I'd put the seeds in some rain water with a few drops of Superthrive.
Wait a few days until the seeds sink to the bottom. Sow on the surface
of milled sphagnum. Place in full sun. Add water until even with the
soil level. Don't cover the seeds with soil or with a baggie - exposure
to sunlight helps germination and you will want a high enough evaporation
rate so fresh water can be added regularly to avoid the water getting
rancid. Very wet soil helps soften the hard seed coat too.
> Also, Don B....how are your D.chrysolepsis and graminifolia doing? What
> neat plants! Mine are doing well. Have you done any vegetative propagation?
They're doing ok. The D. chrysolepis has just set seed. I tried taking
leaf cuttings from both, but they turn brown in only a few days. Haven't
tried root cuttings yet.
Other news:
S. psittacina hasn't flowered yet but all the other Sarracenia have
finished flowering. A flower stalk on S. leucophylla reached 32 inches.
New leaves on all the Sarracenia seedlings are running 2 to 3 times the
size of the largest pitchers from last year. S. purpurea purpurea
heterophylla is producing pitchers that look like mini versions of adult
leaves.
There's a book store on the internet:
telnet 192.148.240.9
They offer the new Cheek CP book for $45 + $4 shipping.
Just got a Xerox copy of Danser's monograph of Nepenthes. N. northiana
is described as sometimes having peltate leaf tips. So, our N. mixta
'Superba', which also has peltate leaf tips on the lower leaves, probably
is correctly IDed and is N. x (northiana x maxima).
D. capensis that have wintered outside is slowly growing back from
the roots. I'll keep this species indoors next winter. D. binata and
D. binata dichotoma have probably improved spending the winter outside.
Other plants kept indoors of these species are smaller and don't look
as healthy. D. binata multifida may be more sensitive to cold since
they are not as big as plants kept indoors.
"Mexican" Pinguicula soil mixes:
Barry, you posted that ping article a few months ago that stated the BEST
soil mix was 2 parts perlite and 3 parts vermiculite. That's what I use.
Try and find the coarse grade perlite (grains should be about the size of
a 1/2-pea) and rinse the powder out of it before using. P. valisneriifolia
I think is that unusual species from Italy that grows from ceilings inside
the entrance of caves. It is also calciphilous (likes basic soils). The
word for plants that do not like basic soils is calciphobious - I just
recalled these two words from that Jurg Steiger article on temperate pings.
Plant freak:
One of my Nepenthes has produced a pitcher with no lid at all. The pitcher
remains sealed and looks like a little sausage.
-- Don Burden New Albany, Indiana, USA donb@iglou.com