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Is Heat a Big Part of Germination Success?

It's just as the topic reads.

I've managed to germinate so many different types of seed so far but one CP that has completely thwarted me and you'd think would be one of the easiest to grow from seed has been Sarracenia. I've tried at least 5 times and haven't been able to get any success. I always stratify them in ready-to-go pots of peat, sand, and a little perlite but they alway seem to either get moldy or just never germinate at all. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.. but I was wondering if heat is the key to germinating them.. that's just about the only thing that I can think of that I haven't been providing. I mostly just rely on room temperature and so far it has been working well at about 75 degrees underneath the lights but thus far I haven't seen any success.

The S. purpurea seeds I'm currently trying to germinate haven't started yet, though I don't consider it too late since it's only been about 2 weeks. I think I see a bit of mold growing on some of the seeds. x_x

If it's heat I need, I should think that they will germinate when I move them outside into the spring/summer heat, but I'd prefer to germinate them inside so they don't get murdered by rain.
 
I always stratify mine in a damp paper towel. Admitedly I do not have tons of experience growing them out from seed, but I have always gotten at least a few sprouts from seeds I have attempted. I give them 6 weeks in the fridge then sow them and place them under the lights of my indoor tank. They get whatever the room temp is. Somewhere a few posts down in this forum is a thread showing the first sprout of seeds I started earlier this month. Look for the thread 16 days :)

Good luck
Steve

EDIT:
Another trick I was told about recently... To speed up the stratifying process, soak the seeds in a cup of hot tapwater, not boiling hot, but hot.. like 3 seconds and you cant hold your finger in it any longer. Soak them till the water gets cool then drain and repeat. Do this about 5 times, and then put the seeds into the paper towel and give them 2 weeks in cold stratification. You can then sow them like any other seeds and you should get decent germination rates. This method is also good for older seeds. Give it a try...

Cheers
Steve
 
i'm not too good with seeds, but maybe ur not stratifying them long enough? idk, it could just be that the species ur trying to grow needs an extra month or so?
 
Steve, I remember trying the paper towel method back when I first started, and the only results I ever got was a moldy paper towel. :/

I dunno what it is with me and mold, but it seems to like me.. or hate me?

Well, I suppose there isn't a whole lot of difference between 5 weeks and 6 weeks.. but if they don't germinate soon then that is what I will probably have to do. Maybe if I take some tweezers and take them out of the pots I can try the hot water soaking too. Or maybe I could play with bleach again. :p
 
A seed tray heating mat/pad is supposed to help. Review Bugweed's sticky on Year round Sarr growing.

I stratified all my Sarracenia seeds on barely damp paper towels for 4 weeks. They started germinating around 12 days after I had sowed them. The fridge stayed between 36-40F the whole time.

They were sown on a thin layer of LFS dust (shaken from the bottom of the LFS bag) on top of peat/perlite, the whole pot and seeds went into a ziplock plastic bag with about a centimeter of water on the bottom. I put the bags and pots into a seed tray near a window where it gets plenty of indirect light. I didn't put a heat pad under the tray until 7 or 8 days later. Room temps have been varying from 68-82F. They weather has been kind of crazy shifting from chilly to hot.
 
Heat isn't vital. Mine germinate at room temperature indoors in January after 5 weeks stratification in the fridge (I use a wet paper towel, covered in foil).

About 50 - 75% germinate and the rest germinate when I put them in the greenhouse in April.
 
Although.... heat is a part of the equation for germination, in general. When I was brand new to the hobby and was scarfing up trading post offerings for seeds, I was corresponding with the owner of the Oudeans Willowcreek Nursery and she was telling me that many sundews won't germinate until it's at least 70 degrees. For Sarrs, it's lower than that. The point is that relative warmth, increased photoperiod, and return of water are all a part of the new growing season and thus a part of germination.
 
Well guys, I just looked in my S. purpurea's seed pot and I saw some green! Woohoo!

FINALLY I have beat the Sarracenia seeds!
 
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