Ok, I'm still a byblis newbie in fact I've only grown liniflora but will try gigantea as soon as I get my seeds....
still when I hadn't even grown this plant yet I worried about growing it from seed and such so I made a short article. Please don't make fun of it. its basically based on personal experience and probably about 20 other people could have written it but still
ok here goes...
Byblis liniflora is known as the most commonly grown species of the byblis family. The reason for this is the fact that the small plant is also the most simple to cultivate not to mention propagate. In fact I would consider it one of the most easy plants to grow from seed.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Usually b. liniflora is not sent via mail order as it has virtually no roots and when damaged, the plant will weaken and die. (however it is sometimes successfully shipped). So why do many growers cultivate this plant? Seed is widely available and very simple to get started.
The first thing to keep in mind is the pre-treatment of the seed. That is, if it is fresh, frozen, or old. Some say that fresh seed sprouts best. Others suggest stratification of the seed before sowing. I believe all these treatments work. Old seed works, seed that is years old will still germinate.
If you leave the seeds in the fridge to stratify them, 2 weeks should be sufficient. Leave them in a plastic bag with no moisture. I do not believe this is necessary however, as I had a batch of seed and placed half in the fridge and sowed the other half without special treatment. Both germinated fine.
Use a mixture of 50% peat and 50% sand, although perlite works just as well also instead of sand. A large plastic pot should be filled with this mixture. Take a smaller container, such as a small pot, and fill it with peat and a little perlite. Keep this one wet. When you are ready to sow the seed, place them on top of the small container. Do not bury them.
The small pot should be kept warm, I suggest over 70 degrees for the temperature. Also place the pot in a humid place. Now as for lighting, give them good fluorescent bright light for quick germination. However, large amounts of light are not vital for germination however with lower light the seed may take a month or so to germinate versus perhaps a week with good light.
I have found that if you “give up” on the seed and leave it just sitting around in your terrarium, the seed sprouts anyway! So never throw a pot away of seed in it. Try to eliminate any fungus you find in the small pot, as this may kill the seedlings.
When you find the seedlings, small green dots they appear to be, carefully pick them out of the pot with soil around their base and place them upright in the large pot. Do not transplant them after this, as I said before root shock can kill them.
To cultivate the plants, treat them like tropical drosera but with less water. Keep the soil barely damp, as byblis grow naturally during the summer months in dry Australia. Give them bright light. And, keep the temperatures tropical. Byblis liniflora is an annual and will die off if it is not kept warm.
When flower stalks rise up after about 5 months of growing, you do not have to do anything to them as they self pollinate. However if you do have 2 flowers open at the same time, take a small paintbrush and transfer pollen from one flower to the other. (pretty simple to figure out). You should get seed pods moderately quickly.
To wrap it up, byblis liniflora is a great quick growing plant. It is easy to propagate and to get seed from. This species is also extremely easy to cultivate if you keep it in tropical conditions.
NO INSULTS PLEASE THANK YOU
-droseradude
still when I hadn't even grown this plant yet I worried about growing it from seed and such so I made a short article. Please don't make fun of it. its basically based on personal experience and probably about 20 other people could have written it but still
ok here goes...
Byblis liniflora is known as the most commonly grown species of the byblis family. The reason for this is the fact that the small plant is also the most simple to cultivate not to mention propagate. In fact I would consider it one of the most easy plants to grow from seed.
Usually b. liniflora is not sent via mail order as it has virtually no roots and when damaged, the plant will weaken and die. (however it is sometimes successfully shipped). So why do many growers cultivate this plant? Seed is widely available and very simple to get started.
The first thing to keep in mind is the pre-treatment of the seed. That is, if it is fresh, frozen, or old. Some say that fresh seed sprouts best. Others suggest stratification of the seed before sowing. I believe all these treatments work. Old seed works, seed that is years old will still germinate.
If you leave the seeds in the fridge to stratify them, 2 weeks should be sufficient. Leave them in a plastic bag with no moisture. I do not believe this is necessary however, as I had a batch of seed and placed half in the fridge and sowed the other half without special treatment. Both germinated fine.
Use a mixture of 50% peat and 50% sand, although perlite works just as well also instead of sand. A large plastic pot should be filled with this mixture. Take a smaller container, such as a small pot, and fill it with peat and a little perlite. Keep this one wet. When you are ready to sow the seed, place them on top of the small container. Do not bury them.
The small pot should be kept warm, I suggest over 70 degrees for the temperature. Also place the pot in a humid place. Now as for lighting, give them good fluorescent bright light for quick germination. However, large amounts of light are not vital for germination however with lower light the seed may take a month or so to germinate versus perhaps a week with good light.
I have found that if you “give up” on the seed and leave it just sitting around in your terrarium, the seed sprouts anyway! So never throw a pot away of seed in it. Try to eliminate any fungus you find in the small pot, as this may kill the seedlings.
When you find the seedlings, small green dots they appear to be, carefully pick them out of the pot with soil around their base and place them upright in the large pot. Do not transplant them after this, as I said before root shock can kill them.
To cultivate the plants, treat them like tropical drosera but with less water. Keep the soil barely damp, as byblis grow naturally during the summer months in dry Australia. Give them bright light. And, keep the temperatures tropical. Byblis liniflora is an annual and will die off if it is not kept warm.
When flower stalks rise up after about 5 months of growing, you do not have to do anything to them as they self pollinate. However if you do have 2 flowers open at the same time, take a small paintbrush and transfer pollen from one flower to the other. (pretty simple to figure out). You should get seed pods moderately quickly.
To wrap it up, byblis liniflora is a great quick growing plant. It is easy to propagate and to get seed from. This species is also extremely easy to cultivate if you keep it in tropical conditions.
NO INSULTS PLEASE THANK YOU
-droseradude