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Male aristolochioides flowering.

Finally got a decent plant flowering. Should have some pollen in a few weeks. Anyone with a female aristo in spike? Want to make some little aristolochioides?
Thanks,
Robin
 
if u do find someone let me know so i can buy a pod from someone! thanks!
 
I've got a female N. diatas meadow form in spike...should be receptive very soon. N. hamata is going in spike....
 
Wow, has anyone crossed aristo and hamata before? The birdhouse from hell...
 
Yes hamata x aristolochioides could be really cool!
 
It has been done (well actually aristolochioides x hamata, I've not come across a female hamata to do the reverse cross).
 
Robin,

I do have a female aristo in flower right now. It has sent up multiple flower spikes. If I can get pollen in 2 weeks, I think that would be right timing to pollinate. Email me at paljmax@nepenthesaroundthehouse.com and we can work something out. If all goes well, we can talk about germinating the seed. I'm not set up for that. I donate out my seed for others to germinate. Thanks!!

Joel
Nepenthes Around the House
 
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i still think the bird house from hell would be cooler.

oh wat the heck its your desicion
smile_m_32.gif
 
I've never germinated a nep seed... aristo would be a very cool place to start. Let us know what you guys decide to do with the seed later on.
 
  • #10
Right on Joel! I'll email ya. Thank you Sir!
Dustin, you have a female hamata?? That would be worth trying!
Thanks for the response guys.
Robin
 
  • #11
Joel,

Germinating Nep seed is dead easy. Keeping the seedlings alive is slightly more challenging. I germinated a batch of aristo last year, they germinated quite quickly and have been fairly easy growers. All you need is some clear plastic containers (I used take-away food containers) and some dried or live sphagnum moss (although the live stuff is high maintenance for seedlings, but is good at protecting against fungal infections).
 
  • #12
Hamish,

I actually germinated some lowii, burbidgeae, and aristo seed I got from another grower outdoors. It's that I don't have lights to put them under. I'm experimenting on a windowsill in sphagnum moss. I'll try a little for myself, but they're are some other growers that have better conditions to get the seed started. They'll have a better success rate than myself. That way, maybe more of the seedlings will be available for us to get a hold of. Any advice on the best way to get the seed going in a windowsill environment? And oh yeah. Trent, I got the raff x veitchii pollen and I'm pollinating one of the aristo stalks right now. The flowers on that one are just opening. So if all goes well, there will be some seed of that hybrid. Thanks for the fresh pollen!!

Joel
Nepenthes Around the House
 
  • #13
Joel,

My main pieces of advice are:

- seedlings don't need much light for the first few months of their lives, so a bright location without any direct light is OK.

- As very small seedlings are difficult to transplant when very small, for very rare species I remove any seed as soon as it germinates and put it in its own pot. This removes the risk of cross-contamination, as one mouldy or rotting seedling can quickly spread it to others.

- Even though it requires constant triming, live sphagnum is a great medium for seedlings in individual pots due it its anti-fungal properties. I actually managed to save a bunch of aristo seedlings which had been badly rot-infected by transplanting them into live sphagnum - 4 months later ones I thought were surely going to die are bouncing back. Dried sphagnum is best for trays of seedlings, as trimming live sphagnum from multiple seedlings is a nightmare.

- keep humidity high, but not too high. 100% humidity is a sure fire way to kill seedlings. They grow more quickly and are much healthier when humidity is a bit lower. If you don't have a greenhouse, the best container you can use are those ones they pack strawberries and cherry tomatoes in (well they do here in Australia). They are plastic punnest with lids with holes in them. They keep humidity high but not too high, but the holes allow some air movement. You could also punch some holes into plastic food containers with a hole punch for the same result. But the punnets have thinner and clearer plastic, and let in more light.

It's really not that difficult. I've learnt a fair bit through trial and error, and am lucky enough to have plenty of seed sent to me from friends in Indonesia and Malaysia to keep me going. I've got most highland species from seed growing as a deeper gene pool than all the tissue cultured stuff.

Hamish
 
  • #14
Thanks Hamish. I know exactly the plastic containers you're referring to. I can get those at the store when I buy my tomatoes. I'll give it a try!

Joel
 
  • #15
Thanks Joel. Michelle diligently picked those flowers and did the packaging.
Hamish has good advice on the Nep seedlings. Easy to germinate, but its another thing to get them up to size. Often they linger around the size of a nickel or quarter for a while, then suddenly kick into high gear and quickly gain size. That lingering stage has always been the toughest time to pull them thru-they are prone to fungal attack. Then there's always the two or three plants that grow much more vigorously than rest. We pull those out and pot them up first.
 
  • #16
Trent,

Of the few seeds I've germinated, getting them to a stage where they can be "on there own" appears very vulnerable. I got some to germinate and thought they were doing well and then they died. So I see what you mean. Believe it or not, the two very small seedlings have been growing outdoors with my other neps. So far they are doing okay. Tiny, but alive.

I put Michelle's pollen to use. I'm waiting for the other aristo flowers to open up. I was able to use the raff x veitch pollen on my khasiana. Hopefully that will take. If so, you'll see some seed heading your way.

Joel
Nepenthes Around the House
 
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