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What am I doing wrong

  • Thread starter Mobious
  • Start date
This is the second time I'm trying to grow VFTs, Drosera's,and Sarrasenta's from seed.
I did a stratification on them for 6 weeks put them in the soil and have had them under a grow light since the day I sowed them
in front of a picture window facing the east. their 70 days of germination ended Feb. 13 and we are at 100 days now, does it usually take this long?
I sprayed them with a fungicide which doesn't work on the mold it keeps coming back.
Is there something I'm doing wrong or am I just rushing them?
 

Can't speak for vft or sarr seeds, but with the Drosera I have done, I have always had the best results when I put the pots outside in the sun. Don't know if the heat was helpful or even the UV exposure. (There are a number of non carnivorous plants whose seeds require exposure to the sun's UV rays in order to germinate.)

Should it take so long for Dros seeds to germinate? No. But can it? Yes. I have had seedlings pop up months after their siblings have been growing merrily in the exact same pot or even after having given up and over sown with a different species.

For fungus, can try Physan (aka RD-20).



 
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Where are you getting your seed from? Depending on the source they could be too old, or not carnivorous plant seed at all.
 
Most Sarracenia need no more than 4 weeks of stratification, fresh Dionaea seeds do not need a stratification (and older ones not a very long one), and after stratification they need to be on the soil surface with access to light to germinate; if you have mold on the seeds, they're already dead.
 

Can't speak for vft or sarr seeds, but with the Drosera I have done, I have always had the best results when I put the pots outside in the sun. Don't know if the heat was helpful or even the UV exposure. (There are a number of non carnivorous plants whose seeds require exposure to the sun's UV rays in order to germinate.)

Should it take so long for Dros seeds to germinate? No. But can it? Yes. I have had seedlings pop up months after their siblings have been growing merrily in the exact same pot or even after having given up and over sown with a different species.

For fungus, can try Physan (aka RD-20).




I have them in a window and I have them under led grow lights for 14 hours a day , I cant put them outside yet its still winter here in north east NY
 
IMG_0511.jpg
Most Sarracenia need no more than 4 weeks of stratification, fresh Dionaea seeds do not need a stratification (and older ones not a very long one), and after stratification they need to be on the soil surface with access to light to germinate; if you have mold on the seeds, they're already dead.

the mold is on the soil not the seeds and I have them in an east window where they get a lot of morning light plus they are under led grow lights for 14 hours a day at the same time the sun is on them.
IMG_0511.jpg
 
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Where are you getting your seed from? Depending on the source they could be too old, or not carnivorous plant seed at all.

I get the seeds from the carnivorous plant nursery in Maryland
they told me that any off the self fungicide would not hurt the seeds if you follow the instructions
I am starting to think differently now
 
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What sort of soil are you using?
 
  • #10
Just to rule one issue out, how did you do the stratification?


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  • #11
Just to rule one issue out, how did you do the stratification?


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put the seeds in between wet paper towels and put them in the vegetable draw in the frig on hi humidity, Oh and they
were placed in sandwich bags
 
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  • #12
Where are you getting your seed from? Depending on the source they could be too old, or not carnivorous plant seed at all.

The Carnivorous Plant Nursery .com they are out of Maryland.
 
  • #13
Where are you getting your seed from? Depending on the source they could be too old, or not carnivorous plant seed at all.

Hi Grey Moss
I get the seed from The Carnivorous Plant Nursery .com They are out of Maryland
 
  • #15
So peat? Did you rinse it beforehand? I've personally had issues in the past with seeds refusing to germinate if the peat isn't clean enough.
 
  • #16
So peat? Did you rinse it beforehand? I've personally had issues in the past with seeds refusing to germinate if the peat isn't clean enough.

I did not rinse the peat, I had no idea, Do you think if I keep spraying the top with distilled water that it might rinse the soil down
enough to make them germinate?
 
  • #17
I did not rinse the peat, I had no idea, Do you think if I keep spraying the top with distilled water that it might rinse the soil down
enough to make them germinate?

If that is the problem, I don't think there's anything you can do about it at this point. It's impossible to know if that is the problem though.
 
  • #18
If that is the problem, I don't think there's anything you can do about it at this point. It's impossible to know if that is the problem though.

Ok I'll just keep my fingers crossed
 
  • #19
I’ve never heard of unwashed peat being a problem. (What brand was that, so I can avoid it!) It’s a good idea to stratify the seed for a good 2 months tho. I haven’t tried it with paper towels; I just use some moist peat and put it in a tiny Tupperware container. I don’t trust plastic bags because they can be porous and I’ve had them dry out a couple times.

I have had a particular batch of Sarracenia seed not germinate when all the rest was fine, so it might have just been non-viable seed for several possible reasons.


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  • #20
I’ve never heard of unwashed peat being a problem. (What brand was that, so I can avoid it!) It’s a good idea to stratify the seed for a good 2 months tho. I haven’t tried it with paper towels; I just use some moist peat and put it in a tiny Tupperware container. I don’t trust plastic bags because they can be porous and I’ve had them dry out a couple times.

I've tried 3 different brands. Even the high quality nursery-grade peat was problematic for me without rinsing. It only measured about 35ppm out of the bag too.
 
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