Drosophyllum seedlings ... Houston, we have lift off

[DragonsEye]

Well, roughly two weeks after planting some of the seeds one of the Jays sent as a giveaway, I have a three lil sprouts! Now to see if I can keep them alive ..........

Here's a couple pics. Sorry for the quality. Took the photos through a magnifying glass.

 

[David F]

Is there any way you can supplement their light immediately? Possibly with an artificial light?

 

[PetarKostov]

Were the seeds treated with Gibberellic acid? They are etiolated. If not GA the cause may be not enough light. Acclimatize them carefuly to stronger light, idealy direct sunlight. If you do it promptly and don't burn them they will be fine

 

[SubRosa]

Very nice! I'm waiting for the weather to cool off before mine come out of the fridge.

 

[DragonsEye]

Were the seeds treated with Gibberellic acid?

I wish I could say for certain. I planted 8 seeds (or was it 12?) spread out evenly amongst 4 pots. Half of the seeds I did treat with a dilute solution of GA. Media in two of the pots was composed completely of inorganic materials + some charcoal, while the other two also had a small amount of peat and bark mixed in. I had a few GA treated seeds in one pot of mix A and one pot of mix B. I did mark the GA pots. Unfortunately, had a bit of accident when I was moving the pots one night. Some of the media from the tray containing the GA pots wound up in the other pots. Considering the small size of the seeds and how well they blend in to the media, I can't be sure some of the GA seeds didn't wind up in the non-GA pots.

They are etiolated. If not GA the cause may be not enough light. Acclimatize them carefuly to stronger light, idealy direct sunlight.

Light may also be an issue. I had read that the seeds should be kept cool until they had sprouted so had them in my washroom closet which is both dark and cool. Seeing as David's experience was that it took a month for his seeds to sprout, I did not expect to see anything for at least another week. Therefore I was only checking them once every 2 or 3 days to make sure the media was staying moist. It was during one of these water checks wherein I noticed the sprouts. So there is the possibility that they had been in the dark for a day or two after sprouting.

As of 7/20, I had placed the sprouts in front of my SE exposure glass doors/door wall on the side with the screen. This morning (7/22), I moved them over to the non-screen side. After a day or so there, I plan on moving them outside where the light will be stronger yet. Hopefully this will result in an acceptable/tolerable light intensity transition.

On a related note ... I saw 2 more seeds sprouting in another pot today.

Very nice! I'm waiting for the weather to cool off before mine come out of the fridge.

I still have six or so seeds remaining myself. I figured if it turned out to be too warm for me to get any of the seeds to sprout now, or if the seedlings should die off, I could try again in the fall.