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Utric/Genlisea seed


Guest kayaker78

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Guest kayaker78

I am hoping to start a discussion between those who are experienced with growing these plants from seed. What techniques have you tried, what has worked best for you, are there techniques that work well for one species and not another ?

My only experience growing a Utric from seed was successfull, but the seed was very fresh so I am not sure if it was my method or just fresh easy seed!

The method I used was to place the seed on top of flooded milled sphagnum moss in a petrie dish and occasionally spray with water.

I am also interested in aquiring seed.

Thanks

Bryant

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I've grown several Utrics from seed and the main key to success, in my opinion, is the freshness of the seed. Very fresh seed that has been sent to me by other growers, or I have collected myself, almost always germinates easily. Seed that has been stored for months, such as from seed banks or seed vendors, almost never germinates.

Given how easily most Utrics and Genlisea can be propagated vegetatively, I wouldn't bother with seed unless you know it is fresh or for an annual species such as U. multifida.

Vic

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Species of Utricularia are very difficult to come by down here in Australia- not many grow them. Seed has been the only way for me to obtain many of the species on my growlist.

Most seed is useless unless extremely fresh. Species such as U. alpina, reniformis and others from South America are not worth sowing unless they are less than a couple of weeks old.

Other species, particularly ones which grow in seasonally dry areas and quite often tend to be annuals (but not necessarily) can last longer, but viability decreases within a couple of months.

I've had great success sowing seeds directly onto pots of equal parts peat and sand. The pots are then placed into a watertray in my greenhouse with the water at the level of the substrate. I've found the best time to sow most species is towards the end of Summer, with germination occurring at the beginning of Autumn. They usually grow slowly through Winter and then take off (and hopefully flower) as Spring arrives.

Species I've had good success with using this method are- U. chrysantha, uliginosa, caerulea, lateriflora, dichotoma, beaugleholei, westonii, benthamii, inaequalis, novae-zelandiae, pauliniae, calycifida, pentadactyla, violacea, multifida, tenella, minutissima, tridentata, simplex, hispida and a few others I can't recall at the moment. The only species that I can recall recent failure with have been U. striatula and simulans.

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Guest kayaker78

I think the ability to grow plants from seed is going to be extremily important in introducing new species into cultivation in the US and other areas. I am very interested in obtaining species that are not currently being cultivated here. I am currently looking into obtaining permits to import plants from Austrailia and elsewhere, but it may be easier to obtain fresh seeds and grow plants that way.

Im looking for sources for seed :?:

Sometime next summer I am going to be constructing a greenhouse to hold my Utric collection and will have alot of room to spare, hopefully I will be able to fill it with species not currently being cultivated and distribute them around to other growers!

Has anyone ever successfully polinated U. sandersonii? I also want to attempted to try to cross some species. I think I am going to buy a disecting scope this week.

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