Allen Lowrie

Barry Meyers-Rice (barry@mips3.as.arizona.edu)
Sat, 12 Nov 1994 11:38:20 -0700

> I ordered last year from Mr. Lowrie and had a zero percent germination

and...

>is alan lowries's seed stock really as bad as everyone is saying?

I've had pretty mixed results on seed germination from Allen. But I don't
blame him for most of these. See, when I buy his seed of _Utricularia_ or
tuberous/pygmy/_petiolaris_--type _Drosera_, I know the seeds are
semi-wild, and haven't got the benefit of being grown for a few generations
in cultivation. So they're possibly looking for some conditions or mysterious
pretreatment. So he's not necessarily to blame.

On the other hand, I was pretty disappointed that none of the Sarracenia seed
I once ordered from him germinated, because good, fresh seed should
germinate readily.

I've gotten successful germination from the following species from Allen:
D. glabripes, D. natalensis (which he sells as the fictional D.coccicaulis),
D.ramentacea,D. regia,U. novae-zelandiae,U.multifida,U.volubilis, B.gigantea,
Byblis liniflora ssp. liniflora,B.liniflora aff. Darwin, and
B.liniflora ssp. occidentalis. For each of these germinations, perhaps
2 additional plants did *not* germinate. So the odds are not too good. :(

On the other hand, his tubers are always alive....

> started in this venture; Barry Meyers, Dave Purks, Jeff Welch, and the
> listowner Chris Waldrop.

The intrepid ``listowner'' is actually Rick Walker, who deserves appreciation
for his tireless efforts! (Clap clap clap clap)

Barry