Sowing Nepenthes Seeds

[Sockhom]

Hi !

I thought some of you might be interested to discover my germinating methods.

Recently, i received a few PM asking how i germinate Nepenthes seeds.

I need to say that i don't consider myself as a seasoned Nepenthes grower (there's almost none in France ) but if the following post can be helpful in its own way, i will consider myself half as happy

Set up # 1:

Those boxes are called in french "minute greenhouses". I've placed 4 of them in my living-room. They are lit 13 hours a day by fluocompact tubes (9600 lumens, 110 W) placed at a 20 cm distance from the seeds.

The humidity level is 100% day and night.

The first picture does not restore the light intensity faithfully. Actually, it looks more like this (look at the bottom of the picture!):

Temperatures range between 30°C at day and 22-23°C at night.

In this very setup, i sow lowland species AND highland species (for further developpment on this, see below) .

I sometimes prepare the soil recipee (here pure sphagnum) before the seeds arrival. It enables the mixture to "rise" (i'm refering to the bacteria 's work). Actually, experiments need to be done on that particular point in order to check its real efficiency (more informations, see here:

http://pitcherplants.proboards34.com/index...2374&page=2 .

Whatever, preparing the soil recipee in advance is profitable in more than a way to my humble opinion.

The minute greenhouses are partitioned in a simple manner:

I try to ventilate daily by opening the caps and i sometimes mist lighly.

Here are some Nepenthes ampullaria seeds from Sumatra i sowed september, 7th:

Set up # 2:

This second setup is in fact a terrarium i've placed in my garage. We might consider those as highland conditions.

I alllow myself to sow some Nepenthes seeds there because temperatures were quite warm in the garage in the past weeks (16-20°C at night) and, besides, i did'nt set yet the minute greenhouses.

Seeds are placed in individual square 13/13 cm pots, placed at a 30 cm distance from fluocompacts (the same as described in the first setup). I know the pots may look too deep but placing the seeds that way enables me to shorten the distance between the live material and the lights and , at the time, those pots were the only ones i have left.

Temperatures range between 25°C at day and 15-18°C at night. Humidity level range between 70 and 100% (i try to spray each evening).

Seeds take more time to germinate in those conditions but the seedlings (highland and intermediate species) are already placed in what some might call "natural conditions".

I prefer to sow all Nepenthes seeds in lowland conditions. Once the seedlings are quite big (5-6 cm), i shall place them in their "natural conditions".

Lastly, here is a picture of my Nepenthes sp. Cambodia seedlings taken september, 9th. I have more than 120 seedlings now and am still waiting for many more to come.

I have also germinated in the past weeks Nepenthes spec. nov ‘DA’, mantalingahanensis and petiolata

I hope this post will help some of you.

Friendly,

François.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Sockhom

[Guest Aidan]

How about we make this a FAQ thread?

[SteveMc]

Great post François, I must admit to searching for some time until I found a rough guide to germinating Nepenthes seeds, but now there is one right here for all to refer to. My setup is very much the same as yours, and obviously works well.

How about we make this a FAQ thread?

Good idea Aidan, would be of great use for others who may wish to try their hand at growing Neps from seed.

Cheers

Steve

[Sockhom]

How about we make this a FAQ thread?

I would consider this as an honour dear Mr Moderator !

François

[Guest Aidan]

Consider it done...

[Guest Sheila]

Great post François.

In english your minute greenhouses are called propogators

[Guest Daa Shaaman]

Great info and pics, it will help alot of people including me , i sowed some Nepenthes 4 to 5 days ago with your metod , Take care .

Sincerely .....................................////////////////////////////////////

[Tranchette]

Congratulations on this great article.!!!!

a doubt.

only use sphagnum moss to germinate?

which is the ideal time to transplant the small plants in pots?

thanks.

Juanma.

[jimscott]

Thanks for sharing. That actually gives me some hope as my so-called min-greenhouse, with Grolites a few inches above the media, with nothing between them, might work. Temps range from 22 C at night to 28 C during the day. But my humidity is only ~70%. Whaddya think?