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Sarracenia seeds

  • #21
Oh and the further north the species are the more time they need. I guess it's natural so purp ssp. purp needs 6 weeks were as purp ssp. burkii needs 3 weeks
 
  • #22
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Treaqum @ May 24 2005,3:19)]Oh and the further north the species are the more time they need. I guess it's natural so purp ssp. purp needs 6 weeks were as purp ssp. burkii needs 3 weeks
Good observation and commentary, Tre.

I guess there are many answers in part because there are many variables: species, temperature, age of seed, stratification etc. It does make sense to me that stratification is a process of water breaking down the seedcoat, particularly in the Southernmost species where extreme colds of the North are not a factor.
 
  • #23
Sarracenia Seed Germination Link.

Cold storage in the fridge is just that - cold storage. It is not stratification.

Some species need cold/wet stratification to germinate.

Think about where the Sarracenia were growing originally. If from the northern locals, apply more stratification. If from southern locals, maybe less stratification could be applied.

I germinated some S. oreophila several years ago. Stratification times were: 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks. The 1 week batch had the highest germination rate and grew much faster than the ones with increased stratification times. I made the error of not using a batch with no stratification.

There is probably a relationship between the seed/plant location(in the wild) and the stratification/germination rates. I think Nature uses this method to "play the odds" in a sense. That is, some seeds will germinate quicker and some will wait until later when growing conditions are more favorable. A late spring frost might kill or hamper the early-germinated seedling's growth.

There is also the possibility that no seeds will germinate. The person doing the pollinating might have not done it correctly. The cross might have been incompatible. I have not heard of this, but it happens with other plant crosses.

I received a batch of seeds between two unusual crosses of Sarracenia and not one seed germinated. It was from a very experienced grower so, it must have been some defect in the pollen and/or the cross itself. Multiple startifications have been to no benefit.

I would encourage everyone to make more use of documenting all of their growing methods. It is far too easy to just think one follows a certain method and it is not being reproduced in actuality.

It would also benefit future plant/seed distributions, by the NASC and ICPS, of rare Sarracenia. Amongst one of their many goals - just distributing plant materials is not enough. We need to know all we can to ensure their survival in cultivation.

Their is mention that the next ICPS Plant Distribution is to perhaps include S. oreophila. Some natural locations include Sarracenia oreophila that have substrate that contains clay. How many people have tried growing S. oreophila in clay?

Some CP books mention that S. oreophila are found in "drier" locations. This is the supposed reason that they have adapted to the drier location by producing summer phyllodia.

My thoughts on this idea are that, the drier locations might provide more suitable conditions to prevent rhizome rot and the clay provides the only available moisture.

There are many types of clay. Almost all of the types, that I have seen, are very moist. Clays are known for holding large amounts of water. It is my belief that the S. oreophila may indeed grow in an area that is dry(amount of local rainfall), but the clay soil may provide moisture that may not be available otherwise.

The other mention in CP books is that, Sarracenia grow in nutrient and mineral poor soils. Well, if Sarracenia oreophila are know to grow in clay soils; and clay soils are rich in minerals - the books must be wrong. At least, for Sarracenia oreophila.

All that's all I have to say about that.

Tweek
 
  • #24
Tweek, thanks for the input. On Sunday, I cleaned 4 plastic containers and put each of the 4 types of seeds and contents in those containers, filling them up. The seeds are floating, several inches above the top of the media. If nothing happens in a few weeks, I will attempt REAL stratification.
 
  • #26
Ooooh, Statistics! I like! Okay, I'll 'scratch' scarification as a technique. I think I preferred the other link - a little more pragmatic for my "ghetto" techniques. Thanks!
 
  • #27
Place all my sarracenia seed in a vial filled with pure water, and place it in the fridge for 6 weeks. They grow well for me. They sure as heck are real wet, and quite cold too. No molds have ever grown in that stratification technique.
 
  • #28
Hmmm... let's see. do I follow the instructions of a CP grower of 43 years, with easily accessible materials at the lab, or do I continue with my experiment? Why am I suddenly reminded of a long lost cobra lily that never really had a good dormancy?

Looks like when I get home, I'll be fishing out some seeds! Hey, this doesn't involve plants reading literature.
smile_m_32.gif
 
  • #30
Thanks, Brooks! Just added the link to favorites.
 
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