Utric germination
Fernando Rivadavia Lopes (ferndriv@usp.br)
Wed, 11 Oct 1995 18:21:45 -0500 (CDT)
Loyd,
I know 2 CPs that beat your Utric record: Genlisea lobata and a
few G.violacea forms. I collected the former in June 1993 and the seeds I
sowed then still come up once in a while in the pot where they USED to
grow. The last seedling germinated around April `95, almost 2 years later!
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to develop these G.lobata
seedlings into mature plants and the original plants never lasted long in
cultivation. I'm planning to go to the mountain range where G.lobata is
endemic to at the end of this month and will thus soon be attempting to
put this species into cultivation again. In '93 I`d sent out lots of
seeds of this species, but for most people they also germinated and
died soon afterwards while for the others they simply didn't germinate.
A few G.violacea forms have also done this same stunt, though I'm
not sure about the exact dates the seeds were sown so I can't estimate how
many months they took to germinate. Apparently, Genlisea of section
Tayloria (G.violacea, G.lobata, G.uncinata, plus various forms which will
most likely become new species in the future) need stratification for
good germination. They never seem to germinate immediately when sowed
while fresh in a pot. It would probably be best to sow the seeds and keep
the pot between dry to occasionally moist for a few months, and
afterwards begin watering constantly, sort of like the treatment for
tuberous Drosera during the summer. I'm not sure how long this
stratification needs to be, but in the wild it usually lasts around 4 to
5 months from June/July to November/December.
I'm not sure if this is also valid for the giant G.uncinata,
which seems to be the only true perennial in this section. There is a
large G.violacea-like species in northern Minas Gerais state which
appears to grow MAINLY as an annual and OCCASIONALLY as annuals, while
all others in section Tayloria seem to grow MAINLY as annuals and
OCCASIONALLY as perennials.
Fernando Rivadavia
Sao Paulo, Brasil