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Byblis liniflora: pre-treatment for seeds

Cindy

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The seeds are soaked in 10 parts water: 1 part bleach for about 6 hours until all the seeds are white.

The Process
Video Clip: Byblis liniflora seeds

Seeds in diluted bleach solution.
byblis_bleach.jpg


byblis_bleach1.jpg


The seedlings from a previous batch of bleached seeds. They were discovered to have germinated about 2 weeks later. :eek:
byblis_bleach2.jpg


byblis_bleach3.jpg
 
Those seeds in the solution look like big sperm cells swimmin' around. ;)

Very nice germination Cindy. I could never get any of my Byblis seeds to germinate. :( But then, I think that I had some non-viable seeds to begin with... Not good. :censor:
 
I have to say that I have never needed to pre-treat liniflora seed and the thing is an absolute weed for me. I have it rogue in pots everywhere and even in the bogs!!
 
I just did an experiment with pre-treatment and without. ~one week later, both pot of seeds began germinating, on the same morning. Both pots have 4 seedlings. At this point, there doesn't seem to be any difference. I a couple weeks I will be doing the same thing, but with the seeds I save out for cold storage (fridge).

Cindy, what are your growing conditions for the seedlings?
 
Pyro,
When I have hundreds of seeds and not one germinates, it calls for extreme measures. Perhaps it's the intensity of light that is all wrong. I've tried growing them in different media and the plants do well in all (peat/sant, LFS/perlite etc) and flowers all the time but the seeds will not germinate. Sigh...

Jimscott,
You mean the four seedlings? No idea 'cos they were adopted by a fellow CPer the minute I transferred them out from my bicalcarata seedling box. Hehe, lack of space so I sow the seeds here, there and everywhere. My own plants are under T5 light as well as in sunlight.
 
I think a lot has to do with the viability of the seeds upon attempted germination. It's almost impossible to determine, beforehand, whether seeds are viable or not, let alone our skill and technique. The seeds I used came from 3 pods and were essentially fresh. I had enough seeds to do 4 different things to them. Sometimes our best efforts are thwarted by that which was already pre-determined.

BTW, great capture of the purple dye!
 
Pyro, what is your conditions like where the Byblis grows?

Jimscott, I have thought of factors such as humidity, photoperiod, wavelength of light, temperature, media etc etc. But if it is just one factor that made the difference it would be fine...not if it is a combination. :0o:

Thanks! I swirl the seeds around to get the effect. Hehe.
 
You've "done your homework!" My educated guess on this confusing and inconsistent species is that viability of seed before we get put our skills to them, seems to be the biggest factor.
 
From that batch of seeds swirling in diluted bleach, 9 seedlings two weeks later! :boogie:

There were at least 100 seeds in there. But from nearly zero germination to 5 seedlings from the first batch (without refridgeration) and now this, I am already very happy. Currently all the seeds are from the last two remaining plants I've got. Prior to this, every mother plant is only replaced by one or two seedlings from from all the seeds it can produce! ???
 
  • #10
It's been about a week since I have sown the seeds that were put in the fridge, half given the bleach and half without. So far nothing, but it could be a few more days. I don't know why D'Amato & Pietropaolo recommend a month or two of cold storage before sowing. I'm also wondering if the seeds were put in tap water, would we still see the dye. I had one hobbyist instruct me to use vinegar instead of bleach. So many questions!
 
  • #11
Perhaps I'll try the vinegar on the third batch instead of bleach! :)
 
  • #12
Do you get some seedlings that look robust and others that look like runts?
 
  • #13
I've not noticed. But the four I had with an earlier batch were all robust. I'll check on the nine tomorrow.
 
  • #14
3 days later...I find another 18 seedlings!!! Muhahaha....

Jimscott, all the seedlings are robust so far. :)
 
  • #15
My very first batch of seeds, which I got from Wicked Thistle, 3 years ago, had no special treatment by either she nor I. I knew nothing of pre-treatment or anything special about them. I believe I received 23 seeds and all 23 germinated. I have never come close to duplicating that success.

After a few weeks, for no apparent reason, many of them began to die off. I was left with like 3 plants. It was like having baby bubblenest builders and then all of a sudden a dieoff, due to something to do with their breathing apparatus.

Anyways, I have no idea why my first attempt was so successful, as a naiive hobbyist, and never anything close since then.
 
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