Drosophyllum finally sprouted!

[trek623]

Not much to look at right now, but I'm still excited. This one took two months to germinate and I have a few left still germinating, but I doubt any will pop up. I scarified half of them and didn't do anything to the other half, and this one was scarified, so if you get drosophyllum seeds, I would recommend scarifying them. I also have some d. hartmeyerorum that have been germinating for the same amount of time, but I don't think that i"ll get any from them . Well, here are the pictures. (big pictures!)

http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture006ob5.jpg

And one of it in its own big pot:

http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture003vs6.jpg

I'll update in a few weeks.

 

[Grey Moss]

Congrats on those sprouts.

 

[Fryster]

Congrats!!

I've had fresh Drosophyllum seeds soaking since March.

Nothing yet.

 

[trek623]

Did you scarify them?

 

[Fryster]

Did you scarify them?

Yup.

Though not as heavily as the previous batch that I think I ruined due to over-scarification.

I'm just not lucky with seeds I guess. I also have four species of tuber sundew seeds that have been stratifying since March '08; no sprouts yet.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Congrats! Drosophyllum are one of my favorites. Give it lots and lots of light.

Fryster - how have you treated your tuberous dew seeds? What species?

 

[Fryster]

D. gigatea
D. peltata
D. stolonifera
D. erythrorhiza

Also have D. menziesii seeds still in a package in the 'fridge.

I got these seeds from a grower in Australia last year. I wonder now if they might have been irradiated coming thru Customs.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Unlikely they were zapped. Tuberous sundew seed are notoriously difficult to germinate except for a few species.

When did they arrive and when did you sow them and how have you treated them? There are certain methods to handling them properly through the seasons since they are Winter growing sundews and experience a HOT dry Summer.

 

[jimscott]

I learned from the forums to begin them in hot, dry conditions, in August and allow them to do their thing as the temps and light got lower. I couldn't get D. stolonifera to germonate but it worked for D. peltata and D. auriculata. And then I killed them!

 

[Fryster]

So far they're all "soaking" in little sealed packets of soil-moist and water.

I imagine that the non-sprouting is due to too-cool of temperature. Currently only room-temperature.

What kind if temps should I be "cooking" these babies at anyway?

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Fryster - Don't give up on the Drosophyllum seeds. Just keep them moist and next Spring put the pot out in a nice sunny location and continue to keep it moist.

For the tuberous sundews you have had since March...

What you should have done is sown and watered them a couple times then let the pots dry out for the Summer. Then resumed watering in the Fall. At this stage I would continue to keep them moist through Feb. or March and then let them start to dry out. Come June, July, August they should be bone dry and put in a sunny location to bake in the sun. Don't let them get wet! Then next Fall, mid September or so, begin watering again. Rinse and repeat for a number of years. I had 3 more D. erythrorihza seedlings germinate this year that were sown 4 or 5 years ago. Also, pay careful attention to the pot. Tuberous sundew seedlings the first year will only put out a few leaves and may reach all of a few millimeters across. They are easy to miss.

 

[Pyro]

I have grown numerous tuberous from seed and Tony is 100% on this. Sow the seed early in spring and then water well once then let them sit and bake all summer. Come fall put them on a tray and keep them wet. And check every other day. And then be ready to repeat the whole dry and wet thing for years. D. ramellosa took me 3 years, all my whittakerii have taken 2 years. Based on the appearance of the seed I am willing to bet that stolonifera and erythrorhiza complex are going to take at least one seasonal cycle before you see germination.