you on what to expect.

Thanks. I've been reading the package of the seeds and they are 3 different Ferocactus,2 Stenocereus and Carnegia gigantea. I'm a bit worried about this last. I've found it in a book and it looks enormous, but I hope it will take it a long time to reach that size.