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Dexenthes

Aristoloingulamata
First time ordering seeds off of ebay, and they finally arrived from the Czech Republic. I've never tried germinating Nepenthes seed before. I'm going to read through all my old carnivorous plant books, But I also wanted to know how, you guys that have raised Nepenthes seed, prefer doing it, what are your best results with? How would you go about germinating some Nepenthes spectabilis x aristolochioides ?

Because it's a hybrid could they germinate sooner? Has anyone raised this particular cross from seed before? Success rates?

Thanks!
 
Nepenthes seed will germinate on just about anything that is damp. Do not bury the seed. I prefer a mix of peat and sand. It is easy to remove them later without damaging the roots vs LFS. Keep them nice and moist. I also find a little bottom heat can help speed things along. I have not seen a difference between hybrids vs species germinating. Lowland things tend to germinate much faster but not always. The freshness of the seed is most important to determining success. If it's more than a few weeks old then it's probably already lost much of it's viability. Nepenthes are strange sometimes you get very fresh seed that looks like it's fully developed and ready to go and not a single thing pops up... I think I know which seller on Ebay you refer too and I wouldn't get your hopes up unfortunately. His auctions say fresh fresh in the title but when you read the details they say collected Summer 2009. Is that the seller?
 
I would also add that the seeds should be sown immediately, if not sooner, since Nepenthes can be mercurial and have a very short shelf-life -- and wholeheartedly agree with Tony's germination methods. That route has always worked for me, right down to the heating pad . . .
 
There are only a very few on ebay that sell good viable seeds...i don't think that is one of them. If you get no germination at all just know it's not your fault and you should try other sources. Asking on the forums before you buy it's always a good idea.
 
Oh, I'm totally aware that there may be no germination. They are old, no doubt, I wouldn't expect it to come from so far away and still be totally perfect. but It was only 5 dollars or so, so I am not too worried. Thanks for the advice Tony, that sounds like I can do that easily in my terrarium. Should the temp drop at night for germination?
 
Is it necessary for a temperature drop? No I don't think so. Will it hurt if there is one? For these no, maybe if they were some heavy duty ultralowland species. So either way it shouldn't be an issue for you.

Maybe you will get lucky? I had a few seedlings germinate after seed sat in ziplock bags for 17 months in a drawer at room temperature Granted it was out of like 8 pots of seed but still it completely caught me by surprise. They were very weak though and took alot of nursing to get them to hang on.

---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:24 PM ----------

Oh shoot.. I meant to add, be patient. Particularly with old seed. Fresh seed can germinate within a few weeks but I have had seedlings pop up as much as 6-8 months after sowing, even with fresh seed.
 
I've read so much about how long it takes, and yeah, these seeds are probably quite old! So I will just do my best to keep them in good conditions and just play the waiting game. Worst comes to worse, I have a five dollar tray of peat moss in my terrarium. :p

I just really like that cross, figured if I could hatch a couple seedlings it would be worth the five dollars.
 
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