Shortia seeds

[Leena]

This has been a helpful thread.
I have a year old seedlings of Shortia uniflora, sown last winter from Göteborg seeds. I sowed them on mix of peat and perlite, and kept them in the same mini-greenhouse as I did Rhododendron sowings in room temperature. They germinated well,  but I didn't have time to prick them apart (perhaps that was good), and now they are still in the same pot, which is in a frost-free but cool room with light. I'm planning to prick them in the spring and plant them outside in the early summer. I will try the same kind of mix which John recommends, thank you.

[Mark Griffiths]

thanks Gene! Downloaded the pdf and will give it a read. Lovely pics John! I didn't have a reasonable camera until recently so my "past glories" are only memories.

[Tim Ingram]

Reading all this I am frustrated all over again that we live in the wrong place to grow these plants! David Sampson was very successful though south of us at Oakdene in Sussex, and Jim and Hedi Hancox used to grow them beautifully in London and exhibit them at Shows. What is brilliant is John's reference to the NARGS Bulletin which fortunately I have on my shelf, so at least I can enjoy reading about them from a real expert (and look at the other articles).

I know Gerben came over to Great Dixter a year or two ago. Would be good to fix up a tour of alpine groups if he can come again...

[Maggi Young]

Brian & Mark  - The late & great Shortia guru Steve Doonan sowed his seeds atop 50/50 coarse peat and rather fine granite grit and placed in a plastic bag.  The tricky bit was getting them exposed to the great outdoors.  I'd punch a few holes in the plastic bag every week until the bag was gone, preferably the end synced with the foggy season.  S. galacifolia seed was the most ephemeral, uniflora not quite so and soldanelloides would last a few months in good shape if stored properly.

Steve's Shortia article appeared in NARGS Journal Spring 1993 Vol. 51 N0.2 (what an issue that was!).  Do try to lay your hands on it.

johnw

   NARGS  has, as the SRGC has with  The Rock Garden, , posted it's back catalogue of Bulletins  online - so the issue mentioned by John is available to all, here:
https://www.nargs.org/sites/default/files/free-rgq-downloads/VOL_51_NO_2.pdf

[johnw]

In the early days I questioned the hardiness of Shortia but later learned that Dr. U. Paim was growing them very successfully near Fredericton, New Brunswick some 4 hours north of here.  He told me they flowered reliably even after lows close to -40c with no problem.

As we know the transition is difficult even in my very foggy climate where humidity averages about 70% year round.  (ditto Jankaea by the way and surely it doesn't need high humidity)

I suppose it is not surprising where humidity levels are low the S. spp. would be difficult subjects given their provenances.

johnw - -5c & sun, the fluffiest snow fell over night.

[johnw]

Tim - Glad you enjoyed Steve's article, that Journal was surely one of the best Journals ever to go to print.  We were so lucky to have had Steve speak here twice, sadly the last time just months before he died.  He was one of the most remarkable plantsman to walk the planet.   

The Foster article may be of interest and of course this link is indispensable:

http://www.barnes-botany.co.uk/shortia.html

john

[Tony Willis]

my first attempt was with seed from johnw and I sowed them on pure sterilised peat in a plastic pot which I then kept in a plastic bag. from this I managed a couple of plants.

Since then I have started to put the pot in a clear sealable plastic storage container and have had much better results. The moisture level is easy to control and any results can be seen through the side of the container. If moss starts to grow it can seen and be got off with a needle before it overwhelms the seed/seedlings.After a couple of years I then pricked them out into individual cells using ericaceous compost and have just been able to plant out a couple of dozen into a peat bed.

I also use this method for gesneriad and primula seed.

[Mark Griffiths]

Tony, do you mean like a propagator? That's what I was going to use as it worked well with Ramondas. I've been keeping them in there for a year or so before they toughen up a bit. 

[Tony Willis]

here are a couple of pictures. The large container is one we purchased but the rest are those that contained ready made soup which I eat when away at the weekend.

Of those shown all but one have a Chinese clematis in them (I am raising it from seed and it grows in humid conditions) and the other has Corralodiscus kingianus seed  from Bjornar in it

These are on a bedroom windowsill but I have others in the greenhouse.

[Mark Griffiths]

I think those are the same containers I've bought curry sauce in. Now I can't stop thinking about curry.

[johnw]

For Shortias I'd be tempted to pack live green sphagnum around the pots in the jars.  How is light transmission?  One imperative & tedious task was clipping the mosses which invariably sprouted stop the peat, they can easily swamp the seedlings.  This was required almost weekly and a steady hand and hand lens.

Masaman curry? Now I can't stop thinking about it...........

johnw

[Tony Willis]

Light transmission seems no different to a plastic propagator lid. The benefit is if the sterilisation has worked watering, moss and liverwort are eliminated as the pots are sealed.

[brianw]

I received Shortia galacifolia in my Nargs seed that arrived today, so I can try again to use my own instructions.

Even more difficult is I also received Monotropa uniflora seed. Now this is a challenge. It needs a fungus and another plant to survive. Wondered if Rootgrow had anything useful in it to help. I have emailed them.

[Maggi Young]

Good luck with the Monotropa- I wonder if a Rhododendron might  contain any of the right "bugs" ?

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/oct2002.html

[johnw]

That or pine / spruce duff. That's where we see them growing in the wild here.

johnw