lesthegringo Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) All, while by no means a scientific experiment, I though I'd let you know about some tests on sarracenia seeds I've done recently. I bought a lot of about a 1000 seeds of mixed sarras from a local grower, and with so many i was curious to see what the best way of getting them to germinate was, in terms of stratifying, sowing as is or using other techniques or products. So, I sowed two batches of about 50 seeds each on a coir and perlite mix, and another two batches of 50 seeds on the same mix with live sphagnum growing and placed one of each in the fridge at 1 degree, and the others in my greenhouse with my neps. I then got another two batches of 50 each, with the seeds treated with GA3 (gibberellic acid), and again put one in the fridge and one in the greenhouse. These were on live sphagnum. Lastly, out of pure curiosity I scarified about 25 seeds (didn't do 50 because it took soooooo long to do 25) then planted them on the live sphagnum and placed this in the greenhouse. For those that don't know what scarification is, it is just scarring the seed coat, either with the point of a scalpel or even rubbing the seed on some sandpaper. Drosophyllum is one I believe needs this process to germinate, but I thought I'd try it on sarras due to the hard waxy coating they have - in the past I have seen them sit for ages in damp conditions where it looks like the water isn't soaking into the seed. Again these were on live sphagnum. The ones in the fridge were left for 6 weeks, then transferred to the greenhouse with the others. So, the winner is.... the unstratified seed treated with the GA3. By a clear margin too, within four weeks some 50% of the seeds in that tray had germinated. The other surprise was that the scarified seeds (unstratified) had the same germination rate as the untreated seeds, stratified for six weeks on the live sphagnum after the same length of time in the greenhouse. The seeds sown on coir and stratified have done nothing, as have the treated seeds that were stratified. Conclusions so far? GA3 seems to work at least as well as, and apparently better than stratifying, and scarification also surprisingly works. Also, live sphagnum seems to be a more successful media. I still have hundreds of seeds left, so I'll probably repeat this, maybe a bit more scientifically to see if it repeats. By the way, I did sow some seeds in vitro, both treated and untreated, and put them in the fridge ...... and promptly forgot about them.... after ten weeks my wife asked me what they were, so these are now in the greenhouse but I'll have to report on them later Edited July 23, 2015 by lesthegringo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Thanks for taking the time to explain your methods and findings - it's always good to hear thorough information that could help other growers in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billynomates666 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Were the seeds fresh or ket refrigerated from last year as this could well have some bearing on the results. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) The seeds were harvested just over three months ago in our autumn (I live in Australia) and were kept cool until sowing. I doubt that more than eight weeks passed between reaping and sowing for the last to be sown Edited July 24, 2015 by lesthegringo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peabody Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I left some coir outside for a couple of years to let it be very thoroughly weathered in the rain. No weed seeds have grown in it. If Dandelion seeds etc. won't grow in it I think the conclusion is that it's not a lot of use for germinating seeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 There is some discussion with regards to coir and its salt content, so maybe that's one of the factors. I use a combination of coir chips and coir 'peat' for my nepenthes plants without any problems and it is the same coir 'peat' in this case, but maybe seeds are more susceptible. The nepenthes seeds that have germinated also show a distinct preference for live sphagnum. My watering is by misting twice a day, so none of the plants or pots ever get dry, and the water runs through the pots. This probably washes out any large salt deposits, and as I would have run lots of water through the adult plant pots after replanting to help settle the media maybe this made the difference. One last observation - of the three sarracenia seed in vitro pots my wife reminded me of, two have developed rampant mould in only two days . I've never seen it so quickly and can only assume the rough outer surface of the sarracenia seeds are ideal for the fungal spores. That's the fun thing about this hobby, I am constantly learning new things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 unless you're in a rush to grow sarra seeds,its always best to let nature do the job for you.Left out through the winter fresh sarra seed germinates easily. I have tried moorland gold and coir both are crap for sarra seeds,you need peat for them to grow well and thrive,look at my results in the peat free trials on here,photos speak for themselves. Once the plants are adult they will grow in most peat free mixtures but seedlings need peat. ada 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 A final note on the in vitro Sarracenia seeds - all three developed uncontrollable mould, so you can safely say my in vitro experiment failed! I may try again as a means of seeing the best way to disinfect and sterelise seeds prior to putting in vitro Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWilko86 Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 I've had some success for the first time with S.purpurea last year and they are starting to grow into their second season. They were kept just on live sphagnum through stratification and until they had grown their first set of true leaves. But this year I'm trying S.flava and they have been sown directly onto a 1:1 peat moss sand mix. Now I'm kind of having second thoughts on the media that I've used. Is it essential to sow Sarracenia onto live sphagnum moss or does it help with their germination? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linuxman Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 They should be OK on that mix, although I would have used some perlite with it. I grow all my sarra seed on usual sarra substrate mix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defalotus Posted April 10, 2016 Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 I germinate sarr seeds on 100% peat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted May 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2016 Well, I do have plenty of Sarra seedlings as a result of these trials, I will have to think about potting them out. About what size do you reckon is good for potting on? They range from about 15mm to 60mm tall, but don't want to disturb them too early Cheers Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billynomates666 Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 They will be fine to repot them at that size, but I generally wait till spring and they are coming out of dormancy, so if you do damage any roots in the exercise then they dont sit through winter with a wound that is open and can get infected. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted May 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 One thing I've always wondered is why, considering how wet and soft the soil is that they are sown on, do the sarra seedlings sort of grow their roots in the air? The root never seems to push its way into the soil, and I have ended up just packing a little live sphagnum round them so that the seedling is supported. Just curious Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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