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Post by dvg on Nov 10, 2010 14:36:08 GMT -5
Was looking through some seeds in my seed fridge and came across some Roridula dentata and Roridula gorgonias seed packs that I had ordered a while back. Have always been interested in these South African Bug Plants and think i will have a go at propagating both of these species from seed. With five seed packs of each species, hopefully i will get some to sprout up. They are supposed to have quite a long shelf life and because they've been kept in the fridge, i'm hoping that they'll still germinate. I looked and I have some smoke disks, so i'll try soaking these and maybe the seeds in some smoke water as well. Might even take some dried grass and burn that on the potting surface to simulate natural growing conditions. If i have success, I'll post some pics later. Wish me luck. dvg
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Post by dvg on Nov 10, 2010 17:44:49 GMT -5
Sounds like it's all figured out, good luck! Do post photos Thanks Petmantis. If we achieve liftoff, i'll definitely post some pics of these SA aliens and their lunar-like landscape potting mix. ;D dvg
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Post by H2O on Nov 11, 2010 0:38:25 GMT -5
That sounds awesome doug, can't wait until yet sprout The whole thing reminds me of protea seeds, I guess they are grown in the same area make me what to try protea again haha
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Post by dvg on Nov 11, 2010 1:57:14 GMT -5
Thanks Justin, i'm pretty sure i will be able to get some of these seeds to snap, crackle and pop into Luxury Highrise Condominiums for even Pameridea with the most discerning of tastes. ;D dvg
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Post by dvg on Dec 9, 2011 18:50:30 GMT -5
Okay better late than never i suppose...i finally got around to sowing these seeds. Today i have at least 6 of the R. gorgonias seeds sprouting. I also had sown some R. dentata seeds at the same time as the R. gorgonias seeds were sown, but none of them have germinated so far, though i'm still hopeful that they might still sprout for me. dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Dec 9, 2011 20:02:39 GMT -5
Hi Dvg - Congratulations on your success with the R. gorgonias seeds! I sowed five R. gorgonias seeds a while ago too. Three came up and I lost one right away. My math puts that at two hearty souls remaining, but they look pretty happy.
I have an idea. I can post picts here if you don't mind, and if our plants are of similar size, we could have a little grow off and see who can get theirs bigger, faster? Just for fun. What do you say? It's the first time I've tried to grow Roridula, so I'm uncertain of the results I'll get, but I'm game anyway.
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Post by dvg on Dec 10, 2011 2:10:25 GMT -5
Hi Dvg - Congratulations on your success with the R. gorgonias seeds! I sowed five R. gorgonias seeds a while ago too. Three came up and I lost one right away. My math puts that at two hearty souls remaining, but they look pretty happy. I have an idea. I can post picts here if you don't mind, and if our plants are of similar size, we could have a little grow off and see who can get theirs bigger, faster? Just for fun. What do you say? It's the first time I've tried to grow Roridula, so I'm uncertain of the results I'll get, but I'm game anyway. Thanks Apoplast, Feel free to post pics of your successes with this species...i'd like to see how you're doing with yours. I may have jumped the gun on saying that i had six of these seeds sprout...when i had another look, two of those seeds were actually more Drosophyllum in the same propagator as the Roridula that sprouted. The few R. gorgonias seeds that have sprouted, just popped up yesterday and haven't completely made themselves free from their seed shell yet. I'll try to get some pics up once i can actually see some green on these plants. dvg
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Post by cpgeek on Dec 10, 2011 14:19:16 GMT -5
Congrats on your success Doug and Apoplast. Just be patient with the dentata - I've found that temps hovering around freezing at night followed by 10-15 C daytime temps in direct light does the trick for both species. You should find them easy to grow.
If you have no germination after another month or so, try this technique provided by a good Swiss friend. Allow the pots to dry out completely. Keep bone dry in direct sunlight and start up watering in Sept. You should see germination when after a few weeks of cold nights. Seems to work for WA tuberous dew seed too, so don't throw those pots out!
Rob
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Post by Apoplast on Dec 10, 2011 15:40:46 GMT -5
Hi Dvg - Sounds like our plants are quite different in size already as mine are older. Oh well. I thought a grow off might be a fun idea. I've popped a picture of my two plants below (not the best picture, but it'll have to do for the moment). I'm sure yours will be that size in no time. Rob - I've gotten the same advice for germinating those groups too. In fact, I attribute my germination success rate of 3/5 on germinating them in the autumn on my unheated porch. As soon as the nights started getting good and cool, they came right up.
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Post by dvg on Dec 11, 2011 0:41:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the germination tips for the R. dentata seeds Rob. Apoplast, your R. gorgonias seedlings are looking very nice there. Best of luck with growing those out to seed producing adults and thank you for sharing your pics with us here. dvg
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Post by dvg on Dec 13, 2011 3:11:42 GMT -5
I've had six of these Roridula gorgonias seedlings germinate so far. Here's a couple of pics of two of them. They are all at about the same stage, with none of them quite shedding their seed coats yet. Once i notice that they have germinated in their communal group pots, i carefully transplant them into their very own pots, in an effort to try and avoid further root disturbance later. dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Dec 13, 2011 9:19:14 GMT -5
DVG - Ah yes I remember that stage with mine. It wasn't too long after that where I lost one of mine (it was moved between environments out of necessity, which may have contributed though). They seem to take forever to get loose from that seed.
It's a pretty inorganic looking mix you have them in. Is there a reason for that? Also, you mentioned that you moved them right away after germination to separate pots to avoid root disturbance later. Are they really as sensitive as Drosophyllum? I ask because I've been told they can be carefully transplanted. I guess now I'm locked into that approach, so we'll see. Thanks for sharing your pictures (of all your seedlings).
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Post by dvg on Dec 13, 2011 15:00:48 GMT -5
Hi Apoplast, There is a top layer of sand on the surface of the pot and there is a peat mix below that. The sand is on top to discourage any fungus gnats that may be enticed to lay their eggs there and also to help me gauge how dry the upper crust of the media is. These plants don't travel well...i've ordered a few live plants from overseas before, but i could never get them to live once they got here. Once bitten, twice shy, i guess... dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Dec 16, 2011 9:43:39 GMT -5
DVG - It's unfortunate they don't travel well. How long did they live? Regardless of my success germinating them, I'll probably try to get a few shipped here in the next few years. For that it'd be good to hear a little about your experience. Unless the memories are still too painful.
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Post by dvg on Dec 25, 2011 0:33:09 GMT -5
DVG - It's unfortunate they don't travel well. How long did they live? Regardless of my success germinating them, I'll probably try to get a few shipped here in the next few years. For that it'd be good to hear a little about your experience. Unless the memories are still too painful. Those Roridula plants were shipped out bare-rooted inside a plastic bag, from eastern Europe. and though they looked fine when they arrived, i just couldn't coax them to grow for me. It may have been because they didn't like the new conditions or perhaps they were less than thrilled with the trip gettting here. The vendor did say these plants would be shipped at the customer's risk and no replacement plants would be provided for those that didn't survive. It is possible that these plants would travel better rooted, inside their own pot, with a ventilated protection dome over the plant, as long as the humidity wasn't too high inside the package. dvg
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