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Growing Nep Seeds

Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
I'm planning to purchase some nep seeds from eBay. I'm a month into the hobby and I'm extremely eager to purchase more neps. I found a nice seed pack on ebay with 50+ seeds from mixed species. Here's the link... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nepenthes-H...ultDomain_0&hash=item4ab0a0f22e#ht_858wt_1270

So I have a few questions about germinating seeds...

1. Do nep seeds require any special germination, or can I just plant them in some sphagnum and wait for them to germinate?
2. What if the average success rate of germination?
3. Do seeds need any special care that adult plants do not? I'm prepared with a terrarium and a good light that is successfully growing eight adult neps right now.
4. How long does it take for a seed to germinate?


Thanks so much for any help! :)
 
I'm planning to purchase some nep seeds from eBay. I'm a month into the hobby and I'm extremely eager to purchase more neps. I found a nice seed pack on ebay with 50+ seeds from mixed species. Here's the link... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nepenthes-H...ultDomain_0&hash=item4ab0a0f22e#ht_858wt_1270

So I have a few questions about germinating seeds...

1. Do nep seeds require any special germination, or can I just plant them in some sphagnum and wait for them to germinate?
2. What if the average success rate of germination?
3. Do seeds need any special care that adult plants do not? I'm prepared with a terrarium and a good light that is successfully growing eight adult neps right now.
4. How long does it take for a seed to germinate?


Thanks so much for any help! :)

The seed requires no stratification, if that's what you were asking; and planting them in either long-fiber sphagnum or a peat and sand mixture (which I prefer) works well.

The "success rate" in terms of germination depends upon the freshness of the seed; and even the longevity of the seeds is species-specific. Many lowlanders, especially Nepenthes ampullaria have a "shelf-life" of only a couple of weeks at best, while many highlanders, properly stored, are often viable after a year.

Seedlings should be treated much like the adults, as far as temperature and light is concerned; and keeping the pots sealed in zip-lock bags is a great technique for the first few months.

Germination can take a few weeks to several months . . .
 
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The seed requires no stratification, if that's what you were asking; and planting them in either long-fiber sphagnum or a peat and sand mixture (which I prefer) works well.

The "success rate" in terms of germination depends upon the freshness of the seed; and even the longevity of the seeds is species-specific. Many lowlanders, especially Nepenthes ampullaria have a "shelf-life of only a couple of weeks at best, while many highlanders, properly stored, are often viable after a year.

Seedlings should be treated much like the adults, as far as temperature and light is concerned; and keeping the pots sealed in zip-lock bags is a great technique for the first few months.

Germination can take a few weeks to several months . . .

Thanks! That pretty much got all my questions.

I have some dry LFS on hand, so I may just use that. I would be skeptical to use my live LFS in fear it would take over the seedlings. Is there a reason why you prefer peat/sand over sphagnum?

Also, I saw a picture on here of seedling neps and there had to be at least 20 in the same pot. Is there a reason to pot multiple ones per pot, or is it just to save space?
 
Thanks! That pretty much got all my questions.

I have some dry LFS on hand, so I may just use that. I would be skeptical to use my live LFS in fear it would take over the seedlings. Is there a reason why you prefer peat/sand over sphagnum?

Also, I saw a picture on here of seedling neps and there had to be at least 20 in the same pot. Is there a reason to pot multiple ones per pot, or is it just to save space?

Well, once the seedlings have germinated and grown to a good size for transplanting, they can be pretty hard to seperate when grown in LFS rather than peat/sand. You would have to be careful when tearing strands of LFS away in case you don't actually tear the roots of the young seedling.

To answer your second question, not all nep seeds will germinate successfully when sown. They produce seeds in the range of hundreds yet only a few dozen will germinate from that amount. Rather than lay one thin filliform seed per pot and would probably get only half that amount of germination (not to mention the hyper tedious process you would have to do only to find a few pots amongst your dozens to have a nep seedling!), most of us just spread a lot of the seeds on prepared media. Once they have reached sufficient size, they can be transplanted into individual pots.
 
You may want to read these threads before you order ... here & here.

Many ebay seed sellers are experts at separating you from your money. Since that is their primary focus, what you receive in the mail (if you receive anything) has no guarantee to be what you ordered or to be viable.

You may also want to do some research on the permit side (aka: how to bring in seed legally to the USA) --- here's one thread to start ...
 
There are several Nepenthes seed merchants on eBay, and very few of them sell viable seed, as people here can attest to. The one you mention does not have the best reputation, as far as actually getting live seed into customers hands. It's a gamble, but fortunately not an expensive one. Your choice, ultimately.
 
Thanks for the answers guys! To me, its worth a gamble.

How many seeds are in a "pod?" I see some neps listed as one pod of seeds. Is that like 10 or 100?
 
I think 50 is about the media, imho.
 
  • #11
Dude, if you are going to gamble, then bet on the one that is clearly the lesser risk: albermarlesounds.

Thank you, I will! :blush:

I see all of them are listed as "1 pod"... How many seeds is that and do they need anything done to them that a pack of 50 seeds would not? ???
 
  • #12
I bought some nepenthes seeds from a couple ebay sellers. I'll let you know how germination goes:). I think a pod has around 50 seeds but i'm not positive.
 
  • #13
I bought some nepenthes seeds from a couple ebay sellers. I'll let you know how germination goes:). I think a pod has around 50 seeds but i'm not positive.

Thanks. That sounds great! And for the seller's price it feels like a steal. :-D

Hopefully the seller combines shipping, I'm probably going to order quite a few pods. :blush:
 
  • #14
The seller I linked to, and Paul named, does combine shipping. As many as you want for $3 US.
 
  • #15
 
  • #16
They all look like easy to grow species...if your feeling confident then Id get them all :D

---------- Post added at 04:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

oh, and btw, a pod can have 40-120 seeds
 
  • #17
The first three if it was me but I already ordered tentaculata:D.
 
  • #18
They all look like easy to grow species...if your feeling confident then Id get them all :D

---------- Post added at 04:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

oh, and btw, a pod can have 40-120 seeds

Perfect! Hopefully the pods I receive are giant and filled with seeds. :-D

The first three if it was me but I already ordered tentaculata:D.

I'll go for all four I suppose. It's $23 if I bundle them all into one shipping price, but I may just go ahead and order tonight and pay the shipping on all of them, so it would be $31. Not too bad for 200-600 seeds, and if half germinate, that's 100-300 pitcher plants for $31... About $0.10-$0.30 per nep... So each seedling is 1/50 to 1/150 of the cost of a $15 nep. :-D
 
  • #20
Wish I had that kind of room.

I really don't have enough room to raise them all into adulthood. It will fill it my greenhouse for sure though! :jester:

I'll probably end up selling a few locally or giving them to neighbors/friends/family. :)

---------- Post added at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:32 PM ----------

I got a little carried away and ended up ordering 6 pods... :blush:

N. Adrianii - 1 pod
N. Ramispina - 1 pod
N. Tentaculata - 1 pod
N. Glabrata - 1 pod
N. Gymnamphora - 2 pods

When I receive the order, how should I open the pods? Do I just pull them open? Are the seeds inside ready to go straight into a peat/sand mixture? ???

Thanks for all the help everyone! :-D
 
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