My name is Brian Cochran and I was mentioned in a letter
about using Gibberellic acid to start Drosera Gigantea seeds.
The article was actually about using Gibb acid to start Byblis
Gigantea seeds.
First, I must admit I was a little surprised as to how
detailed my method was described in the newsletter since I had
submitted the same information in my own article to the CPN to be
published in March 1995. Nonetheless, I have added some
improvements this year to the technique which have yielded a near
100% success rate of germinating and growing Byblis Giganteas to
maturity (well as mature as they can get in 2-3 months which is the
critical time for these plants.) These improvements will appear
in the March article.
(I have to add: Please no inquiries. I am growing these plants
to get enough seed to send out to the seed bank and to others
who can possibly duplicate this success. I already know of one
person who has followed this technique and now has several plants
in his collection! Maybe he will post his comments.)
About the tuberous drosera, Allen Lowrie told me that they
take from 90 to 120 days to germinate. Which has pretty much
proven true. I sow mine in pots and leave them out all Spring and
Summer with the other CP and during the cool of the Fall and early
winter they begin to germinate. And yes, you can use Gibb acid as a
treatment for any hard to germinate plants. I have dripped what I
had left from the Byblis plantings on stubborn seeds and soon
after obtained germination (i.e. Drosera Cistiflora.) But I'll
leave that subject for others to write about.
After 15 years of burning hundreds of Byblis Gigantea seeds
and being very disappointed (like so many others) I believe I've
hit on a fairly reliable technique of starting these beauties (and
honestly there's nothing new here. Just a path as it were...)
My goal is to see Byblis Giganteas (and all the new wonderful
forms of Byblis Liniflora) commonplace in CP collections.
Brian C.