Bulbs from South Africa - 2010

[Lesley Cox]

Darren, Alberto actually said to me that storing the seeds, dusted with Captan, prevented the fungus from destroying them, but I imagine that a dusting as they are sown would have the same effect. Still, I'd better be accurate.

[Lesley Cox]

Diane, if the seeds germinate in these bags, how do you then handle them into pots? With tweezers on each individual seed or just lay the lot on the pot?

[Susan Band]

Diane,
I am tending to do that more and more now as well, I think it was you talking about it earlier that encouraged me to start. It saves so many pots sitting about waiting for disasters to befall them. You can also move them around easily into the house or the fridge. I just cut the bag with a knife and then put everything part way down the pot, they only take a few days to sort themselves out. I always use perlite to germinate them in. It means in this weather I can still sow any seed which arrives.
By the way just had a look and saw that Glad. alatus germinated in the summer with March 2009 sowing from silverhills, maybe this years seed was particularly good.
Susan

[Diane Whitehead]

I almost-fill a pot, open the ziplock bag, dump out the contents
so they distribute themselves over the whole surface of the pot,
and top-up with compost.  I don't usually touch the seedlings
at all, though if there were only a few seeds and they all land
in the same spot, I will spread them out carefully.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Diane. Presumably then, you put into pots almost as soon as you see germination starting in a few seeds.

A few years ago I tipped over a pot of Juno iris seeds and was thrilled to see that a couple were acturally starting to germinate, with the root protruding from one end of the seed. I carefully covered these over and expected the seedlings to come through the surface within a few days at most. In fact it was almost 4 months before they showed through.

[Diane Whitehead]

Yes, I put the whole lot in a pot even if only one seed has
germinated.  There isn't usually a need for speed because
the reason I germinate them this way is that they are slow-
growing.  For example, a couple of pots of Galanthus, sown
last May, germinated in November and have just poked a bit
of green above the soil.

[Lesley Cox]

Lesley-I have never tried sterilising the actual seed, but I always zap the compost in the microwave for a few minutes prior to planting in pots that have been soaked  in boiling water. The compost is always wet when I zap it to avoid the need to water with unsterilised water, when it cools I sow the seeds and put the pot into a zip-up bag as shown. Then I just keep an eye on them and remove any seed with signs of mould.

I'll need to come back to this when I have a little more time. AC has let me know that some fungicides, e.g. Benlate (which we may no longer buy or use) when watered onto sown seed, have the effect of inhibiting germination, exactly the opposite of what we would wish for. So I need to study A's notes further rather than risk misleading seed sowers. Perhaps if AC himself would contribute here it would be very helpful.

[Darren]

This is all really interesting and I do feel inspired to have another go with alatus!  I've rarely sterilised seed in the past and I will now think about it at least for those that regularly damp-off (Calochortus are especially bad here).

[Juanba]

Hi all:

Here is my Freesia viridis flowering today, just one year after sowing.  Mine are scentless, at least in the day. Maybe they scent in the night.
I really like that charming and mimetic Freesia.

[Maggi Young]

Juan,  your picture hosting site does not seem to support the image upload to the forum.... here is your photo, uploaded from my pc.......

[Juanba]

Thank you very much Maggi

[Maggi Young]

My pleasure to help, Juan.

[Tomas]

I bought it as Massonia echinata, but... I think it is Massonia depressa.
T.

[pel1]

Hello Tomas, My first thought was to agree with you, Massonia Depressa is the one I think of as having smooth leaves, with echinata having pustules, but I saw the plant of echinata below at Wisley this year and it also has smooth leaves, perhaps there is some variation in this species? either that or Wisley have the wrong plant too!
-James

[pel1]

Here are a few more massonias, also at Wisley, I must get some more of these..........