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Tropical sundew seeds

Can tropical sundew seeds be stored in the refrigerator along with temperate species, until ready to be planted? Or should they be left at room temperature?

I will be planting the seeds this coming spring once the weather has warmed, and then grow the plants indoors during successive winters. I do not want to start the plants indoors, however, because I would like to give them the good start outside.

Another possible alternative would be to grow the tropical species as annuals and collect the seeds each year to plant the next spring.

The real question is how to store the seeds over the winter: refrigerator or room temperature?

Thanks,
Patrick Triggs
 
Hi Patrick, I can't answer your question about winter storage for drosera tropical seeds since I've never attempted it. However, I have grown "zillions" of them at various times of the year. For instance, last november I carelessly placed a cut capensis stalk on top of an open terrarium of adelae...this terrarium receives no direct sunlight whatsoever (in fact, it sits on a sunless north facing windowsill) and hundreds of healthy capes sprouted within a few months. I've successfully grown healthy capes from seed in both outdoor summer conditions and indoor winter conditions under grow lights and areas with low light. If it's capes you're growing I'd plant them anytime.
 
Here's a theory: If it is tropical; that is, a plant that has only one or two seasons, it probably doesn't need cold stratification. Therefore, I would expect that type to need sowing quickly. In contrast, plants that are temperate, that see 4 seasons, also see cold conditions ands have adapted to a natural cold stratification.
 
<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>I've had some success storing Byblis liniflora, Drosera burmannii and Drosera indica in small plastic vials. The vials I use are 2 inches (5 cm) tall and 9/16 inches (1.5 cm) in diameter. They are translucent polyethylene and have milk white, screw on plastic caps. They are air and water tight. I place the cleaned and dried seed on the bottom of the vial, next I insert a plug of cotton and above that a gel cap of desiccant, and then I cap it, label it and store it in the refrigerator. Seed of the three species mentioned earlier were harvested in June of 1988. After about 16 years they still show a germination rate of 98% or better. Some have commented that this may be overkill. They may be correct, but if it works, why change it? I'd rather over than under when it comes to preserving CP seed.</span>
 
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