Please be careful when purchasing saguaro seeds.  Saguaros only grow in the Sonoran Desert.  This includes Southern Arizona and the Northern part of Sonora, Mexico.  The Cardon and other cactus that look like saguaros are not related to the Saguaros that grow in the Sonoran Desert.  If you want saguaros only purchase seeds that come from Carnegiea Gigantea.  If stored at room temperature saguaro seeds are good for 20 years.

I have collected these seeds while harvesting the fruit of the saguaros on private property to eat or to use to make saguaro jelly.  A good fruit has the slight taste of a fig.  The seeds are also very crunchy and have a lot of protein.

For International shipping please check the bottom of this listing regarding cost of shipping.

Shipping within the continental United States is free.

This listing is for a packet containing 1/4 tsp of very tiny seeds.  How many seeds is that?  I don’t know.  If you have the patience to count them please let me know.  I counted at least 150 seeds in 1/16 of a tsp.  You do the rest of the math!

It is amazing that such a gigantic cactus has its beginnings in such tiny, tiny seeds.  The little black dots in the picture are individual seeds


In the first picture one ripe saguaro fruit has been sliced open to show the beautiful red pulp inside, which contains hundreds of seeds.  The Calyx is the brown “stem” on the fruit.  It is formed from the dried sepals that surround the white flower.  If you look closely you can see the dried white flower at the top of the Calyx.  Native Americans use the sharp edge on the bottom on of the Calyx to slice open the fruit.  The thumb is then used to push and clean out the pulp.

Picture 1 shows the fruit and the tiny seeds.  In picture 2 you see the seeds on about the 10th day from start. Picture 3 was sent to me by a buyer of my seeds.  The three pots in front are my seeds.  The three pots in back come from 3 different sellers.  This was after 24 hours.  The 4th picture shows my seeds in the round container on the left.  Almost 100 percent of the seeds germinated.  The picture was taken at 2 weeks.  The 5th picture is from a recent buyer.  These seeds are a few weeks old according to the grower.  The 6th picture shows the bloom of a saguaro cactus at my home.  The 7thpicture was taken by a buyer of last years batch of seeds.  He recently purchased more seeds.  "This is a 7.5mo seedling from your last years seed, raised in a zippie-bag mini-greenhouse for first six months, under filtered natural light."  The last picture is of saguaros at different stages of growth.  These are being grown by a buyer in Brazil.

I will try to ship internationally but I am not sure of restrictions concerning seeds to other countries.

How to Grow a Saguaro:

1.     Use a clay pot with a hole in the bottom since they “breathe” and allow for better drainage.

2.     Use a mixture of 1/3 potting mix, 1/3 clean sand, and 1/3 coarse gravel or pumice.  You can also purchase special cactus soil.

3.     Using a pencil poke holes about 1/8 inch deep and 1 inch apart.

4.     Place one seed in each hole and cover lightly with a pinch of soil.

5.     Using a spray bottle and distilled water lightly water the seeds.  The soil should never be soggy.

6.     Cover with clear plastic wrap.  You are making a miniature greenhouse. Keep covered for 4-6 weeks until a set of true leaves appear.

7.     Using the spray bottle water the seeds very 10 days while they are under the plastic cover.  Again the soil should not become soggy.

8.     Keep the seeds in a warm place with good indirect sunlight.  Direct sunlight will kill the baby plants and they will probably die if temperatures go below 40 degrees.  The top of a refrigerator is a good place for warmth.

9.     After 4-6 weeks you can remove the plastic covering.  You only need to water about once a month using the spray bottle.  Do not over water.

10.     When the baby plants reach 1 inch transplant them into their own pots.  This could take 1-2 years!  Saguaros grow at a faster rate each year.  The first 25 years are the slowest.  Saguaros can have a 2 foot or more tap root.  The rest of the roots are generally 4 inches deep and extend as far out as the saguaro is tall.


HINT:  Check out Groovyman 1968 on YouTube for growing suggestions on cactus and  succulents.  Groovyman 1968 purchases his seeds from me.  Groovyman 1968 recently sent seeds to people who responded to his videos.  Check out "Saguaro cactus seeds from Keith"  on YouTube!


International Shipping:  I can send 1 to 4 orders or packets of seeds in a regular business envelope.  More than 4 orders would have to be split up and the postage would double.  For example it costs $1.15 to send up to 4 orders to Canada.  For 5 or more orders the cost would be $2.30.  The Post Office told me that the cost for under one ounce anywhere in the World is $1.15.  Please wait to pay until after I have sent you an invoice.  It is possible that eBay will indicate a higher cost of shipping.  If you are charged more than the actual cost of shipping I will issue you a partial refund through PayPal for the overcharge.    

I will try to ship internationally but I am not sure of restrictions concerning seeds to other countries.