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Cobra Seedlings Problems?

kath

Katherine
Hi. It's been a while, and my cobra lily seeds have begun to germinate.

Last week, I had seven new seedlings germinating. This week, I have only 2, which by the way are extremely healthy looking and growing like little mad things. They are both green, and have just fully escaped from their seed cases, but I'm wanting to know what happened to my other 5?
Is it normal for them all to die off, and if not, what caused it?

How come none of my other cobra seeds (they were all stratified for 4 weeks in the fridge with some wet media) other than the first seven, have germinated? I would've thought that some more would begin to grow in the week after the first few?

Also, a few of the seeds are turning black, and obviously being dead, I'm getting rid of them as they appear. Is it normal for some of the seeds to start turning black and dying, or should none of them be doing this? About ten of them have done it so far, and there seem to be more every week.

Also, I noticed a little mold, which apparently is Botrytis, growing on some of the seeds, and someone told me to water them with a bleach solution, but I was too scared of doing it in case it harmed the plants. Should I do this? If so how much bleach to water? Should I soak the whole of the surface soil? Do I need to repeat it once a week or something? Are there any other cure's for this mold? Would copper oxychloride work, and if so how do I use it?

The container the darlingtonia seedlings are in is semi-covered by some plastic cling-wrap,for humidity, but it's not fully covered because there were huge drops of water forming on the indisde, and we were afraid it wasn't good for the seedlings. Should I put the gladwrap back fully over the container?

How should I be caring for the young seed/seedlings? How much water/light/temperatures/humidity?
 
I don't have experience with cobra's but I would say using both of those fungicide options sounds bad. I know cp's don't like copper and no plant likes bleach so I'd go with something safer like neem oil.
 
I don't know if neem oil is OK for CPs... I looked at using it for a while but went with other stuff. I hear a lot of growers have excellent success using Trichoderma inoculations to prevent fungus. (Trichoderma is a beneficial fungus that outcompetes pests.) If you already have mold, try cinnamon. Sprinkle it straight on the fungus - you can flush your pots out later if you're worried about nutrient build up but I've never noticed any ill effect (except sundews get pretty icky if you get cinnamon on the dew.)
It sounds like things are way too wet, cold, and dim. Uncover them once you get seeds germinating - if you're worried about the unsprouted ones drying then mound a little potting mix around them. Give them plenty of light and a little warmth during the daytime - don't heat the soil excessively, but Darlingtonia do grow in wet clearings where the sun heats things up a fair bit during midday. Air circulation is also very important. There should be plenty of air circulation in the growing area, but it's just as important that your potting mix is coarse and light and able to allow air in even while wet. That seeds are rotting suggests to me that they may have been too wet in the fridge or left in for too long. I stratified all my seed outside in partly covered containers over the winter, and having them outdoors made it a lot easier to protect against rot and such, so I don't have much help to give there.
Best luck,
~Joe
 
100% germination is rare. If half of them germinate, you're doing well.

How are you growing them now? It should be a case of sprinkling them on moss or peat and watching them grow. You shouldn't need to fend off mould or fungus.
 
How about dampoff?
 
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