Sowing Paris - any advice ?

[Paul T]

Noooooooooooooo! 

Isn't that just the worst feeling!

[ichristie]

Hi all, I may be getting excited about nothing but I have flowered paris japonica for at least 10 years and have never known it to set seed and all the people I have contacted say the same. I have a plant in the garden this year with no less than 3 seed pods and a plant with 1 seed pod, anyone else ever had seed/ I post a picture,  cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[Paul T]

Fingers crossed, Ian.  If it is looking different to usual that has to be a good sign, particularly if you've been growing it for 10 year and never had it look like this before.  It looks like it is such a nice flower, so I'm wondering if no-one is getting seed whether it is mainly all from a single clone that normally doesn't set seed?  And you just happened to have the right conditions for it to set this year.  Everything crossed for you. 

[Robin Callens]

Ian,

This is very exciting news! I would love to see some pics when the fruit is ripe and also from the seed itself.
The Paris japonica plant you gave us last year, produced 3 stems and 1 flower. I tried to crosspolinate it with pollen from 5 different Paris species but without success.

regards,

Robin

[ichristie]

Hi  Paul and Robin, I was informed several years ago that only one clone of Paris japonica was in cultivation so no chance of seed. I do have several other Paris growing  nearby but I do not think cross pollination is possible as all are in different sections with Paris japonica so different ,any way I always say that plants have not read the books so maybe I will keep you posted, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[Paul T]

Ian,

I am so hoping that you're successful with seed.  It then means that you break the "clone lock" that stops seed set, because from that point there will always be more than one clone in cultivation (providing of course you or whoever you share the seeds with is successful in raising the offspring).  More than just fingers crossed.... absolutely everything crossed. 

[ichristie]

Hi all. we had a really bad storm over the weekend with very heavy rain this storm broke the stem with one seed pod of the Paris japonica, I split this open today and post the picture taken of the seed which looks good to me I will watch the other seed pods which will perhaps ripen a bit more, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[Paul T]

Ian,

Fantastic.  Definitely seeds, which is great.  To my eye they look like they'd be quite viable too wouldn't they?  They certainly don't look half formed or anything?

Congratulations on them not being "blind" seedpods!! 

[Kristl Walek]

I've germinated Paris polyphylla inside zip lock bags (about 7 months from sowing)----and this is what the seedlings look like.

Can I assume that the enlarged section right under the still-attached seed is the beginning of the rhizome/tuber and should be planted under the soil level?

Can I expect this to be hardy for average winters of -15C?

[Paul T]

Kristl,

I can't help with the temperature questions, but need to contribute a Paris seed observation.....

I have been sorting through some of my seed pots this week, some of which may perhaps have been in their original seed pots for slightly longer than is usually recommented (you'll see what I mean in a moment) and came across a pot of Paris quadrifolia with a couple of nice 3-part leaves in the pot and some brand new seedlings germinating in there as well.... you know, the little linear initial leaf that they get.  These were originally sown in (and here is the bit bout them perhaps being in their original seed pot a little longer than they should have been), wait for it..... 2003.  So, 6 years after sowing them I have had seed germinate of Paris quadrifolia.  It might be a good thing after all that I didn't get them repotted, although usually in a case like these I would just pot the whole thing up into a bigger pot (which is going to happen shortly).  I was amazed that after 6 years sitting there they were now germinating.  Of course, if I'd treated the pot properly the original germinations would have been flowering by now. 

I thought it was an observation that people might be interested in.  There have been no Trillium or Paris flowering in the shadehouse in the ensuing years, so these could not be later seed that had been added unwittingly.  Talk about delaying their germination. 

[Darren]

Paul,
Thanks for your observation. Every year for about ten years I collected fresh seed of P quadrifolia from a roadside verge near my old workplace and I never germinated any - I now wonder if this is because I never kept the pots for more than two or three years before giving up!

[gote]

Paris quadrifolia seeds itself in my place and the cotyledon is annoyingly like a Trillium. Also a young plant is annoyingly similar to a Trillium seedling.
However, Unlike the other members of Trilliaceae (or trillioidae) they have creeping rhizomes that spread and divide so germination is not so important in proliferation.
If they like the situation they will easily cover a few square meters.
Obvously I have never tried to germinate them so I have no experience but the number of berries that appear every year is alrge compared with the number of seedlings that appear so viability may be low.
Cheers
Göte

[Robin Callens]

I've germinated Paris polyphylla inside zip lock bags (about 7 months from sowing)----and this is what the seedlings look like.

Can I assume that the enlarged section right under the still-attached seed is the beginning of the rhizome/tuber and should be planted under the soil level?

I experienced with all the Paris species I grow that the seeds germinate (appearance of the cotyledon) after the second winter. only a radicle and the beginning of a rhizome (all below surface) is formed after the first winter. I think it is best to plant these 'seedlings' now just below surface covered with a layer of grit.

Can I expect this to be hardy for average winters of -15C?

Last winter we had -15°C and we lost some unprotected Paris plants in pots. We had no losses in the garden but we always cover our plants with a layer of leaves or pine needles. So I would give your Paris 'seedlings' some protection from the cold.

regards,

Robin

[Robin Callens]

Hi all,

The genus Paris is divided in 4 sections. One of them is the section 'Paris' with species as P. quadrifolia, incompleta, verticillata, bashanensis and tetraphylla. They all have slender branching rhizomes, axile placentation and a non-dehiscent berry. When sown they germinate after 2 years. As Göte said, the cotyledons of P. quadrifolia ressemble those of Trillium.

Paris quadrifolia cotyledons
Paris incompleta cotyledons
Trillium chloropetalum cotyledons

[Paul T]

Robin,

This definitely confirms that I have new germination after 6 years then, because that is exactly what my quadrifolia pot has in it at the moment.  So what do the other Paris cotyledons look like?  I've not yet germinated any other Paris than quadrifolia, so they are all I have seen.

Thanks.