Nepenthes seed germination
Doug Fraser (dougf@tlgamma.qld.BoM.GOV.AU)
Fri, 3 May 1996 09:15:59 +0000 (GMT)
A friend recently informed me that he was getting poor germination in his hot
box. We discussed the problem and were at a loss to understand why. He grows
his seeds in a fishtank under gro-plus lights and has not experienced
problems before. It was only later when i mentioned this problem at the local
hydro-ponic shop that i was reliably informed that these lights only have a
life span of about six months after this the colours in the spectrum
start to fade and their effect on seedlings and plants begins to reduce. This
may also explain why plants that have showed colouration before gradually
lose this colour and return to a paler or green colour and their growth
rate reduces. Both my friend
and i have since replaced our gro-plus tubes and his seed germination and
my plant growth have both improved. So it may not hurt to consider the
age of your gro-plus tubes.
Meryl Fraser (D.Fraser@Bom.Gov.au)