Utricularia from seed

[utricularia]

Greetings TF,
I might as well ask. I am considering ordering in some utric and/or genlisea seeds from over the pond. I know that the chances of successful germination are fairly slim when ordered this way but am tempted to try. Specifically, if/when availible, I am considering:

Genlisea:
just about anything. I have yet to try my hand at growing a genlisea- last attempt at germinating seeds ended in soul crushing failure (even with GA3 treatment after several months)

Utricularia:
- Mostly from the section Orchidioides (Alpina, campbelliana, jamesoniana, quelchii). But I love utrics and likely would end up with other stuff in my basket.

Last thoughts on this:
- I will be placing an order anyway for some other species (Drosera, Roridula, etc...) so this would not be a going out of my way thing.
- I am fully under the assumption that this is at best the purchase of a european lottery ticket (with some potential nice winnings) and at worst, a flat out donation to the EU.
- I have a small lot of seeds permit
----------------------------------
Background done. My question is- does anyone have any particular experiences trying to get these seeds to go? Any species you might recommend which would be "easier" or at least more likely to produce results given appropriate accomodations (So in other words- I am willing to work for it a little). Any other thoughts you could kindly share?

I am kinda on the fence about it.... I really do know better...

 

[RL7836]

On the Orchidioides:
- I would be interested in hearing if anyone has ever received seeds that successfully germinated from a vendor in another country.
- I have received seeds of U. campbelliana & U. unifolia - freshly harvested from the seedpod & mailed to me - 2-3 times (3 for campby & 2 for unifolia) and never had a seed germinate. Personally, I think your only hope is to get some directly from a 'just-harvested' seedpod & hope for reasonably fast mail delivery (best hope for campby is probably Tobias K as he'll work with you to insure freshly-harvested seed). Also - fair warning - U. campbelliana & U. jamesoniana have the smallest seeds I've ever seen.
- the age of the seeds from various vendors is probably over a month (& possibly several years). Personally, I think you'd have more satisfaction taking the cash you plan to spend & flush it - as this way you get to watch it swirl a few times before it disappears.
- you are likely to have better luck spending your money on live plants. With them, the vendors will typically stand behind the sale & replace plants that won't grow (obviously you won't get as many for the money but you'll have something green & growing). You could also try to work with existing USA growers as many of them would like to see the growing base of Orchidioides growers expand (see the Orchidioides thread....)
- another alternative is to buy seeds from species that are meant to wait a while before germinating

All imho, ymmv

 

[utricularia]

Alright.... back to reality I guess (sheesh... can't a guy have 5 minutes to fantasize about an awesome impossible grow from seed?). I appreciate your input Ron- I think I'll save my money afterall (dang you reality... and your stupid.... laws of chemistry!!).

On the Orchidioides:
- I would be interested in hearing if anyone has ever received seeds that successfully germinated from a vendor in another country.

- Yes good idea, lets rephrase my original question. Anyone? Only success for me so far has been U. longifolia seed from the ICPS seedbank. The rest have been duds.

- the age of the seeds from various vendors is probably over a month (& possibly several years). Personally, I think you'd have more satisfaction taking the cash you plan to spend & flush it - as this way you get to watch it swirl a few times before it disappears.

- One vendor I have been considering told me the age of the seeds was about 4-5 months (it is not clear to me if this is 4-5 months since harvest or 4-5 months since they received them). This brings up an interesting question; however, does anyone know why they lose viability so rapidly? I would assume it is related to the physical and chemical structure of the seed of course, but have the specifics been studied in depth? Perhaps we could gain some insight into possible ways to extend their "shelf life" a bit if such data exists.

You could also try to work with existing USA growers as many of them would like to see the growing base of Orchidioides growers expand (see the Orchidioides thread....)

- Such opportunities are always real gems. When the time is right and such opportunities afford themselves, I will certainly welcome them

- another alternative is to buy seeds from species that are meant to wait a while before germinating

- Hmmmm..... this one really caught my eye.... Do you (or anyone else) know if a list of such species exists? If not it seems like it would be a handy thing to have around. It might be kind of fun to put one together (at the very least- the conjectures).

 

[Maiden]

Greetings TF,
I might as well ask. I am considering ordering in some utric and/or genlisea seeds from over the pond. I know that the chances of successful germination are fairly slim when ordered this way but am tempted to try. Specifically, if/when availible, I am considering:

Genlisea:
just about anything. I have yet to try my hand at growing a genlisea- last attempt at germinating seeds ended in soul crushing failure (even with GA3 treatment after several months)

Utricularia:
- Mostly from the section Orchidioides (Alpina, campbelliana, jamesoniana, quelchii). But I love utrics and likely would end up with other stuff in my basket.

Last thoughts on this:
- I will be placing an order anyway for some other species (Drosera, Roridula, etc...) so this would not be a going out of my way thing.
- I am fully under the assumption that this is at best the purchase of a european lottery ticket (with some potential nice winnings) and at worst, a flat out donation to the EU.
- I have a small lot of seeds permit
----------------------------------
Background done. My question is- does anyone have any particular experiences trying to get these seeds to go? Any species you might recommend which would be "easier" or at least more likely to produce results given appropriate accomodations (So in other words- I am willing to work for it a little). Any other thoughts you could kindly share?

I am kinda on the fence about it.... I really do know better...

Hello

I have some spare utric calycifida seeds if you want some. Pm me if you want this specie

 

[utricularia]

Hello

I have some spare utric calycifida seeds if you want some. Pm me if you want this specie

You would be my friend for life

Sending PM now.

 

[RL7836]

You could also try to work with existing USA growers as many of them would like to see the growing base of Orchidioides growers expand

Such opportunities are always real gems. When the time is right and such opportunities afford themselves, I will certainly welcome them

Usually, the best thing to do is show an interest & participate in the forums. I've given away tons of plants & often never hear from the person again -- very, very frustrating when people don't share their experiences (positive or negative) nor any spare divisions. Show that you are not this type of individual & good things can happen....

another alternative is to buy seeds from species that are meant to wait a while before germinating

- Hmmmm..... this one really caught my eye.... Do you (or anyone else) know if a list of such species exists? If not it seems like it would be a handy thing to have around. It might be kind of fun to put one together (at the very least- the conjectures).

Look for plants with a strong wet/dry season - like most of the tuberous species. U. menziesii is a real beauty (you can also cheat & get some tubers). Fair warning on these species - since the seeds are built to last for a while, it can be rough to get them to germinate - so some people use patience, some use chemicals, some scratch & some get lucky...

 

[utricularia]

Usually, the best thing to do is show an interest & participate in the forums. I've given away tons of plants & often never hear from the person again -- very, very frustrating when people don't share their experiences (positive or negative) nor any spare divisions.

I can respect that.

Look for plants with a strong wet/dry season - like most of the tuberous species.

I just found an interesting source of world wide climate data. I have an evil idea...

U. menziesii is a real beauty (you can also cheat & get some tubers).

Yeah, I got some last year- ended up losing them during dormancy. I hope to give them another shot- perhaps next season (Or maybe I can get around to throwing some money at Australia this summer).

Oops, not this summer.... grrr... season reversal!

 

[Maiden]

LOL i will ship your seed this week. From Montréal to Ca, maybe 6-7 days, not so bad!

Edit: the germination rate is quite low... But not impossible. As you can see on my calycifida givaway thread, pokie22 and some others have some sprouts, but its kinda hard.

Edit2: do you have some experience with this specie?

 

[utricularia]

LOL i will ship your seed this week. From Montréal to Ca, maybe 6-7 days, not so bad!

That would be some kind of record. Every package I have ever received from Canada has taken a really long time (up to a little over a month). Not sure why.

Edit: the germination rate is quite low... But not impossible. As you can see on my calycifida givaway thread, pokie22 and some others have some sprouts, but its kinda hard.

Well, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. Do you have any particular suggestions not covered in that thread?

Edit2: do you have some experience with this specie?

I do not, it would be wise to assume you are sending them off to be guinea pigs in the home lab of an evil mad scientist- it's possible that they are doomed.

 

[utricularia]

LOL i will ship your seed this week. From Montréal to Ca, maybe 6-7 days, not so bad!

Edit: the germination rate is quite low... But not impossible. As you can see on my calycifida givaway thread, pokie22 and some others have some sprouts, but its kinda hard.

Edit2: do you have some experience with this specie?

Hey Maiden,
The seeds arrived today! Thanks a lot- I am pretty excited to give it a shot. I went ahead the threw them into a sterile petri dish with some RO water- at least for now but I was thinking of trying the cotton ball trick. Might pour some agar and throw a few on it too.

 

[Maiden]

Nice!
Hope you will have a good germination rate !!

 

[D.W.]

I don't remember about how fresh the seeds I received were, but at least germinating U. asplundii is pretty easy as growing it from seeds. U. calycifida seeds are also a good choice to start growing Utrics from seeds.

9th of August 2012


3rd of January 2013


Pot's diameter is about 4 cm.

Wonder if they start to grow more rapidly after I repot them in sphagnum based mix.

 

[utricularia]

D.W. Those are incredible. I am tempted to order some seeds and try to repeat your experiment there. How long did they take to germinate?

@Maiden: I wanted to pop in and let you know, I have not seen any action out of those seeds yet, though I did accidently let them get on the dry side before sowing on peat. I am hoping I did not kill them.... I ended up washing some peat according to the Tamlin Dawnstar/growsundews.com method (which I am finding out is a Godsend!) and sowing them on 2 parts peat one part course sand. Still waiting- we will see how it goes. I have a BCP order in the works, I may throw some more utric seeds in there for kicks.

 

[Jcal]

Good results DW! I have been really interested in utrics for awhile now. Never attempted to grow from seed, but look foward to more positive results.

 

[Maiden]

Utri: ok maybe the seeds are hard to germinate.. Some users here got germinations, even one with 20/20, but it was invitro.

Did you sow the whole bag ?

 

[utricularia]

Utri: ok maybe the seeds are hard to germinate.. Some users here got germinations, even one with 20/20, but it was invitro.

Did you sow the whole bag ?

I did end up sowing the whole bag- hindsight is 20/20 (Wish I had done at least some in vitro....). How long did it take you to see some germination? It seems to me we are still within the realm of possibility- looking at your other thread it seems people started reporting back about 2+ months in which would be about where I am now. I will keep a closer eye out.

 

[Maiden]

A couples of weeks to 2-3 months. Anyway, i still have 1000+ seeds lol

 

[hcarlton]

I ended up with 17 seedlings out of the small amount of seed I used, after about 4-5 weeks. By the way maiden, one of them is showing the purple veins , but still hard to get a pic of at this size... And I still have like 50+, maybe more, seeds to spare!

 

[utricularia]

How did you guys sow them? How wet? I basically have them on peat sand, not super moist. Perhaps I want wetter conditions? I'll try to remember to take pictures tomorrow.

 

[utricularia]

A couples of weeks to 2-3 months. Anyway, i still have 1000+ seeds lol

Where in God's name did you get all of these seeds?