Hey. I have a couple of utricularia seed pods and I was wondering what the best way to collect and spread them is. Every time i go to collect and spread the seeds I just end up with them clinging to my fingers and it becomes impossible to ensure that they actually make it onto the media. Does anyone have any tips for the best way to collect the seed without losing them all over the place?
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Seed Collection
- Thread starter Grey Moss
- Start date
-
- Tags
- collection media seeds utricularia
I empty seed pods into self-made envelopes I use to store seed and when I am ready to sow them I open the envelope over the media and gently tap the seed out onto the soil around the pot. This works well with very tiny seed. Here you will find instructions on making these envelopes: ICPS Seed Bank A piece of paper folded down the middle to make a crease also works well in dispersing seed onto the media, just have to be careful not to do it in breezy conditions if sowing tiny seed that blows away easily. Hope this helps 
I don’t have much experience with utricularia, don’t grow any at the moment except the aquatic U. gibba in a water barrel outside. I have never grown any from seed so can’t speak about viability length or storage.
I would suspect like with any plant utricularia will produce flowers first to be pollinated and then seed pods will form, without flowers there will be no seed. Many utricularia flowers are tiny, maybe you missed them blooming? If not, then what you may be seeing are the flower buds that for some reason are not maturing and not seed pods, they can look similar. U. subulata is generally considered a weed in CP collections as they readily flower/propagate without any help and quickly invade every pot in a collection, the small bright yellow flowers are pretty though. I am surprised yours have not flowered as they are one of the easiest utricularia to grow, whether you want them to or not, ha. You might want to do a little research on utricularia care needs. A good place to start:
International Carnivorous Plant Society
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Terrestrial Utricularia
Hopefully someone with much more utric experience than me will chime in here with better information for you. My main focus/experience is growing sarracenia, Venus flytraps, temperate sundews, and temperate Pinguicula. Utricularia I get popping up in CP pots are usually hitchhikers in plants I receive from others, mainly U. subulata and U. bisquamata. I spot them when they bloom.
I would suspect like with any plant utricularia will produce flowers first to be pollinated and then seed pods will form, without flowers there will be no seed. Many utricularia flowers are tiny, maybe you missed them blooming? If not, then what you may be seeing are the flower buds that for some reason are not maturing and not seed pods, they can look similar. U. subulata is generally considered a weed in CP collections as they readily flower/propagate without any help and quickly invade every pot in a collection, the small bright yellow flowers are pretty though. I am surprised yours have not flowered as they are one of the easiest utricularia to grow, whether you want them to or not, ha. You might want to do a little research on utricularia care needs. A good place to start:
International Carnivorous Plant Society
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: Terrestrial Utricularia
Hopefully someone with much more utric experience than me will chime in here with better information for you. My main focus/experience is growing sarracenia, Venus flytraps, temperate sundews, and temperate Pinguicula. Utricularia I get popping up in CP pots are usually hitchhikers in plants I receive from others, mainly U. subulata and U. bisquamata. I spot them when they bloom.
I believe that most Utrics have dust-like seed (think D. burmannii) with a fairly short shelf-life while some others, especially orchioides Utrics, doesn't so much produce seed as it does encapsulated plant embryos that essentially need to be sown immediately and die within hours if not kept moist.
