Most of the petiolaris plants are fairly easy to raise from seed, particularly
D. falconeri and D. pet. "Kununurra". THis makes seed a better method to
establish plants into the collection, in terms of $$ and numbers. Seedlings
grow to maturity in less than 1 year, providing the following recipe is
followed:
1) Plant seed on 1:1 peat/sand
2) Enclose pot in a baggie (100% humidity), keeping about 2 cm of H2O at bottom
3) Keep pot in an area where T's are maintained at 33 - 36 C and in very
bright light. I accomplish this by wiring the baggie under flourescent
lights (2 X 40W) at a distance of about 5-7 cm from the soil surface. Heat
naturally emitted from the lights will maintain the required T range during
the on cycle.
4) Within 3 months max you should see some germination, depending on seed
freshness.
I've had good luck with D. lanata, D. petiolaris (Darwin), D. dialatato-
petiolaris, D. pet. aff. "Mini Rosette" and the above two plants. Good luck.
Rob