> Any hints on how to germinate Drosophyllum? Does Pietropaulo's
> approach of slicing bits off the seed work? Also, should I sow in
> early spring to have stable plantlets in time for the summer dormancy,
> or late summer?
Hi Phill,
I can now claim to have a wee bit of experience germinating Drosophyllum
myself. I received two lots of fresh seeds from other growers in
October, and planted 3 seeds in each of 3 plastic pots. The soil
consisted of very fine silica sand with a small amount of fine clay and
assorted sandstone rocks of various sizes (a soil found in its natural
habitat in southern Spain). I soaked them in distilled water for 24
hours, without scratching or slicing the seedcoat at all (which some
growers believe promotes rot), and then planted them about 2mm deep in
the sand, which I kept just slightly moist throughout the end of October
until now by adding a little water to the top of the soil every morning.
Of those 9 seeds, only 1 germinated, after about 2 weeks, and is now a
plantlet about 2cm high (and has already caught 2 gnats!). I gave the
others up for lost, and decided to plant some more.
This time I decided to try scratching the seedcoat a little bit and soaking
them longer to make sure they were completely rehydrated before planting them
out. The seeds are very hard and dry when ripe, and it seems that without
a little outside help, water will have a hard time soaking in. So, I rubbed
8 new seeds just a little bit on some fine-grit sandpaper, and soaked them
in distilled water for 48 hours. Then I planted them out in the same pots
as before.
By the way, I keep the pots out on my balcony in full sunlight,
with a glass awning (just an inclined pane of glass) suspended about 20cm
above the pots to keep the rain out (a long rain killed my adult plant
recently). The outside temperatures are now about 15-20 C during the day,
and 10-15 C at night.
This time, after just 1 week, two more seeds germinated in the second pot,
and one appears to be breaking through the soil in the third pot. While
these trials are completely devoid of any scientific rigor, they do seem
to indicate that a little abrasion of the seedcoat and extra soaking can
increase the chances of germination. You might give this a try.
Best regards,
Gordon Wells
Instituto de Robotica e Informatica Industrial
Edificio Nexus, planta 2
Gran Capitan 2-4
Barcelona 08034
SPAIN