Ranzania, Schizocodon, Shortia

[Olga Bondareva]

I would be grateful if somebody helps me with this seeds and comments on their germination.

[Maggi Young]

Olga, I believe Gerben will be a good man to help with this, if he is nearby? In Gothenburg they grow many such species, all very well!  Gerben?

[jomowi]

Hi Olga

I grow Shortias from seed. They are best sown when just ripe, collect seed as soon as the pods split,, old seed may well be dead.  I sow them on sterile peat covered with a thin layer of 2 mm flint grit.  Spray them with sterile rain water and cover with Cling film and wait.  Very fresh seed germinates in about 3 weeks (summer and early autumn) old seed may take very much longer if it grows at all.  The seedlings are very tiny, but very dilute feed applied with a dropper will help their growth.  Keep the cling film on until they have a true leaf before beginning limited ventilation.  Watch out for damping off, it can happen sometimes, and for the appearance of liverworts and moss; not usually a problem but remove any you see.  Growth can be maintained during the first winter by using artificial light as for Gesneriads.  The main problem then is to  carefully wean them off the lights.  I keep mine in the house so I also have to wean them from the higher temperatures as well.  They can be pricked out into 2 cm cells when large enough using a peat-rich acid compost mixed with a little sterile soil, Perlite and some slow release fertiliser.  When this is done it is important to keep the humidity high with a transparent cover for several weeks before weaning them to shade fram/outside conditions.  They do not like hot sun, a dry atmosphere or water shortage, particularly when tiny.

Brian Wilson Aberdeen

[Diane Whitehead]

The only source I have seen for Schizocodon and Shortia seed is the seed catalogue put out by Göteborg Botanic Garden.  The catalogue comes out in January.  Does this mean they are selling seeds from last summer which are likely to be dead?  or do they store them so that they maintain viability?

[Maggi Young]

Diane, believe me, if ANYWHERE is liable to be storing seed correctly, then it is Göteborg Botanic Garden !
Those guys are GOOD! I would consider anyone who has access to their seed bank to be extremely fortunate. Cannot speak highly enough of the place or the people.

[Olga Bondareva]

Brian
Thanks for your detailed recommendations! Your method is the same to mine I use generally. Last year I sowed Shizocodon soldanelloides but no seedlings appeared. With two months in refrigerator to.

I have a good place for such kind of plants among ferns, hostas and epimediums. But no seeds.

Diane
Does this Botanical Garden have a website? Hope their seeds are fresh.

Maggi
Thanks again. 

[Maggi Young]

Olga, this will help you to know the Göteborg Botanic Garden :
http://w3.goteborg.se/botaniska/engelska/english_start.html
or if you prefer the Swedish pages:http://www.srgc.org.uk/feature/sandymay06/content.html
See this feature by Sandy Leven on the SRGC site:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/feature/sandymay06/content.html
There are also references in many places in Ian's Bulb Log and if the Forum, old and new!

Gerben Tjeerdsma  from GotBot makes posts here, also.

[Lesley Cox]

Lovely to see your picture on the side there Diane. Wow! All that gorgeous hair!

[Diane Whitehead]

There is a place on the Göteborg website where you can sign up to join the Konnässörsklubben  (I think that means Connoisseur's Club)  and then you will be mailed a seed catalogue with coloured pictures.  Some of the seeds are of common plants like pansies, snapdragons and tagetes.  It is written in Swedish, but I can understand a lot of it as many words are similar to English.

I think they also have a seedlist that is distributed to other botanic gardens and serious growers (maybe plant experimenters) - their Index Seminum, but I have never seen a copy.

[gote]

I can probably supply seed of Ranzania in mid-July. I believe that if they are sown immediately they may germinate within two weeks. However, sometimes they will wait until next spring. Ranzania is surprising hardy and survives well in mid-Sweden. If you want seed,please let me know in the beginning of July.
gote@svanholm.se

[Gene Mirro]

I would also like to obtain fresh seed of Shortia and Schizocodon.  If you are growing them, let me know, and I will remind you this summer to send seed. 

[Olga Bondareva]

gote
Thank you very much! Yes, berberidacae are unusual in their hardiness, many Epimediums are good here, hope others to.

Maggi and Diane, your advices are always so useful!

[Gene Mirro]

I asked Goteborg about the issue of seed viability, and got this response:  "We keep our seeds of Shortia in a refrigerator. Germination is ok when the seeds are sown in early spring."

Sounds good to me.

[Afloden]

Hello,
 
 There are a few good papers on the germination of Shortia galacifolia, and the same treatment would probably apply to the other species. It seems that the capsules split while facing up and the rain that collects causes germination while also splashing the seeds out onto the layers of duff where they establish. Germination drops to almost zero when the seeds are dried.

 In habitat S.galacifolia is limited to humid forests shaded by Acer rubrum, Tsuga, and Pinus strobus, with Rhododendron and Kalmia as understory. I have seen three populations and two are confined to the banks of a stream where the moisture level stays consistent and another is on seepy slopes in sandy duff. The plants are rooted in the duff layer only barely getting into the sand that holds all the moisture. In early April the reddish runners crawl through the duff and establish new plants. For as finicky as the plant seems in the garden it forms colonies like Ivy in the wild, pure shiny green carpets several meters square in some places.

 1) My lone pot of Shortia galacifolia blooming several weeks ago.

[Maggi Young]

Welcome to the Forum, Aaron, it's good to have you join us.
Always interesting to get information from someone who has observed the plants in the wild.