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Greetings,Your help or advice is greatly appreciated as this carnivorous plant parent is in pain. As I've begun my second set of carnivorous plants, I requested and received (with much difficulty during the process) over 200+ seeds of 6 different species from the Carnivorous Plant Society. Due to the sheer volume of seeds I received, I thought certainly by now at least some would have germinated in similar conditions as the other carnivorous plants I'd successfully grown first. However, it has been 7-10 weeks (depending on the species, plus some obviously required different stratification lengths and strategies, which add a few to several weeks onto that - I've even done a few as 1/2 and 1/2 stratified differently or some so & not at all to see if there are different results) and NONE of the seeds have germinated: NONE. I've done extensive research from many sites, including this one, and have done all as appropriate for stratification, germination, and prepared environments for their various needs after sprouting (hopefully.) What's more, I had inquired a few times with CPS to see how old these seeds were before they were sent to me, and there has not been any response since I inquired a few times during the shipment process and after receiving them...The seeds are temporarily (as I also have a greenhouse for grown plants & another growing area) in a germination tank near the top with 1/2 covers, keeping 76-82 F temperatures regularly night and day, 50-75% humidity within the enclosure, fan ventilation from top (not shown in picture due to distance& placement,) peat moss and perlite (mixed at various levels of each per species recommendations) rinsed many times over with R/O water until there was no dust or cloudiness in either, the seeds were sprinkled on top (most are almost impossible to see on the dark, wet medium) with a very, very light dusting of peat moss dust that I sifted through fabric sprinkled about, the water tray that is filled and cleaned (safely of course) weekly, soil mix is always moist but not water logged, they receive tons (about 16 hrs full cycle) of light from the plant spectrum Fluval nano LEDs (7500K 1000lm 6 band light with 24 hour changing light cycle) and the T8 Fluorescent Aqueon full spectrum FloraMax light (I have a different UFO red, blue, white, infrared, and uva/uvb LED light for the Greenhouse when not outdoors.) You can see photos of my germination setup at https://sites.google.com/view/jessica-teeters/vfts. There was for a short time some white fuzzy mold popping up randomly here or there, but that has stopped for quite some time now since I dabbed those areas of medium with a q-tip of neem oil. I've read here that this should not hurt the seeds in any way, so it shouldn't be that - nonetheless in such targeted, small doses. Here are the species I'm working with, so some had stratification methods applied to them. Again, I had so many that some species that had mixed results from stratifying or not were split up into 1/2 being stratified and 1/2 not just to see. Cephalotus Follicularis typicalD. Muscipula mixedD. anglicaD. Montana var tomentosa , Serra de CarracaS. Judith Hindle opStylidium macranthumThey were shipped to me twice: once toward late last year/early this year then again in late February due to shipment (Post Office) error. Then stratified (to those applicable) and sown onto their soil. They did come from the UK to here (Indiana) through the USDA, but the first time the label wasn't looked at correctly so it was sent back and then re-mailed to me again. Could it be because they were air mailed and then post mailed in colder climates back and forth so much for an extended period of time before I got them? Any advice, tips, help? I feel like I'm at a loss. It'd be greatly appreciated!

Greetings,Your help or advice is greatly appreciated as this carnivorous plant parent is in pain. As I've begun my second set of carnivorous plants, I requested and received (with much difficulty during the process) over 200+ seeds of 6 different species from the Carnivorous Plant Society. Due to the sheer volume of seeds I received, I thought certainly by now at least some would have germinated in similar conditions as the other carnivorous plants I'd successfully grown first. However, it has been 7-10 weeks (depending on the species, plus some obviously required different stratification lengths and strategies, which add a few to several weeks onto that - I've even done a few as 1/2 and 1/2 stratified differently or some so & not at all to see if there are different results) and NONE of the seeds have germinated: NONE. I've done extensive research from many sites, including this one, and have done all as appropriate for stratification, germination, and prepared environments for their various needs after sprouting (hopefully.) What's more, I had inquired a few times with CPS to see how old these seeds were before they were sent to me, and there has not been any response since I inquired a few times during the shipment process and after receiving them...The seeds are temporarily (as I also have a greenhouse for grown plants & another growing area) in a germination tank near the top with 1/2 covers, keeping 76-82 F temperatures regularly night and day, 50-75% humidity within the enclosure, fan ventilation from top (not shown in picture due to distance& placement,) peat moss and perlite (mixed at various levels of each per species recommendations) rinsed many times over with R/O water until there was no dust or cloudiness in either, the seeds were sprinkled on top (most are almost impossible to see on the dark, wet medium) with a very, very light dusting of peat moss dust that I sifted through fabric sprinkled about, the water tray that is filled and cleaned (safely of course) weekly, soil mix is always moist but not water logged, they receive tons (about 16 hrs full cycle) of light from the plant spectrum Fluval nano LEDs (7500K 1000lm 6 band light with 24 hour changing light cycle) and the T8 Fluorescent Aqueon full spectrum FloraMax light (I have a different UFO red, blue, white, infrared, and uva/uvb LED light for the Greenhouse when not outdoors.) You can see photos of my germination setup at https://sites.google.com/view/jessica-teeters/vfts. There was for a short time some white fuzzy mold popping up randomly here or there, but that has stopped for quite some time now since I dabbed those areas of medium with a q-tip of neem oil. I've read here that this should not hurt the seeds in any way, so it shouldn't be that - nonetheless in such targeted, small doses. Here are the species I'm working with, so some had stratification methods applied to them. Again, I had so many that some species that had mixed results from stratifying or not were split up into 1/2 being stratified and 1/2 not just to see. Cephalotus Follicularis typicalD. Muscipula mixedD. anglicaD. Montana var tomentosa , Serra de CarracaS. Judith Hindle opStylidium macranthumThey were shipped to me twice: once toward late last year/early this year then again in late February due to shipment (Post Office) error. Then stratified (to those applicable) and sown onto their soil. They did come from the UK to here (Indiana) through the USDA, but the first time the label wasn't looked at correctly so it was sent back and then re-mailed to me again. Could it be because they were air mailed and then post mailed in colder climates back and forth so much for an extended period of time before I got them? Any advice, tips, help? I feel like I'm at a loss. It'd be greatly appreciated!

Hey all, I have some Petiolaris seedlings starting to sprout and I have some questions I can't seem to find answers to. My first questions are about transplantation. My seeds have been germinated in a germination dome, on a heating mat, at 100% humidity. Keep in mind my seedlings are extremely tiny, barely visible to the naked eye. Also keep in mind some of the partitions in the dome contain seeds that have not yet germinated (some species have germinated faster than others). At what point do I need to remove the seedlings from the dome and begin acclimation? Better yet, how long can the seedlings be left in the dome with no Ill effects? My concern is that I have several partitions with seeds that have yet to germinate and I'd also imagine that the seeds that have sprouted will soon have brothers and sisters growing alongside them in their respective partition. I have read that they can/should be removed and transplanted once they sprout, but how long can they stay without removing them from the dome? Will it hurt them to stay there for a while until the others have time to sprout? My last question is about algae. I have some green slime (for lack of better words) growing in 2 or 3 partitions. I don't think it's mold. Maybe algae, moss??! Anyway, my question is can it kill my seeds? I will forgo uploading pics because I'm sure anyone familiar with germination knows what I'm talking about when I say "green slime".

Hello everyone, last spring I had my first sporophytes on Sphagnum. They appeared on Sphagnum fimbriatum, a monoicous species. This means a single plant can produce both male and female reproductive cells (Both eggs and sperm cells). In order to have sporophytes on the dioicous Sphagnum species, you will need both a female and a male clone, but not for this S. fimbriatum. I decided to do a little experiment and grow Sphagnum from spores. While looking in the literature I read this article: 'Habitat requirements for establishment of Sphagnum from spores' (Sundberg et al., 2002). The authors found out that Sphagnum spore germination is limited by nutrients (phosphate). This means that Sphagnum spores germinate on places where there are more nutrients then where adult Sphagnum plants occur (usually nutrient-poor soils). I decided to do the experiment in three different setups. 3 small containers with blonde peat that has been cooked to kill all spores present. In one I added fertilzer but no spores, in the other I added spores of S. fimbriatum but no fertiliser and in the last one, both spores and fertilser (really low amount) was added. The experiment started somewhere halfway june 2017. Now we are 5 months further. Cooking the peat seemed effective as no growth is observed in the container without sown spores. Also the outcome of this little experiment is perfectly in line with Sundberg et al.: not a single spore germinated on bare peat without any nutrients available. This is how the containers looked like 5 months ago: How they look like today (the container on the bottom contains nutrients and spores, in both others not a single plant appeared) They are still not looking like adult Sphagnum, but last week I could watch them under a microscope and they show the typical characteristic hyaline cell structure like any other Sphagnum, so now I'm finally sure it's not a random moss. Now I'll show some pictures from the development of the little plants. Sporophytes are almost ripe, 7th of June First germination a month after sowing: these are really small thallose protonemata from Sphagnum fimbriatum, 17th of July Growth of the protonemata 2 months after sowing, 14th of August Development of the gametophyte on a protonema, 28th of August Young gametophytes, 11th of October Young gametophytes of S. fimbriatum 5 months after sowing, 4 months after germination, 14th of November. I consider this experiment as over now, but I might add a picture once the plants shows adult characteristics of S. fimbriatum. Enjoy the pictures, I had a lot of fun following up these little creatures!

Hello, this is my first post in this forum, and one of the main reasons I join rather than just stalk all your old answers. I've some experience with carnivorous plants and plants in general, also in bonsai, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I actually know what I'm doing. And I've none whatsoever with terrariums and artificial lighting. I recently got re-interested in carnivorous plants strongly, and the only way to get plants where I live, with a few exceptions, is by ordering them online. Like living plants have hard regulations and even quarantines times here, I ordered seeds online. So, to the point. I builded a "terrarium" to grow the seeds now, and in the future to keep some of the plants I'll grow there. I used a space that was originally build for a TV, but like I haven't had a TV for over 4 years I thought about giving this empty space a better use. Here is the thing It's very simple, enough to keep the humidity and heat inside I think Here is the thing that is worrying me. It's about 65cm tall, and worried about the amount of light. Right now I've this LED panelin it. This is how it looks: (it's no finished yet) I put some aluminum foil in the walls, and I also redirected the LED spot lights outside to the inside. It doesn't give much extra light, but you can see the plants inside better. So, this is my question, is this enough light to germinate seeds? should I lower the panel? get another one? another source of light maybe? Should I forget about this wretched thing and just germinate them outside? The seeds which I plant to germinate there are the following ones: - Sarracenia seeds (already in the fridge) After their first year or so I'm going to put them outside. - Darlingtonia seeds (also in the fridge) With this ones I wanted to try some inside, and some outside after they grow a bit, I'm worried about the high temperatures in summer. - Heliamphora nutans. Now this ones are important to me. This ones are the ones which I more care about. I only have five of them (in the mail right now) and are really hard to find. I almost bought some plants from wistuba but I didn't have the courage, nor the money to import living plants. Also, this ones are really important because they are the main plant that I think to grow in this "terrarium" once the seedling stage is over. So any advice here would be very very welcome. - Cephalotus seeds (also in the mail and really hard to find) I also only have 5 of them, and cant afford to lose them. -And a bunch of nepenthes seeds (highland and lowland). Now, this maybe was unwise, but I found a seller in eBay who sold me 400 seeds for like 5 dollars, and I couldn't resist. I really don't worry about this ones, I've so many. Nonetheless, I want to give them the best possibly chances of growing. Please, pardon the long post, and any mistake in my english, I had the luck of studying english in London for about a month, but I don't think it was near enough.

There is a lot about light and heat for are beloved plants but how much is too much. As some will know we are in something of good weather for the UK but my garden is hitting 27oC and light levels are through the roof. It is at a point that I have had to shade some of my more shade loving seedlings, Digitalis and such. I have my one seedling sunning in the garden and a set of seed and some look like they may be starting to germinate (when viewed at 400X magnification) all covered to stop them drying out but am I at risk of cooking them?

I have done it after years of trying I have got Drosera capensis to grow. I have no idea why it was so hard as most people have said stick it in moss and it will grow. I have two pots with sphagnum in and not a sausage for over two years so I thought I'd try other growing mediums from sheep wool to cotton wool and BINGO! the one on cotton wool has worked. Now here is the problem. Cotton wool is a compleatly sterile environment as in 0% micronutrients and my seedlings are far too small to feed. Are they going to reach a size and then just exhaust themselves or will the make it to a size that I can feed them a fungus gnat or two? I have seen people talking about orchid feed and seaweed feed as a root boost should I try a few dilute drops on the cotton wool. I just don't want to get this far and kill them off only to have another 14 month wait for germination.

I sowed a few hundred fresh Cephalotus seeds for the first time last October 2012, and stratified them for about 6 weeks. After that, they were placed under lights, and they sat around until about late february. Out of the hundreds of seeds, ONE germinated after 4 months! I gave up on watching them, and placed one pot outdoors, and left another pot indoors. Literally half a year from sowing, I'm finally starting to see more seeds here and there sprout. The pot outdoors started sprouting at the same time as the pot indoors. Luckily, moss didn't grow in these pots because if it did, I doubt any of these would have germinated. Has anyone figured out a way to treat the seeds to get them to sprout faster and more uniform? I'm beginning to suspect that stratification didn't do much. -Mike