Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 13:15:15 +0200 From: Wim Leys <Wim.Leys@vlm.be> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1281$foo@default> Subject: anthocyanin free Darlingtonia germination
Now that most of my plants are transplanted, I had time to pay a close
look at the seed tray containing the anthocyanin free Darlingtonia's.
Here are some preliminary results, more accurate data will be gathered
when the seedlings are transplanted. It was just too difficult to count
the seedlings as they grow closely together.
mixture anthocyanin free "typical"
1 90% 10%
2 10% 90%
3 0% 100%
I considered plants with the faintest pink / red coloration to be the
"typical" form. I wonder if plants that are now appearently totally
green will turn reddish in the future.
Other people reported delayed germination of "mixture 1" seeds, mine did
not show that difference. It would be good to know how the seeds were
treated before / after being sown.
As this is the very first time they are available and made available by
one source (!! thank you Barry !!), the origin and age are the same for
everybody. This could give us some really valuable indications on how
Darlingtonia can be sown best. As you will read, the method I use is
quite effective (for me, using the equipment I have, in my climate,
...), but I also know that things that work for me may not work for
somebody else with other equipment, in another climate, ... so it would
be really interesting if more people would describe the way they sowed
their Darlingtonia seeds. I know that if I blindly follow cultivation
techniques of other people, success is not al all guaranteed.
This is the way I proceeded :
Seed distributor : UK CPS
Country (climate) : Belgium
Storage before sowing : in refrigerator (vegetable compartment)
Sown : second half of December 1997 (together with all other CP's that
were treated exactly the same)
Mixture : 3 peat : 1 coarse sand : 1 perlite : 1 pine needles
Treatment : sprayed with a fungicide (I should check the active
component "chinolineum sulphate" or something like that) right after
being sown. Seed tray was covered with a black plastic to prevent light
induced germination.
Stratification : placed on ground (coldest place) in unheated
greenhouse, we had a quite mild winter in Belgium, it only froze a few
times. I don't know how many times the seed tray froze, if it froze at
all. My minmax thermometer hangs about 1 m 50 cm above the ground, it
never showed sub zero (degrees Celsius) temperatures, but on the ground
this may be a totally different story.
Exposure to light and warmth : 1th of February, the black cover was
removed and replaced by a clear plastic one. The seed tray was placed on
a table in the greenhouse and the bottom heater was plugged in. Soil
temperature varies between 20 C and 30 C, depending on the temperature
of the environment and availability / intensity of sunlight.
First germination :
mixture1 : around February 16th
mixture2 : around February 16th
mixture3 : around February 16th
Percentage germination :
mixture1 : about 100 %
mixture2 : about 100 %
mixture3 : about 100 %
Percentage anthocyanin free form :
mixture1 : exact data available in the near future
mixture2 : exact data available in the near future
mixture3 : exact data available in the near future
I regret the fact that I have not counted the number of seeds I
received. Part of mixture 2 was lost due to rot, the infected seedlings
were removed, together with the adjacent ones, to prevent the spread of
the contamination. The rot stopped by removing the plastic cover. The
bottom heater is still plugged in as it is quite cold in Belgium now (a
few days ago we had night frost).
Any other suggestions about what factors could affect germination ?
Barry, are there other things you'd like to know ?
The seedlings have produced their first true leaves (pitchers), so they
can be transplanted. I just need some extra room in my greenhouse.
Anybody interested in 500 S. flava's, 200 S. alata's, 1000 Dionaea's,
... ?
Kind regards
Wim
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:31 PST