Pedicularis

[Diane Whitehead]

Vojtech's new seedlist offers six species of Pedicularis.

I don't know anyone who is growing any, so did a search here.
Lots of mentions -  in the Travel section.

In the last few years there have been articles in several
alpine journals about success in growing Castilleja, so I have
hopes that perhaps some growers are experimenting with
Pedicularis seeds.

Anyone?

[Maggi Young]

Quite few of the Czechs seem to be establishing them in their gardens, Diane. 
And Kevock Gardens sometimes have plants for sale - so it's not impossible to grow them.

[Philippe]

hi Diana

I have Pedicularis longiflora from Holubec's last year seedlist. Germination was quick last spring, and the plants seemed to settle in the pot during summer. So far some seedlings had their bigger leaves at about 2/3cms length.
I mean, they have grown , not just germinated and immediately lingered.  Roots begun to look out under the pot, so that I had to put the whole thing in a bigger pot.
I had tried to sow some other chinese genera within the pot at the same time, but mostly to secure myself I think, not the Pedicularis, then these "host" plants didn't sprout at all...
I'll see next year if the seedlings are still living.

Otherwise, I have grown and flowered the european native P.foliosa, by just sowing the seeds directly in a non natural wet grass area near the beds. This may however not be a good example, as this particular Pedicularis species is growing here in the wild, under the same climate, so the thing was perhaps easier from the beginning. But it did work !

I am presently trying far more other P.species since 2 years, with very variating results. But as a rule, when the species are sown in pots, I always try to add another potential host species. Mostly some grass/sedge growing if possible in the same habitat than the Pedicularis. When possible. If not, I just "try" things that could in my opinion be a support.
I don't know if it would help, but during the first 1/2 years, this can't anyway be bad for the pedicularis, as long as they are not overwhelmed.

All I know about my short experience with Pedicularis is that they really don't seem to endure very long cultivation in pots if the host doesn't match ( a thing that can be seen relatively rapidly once germinated).
I would say, however the sowing is made, the fastest the seedlings are planted outside in the beds within plant communities ( of course without any pricking out action at any moment), the better the chances to see them trying to establish.

Perhaps I'll be able to tell more about successes or fails in the next 2/3 seasons.

[Lori S.]

How did you germinate the seeds, Philippe? Were they in pots outdoors?

I had decent germination last spring from Pedicularis densiflora, from NARGS seedex seed, wild-collected in Oregon... not sure they survived the dry conditions in the garden though.  I was stratifying the seeds in the cold room but they started germinating after about 15 days so they probably didn't really need stratification.

[WimB]

I have Pedicularis longiflora from Holubec's last year seedlist. Germination was quick last spring, and the plants seemed to settle in the pot during summer. So far some seedlings had their bigger leaves at about 2/3cms length.

Philippe, which host plant did you use for P. longiflora?

[Philippe]

Lori

All the sowings are made directly outdoor from early May on ( in pots most of the time, or sometimes directly in a possible final area which could fit the particular species).
All seeds are stored in the fridge during winter, not for any stratification purpose ( though it might surely help some species to sprout after that), but only to keep them as best as possible meanwhile.

Wim

As I said, my host-associations trys are very empirical. IN the case of P.longiflora, there are of course not many possibilities to associate the possible right host plants. I had tried one pot with Ajuga lupulina, which was collected right in the same area ( but not necessarly precisely in association with the Pedicularis of course), and  the other one with Eriophyton wallichii ( which was probably not a good idea though with some hindsight, in regard to later cultivation requirements)
I had some germination on Ajuga lupulina only, but the seedlings were week and not looking healthy this summer. I don't think they might have supported the PEdicularis seedlings's growth anyway ( unless they took the Ajuga all its vigour away )

I think I will do other in the future, and will sow as many different "host" species as possible in a pot together with the Pedicularis. After all plants are far more happier when living close to one another, and this is even more true for hemiparasitic species. I don't know if studies were already made on this point, but it could well be that these parasitic species such as Pedicularis don't hang exclusively on one or two precise host species ( whether family or genera).
Hopefully I can learn more about concrete facts with the few species I am currently trying.