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Post by lloyd on Dec 17, 2012 23:17:54 GMT -5
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Post by lloyd on Dec 18, 2012 16:46:08 GMT -5
Another book: Seeds www.amazon.com/Seeds-Biogeography-Evolution-Dormancy-Germination/dp/0120802635I wouldn't buy this, it's a reference book on the incredibly complex world of seed dormancy. It's giving me some ideas for difficult seeds. It's no wonder seeds can be difficult. The number of different types of dormancy is bewildering and the combinations of dormancy types is mind-boggling. I couldn't even begin to detail all the types of dormancy, the combinations, sequences, etc. Temperatures/temperature ranges/temperature range sequences, multi-year dormancies, moisture, seed maturiity and water content, nitrates, oxygen, CO2, hormonal influences, enzyme activity, embryo maturity, light, wavelength (red/far red/brightness/leaf filtered light), light/dark cycles, depth of burial, osmotic, salt content, seed coats, interactions with animal digestive tracts and on and on. If you can borrow it, have a look at it.
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Post by dvg on Dec 18, 2012 17:27:37 GMT -5
Those are a couple of good books Lloyd.
I have the Cactus Odyssey book - it has some good in situ photos of some rare cacti specimens.
The Seeds book looks quite interesting - might have to look into getting a copy of that one.
dvg
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Post by lloyd on Dec 19, 2012 22:02:17 GMT -5
One thing the "Seeds" book impressed on me is that to germinate a recalcitrant seed you've got to know your enemy. For instance I'm having trouble with Berkheya radula. Neither GA3 +/- smoke helps. So I did some looking. Pretoria is in the center of the range. Web images show flowering in November. It's daisy like. Daisy seeds usually mature quickly after flowering and leave the flower pretty soon. The seeds have a parachute so probably stay on the surface of the soil. In Pretoria they would be exposed to a few wet/warm months, then a few cool/dry months before the safest germination the following Spring in wet/warm weather. They grow in black alluvial soils. So I'm trying potting soil with sand and putting them just seed in soil with the parachute sticking up.
First I'm going to go with wet/warm for a couple of months, then cool/dry then warm/wet again to see if I can get germination.
Complicated yes but I think we have to do this kind of thinking to grow the really hard seeds (viable ones not seeds that die quickly like Neps/utrics). It's possible that a lot of seeds that noone can get growing just have very complicated dormancies.
As another example, I read that Grewia robusta needs to be digested by warthogs before germination. I looked all over the net for warthogs and could only find "Wonder Warthog" comic books. So I tried soaking with 0.1N HCL after GA3 250 ppm. I saw the first seedling today-coincidence-who knows?
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Post by lenynero on Dec 20, 2012 10:48:45 GMT -5
Hi Lloyd!
Are you going to try growing your avatar the Hydnora? ;D
Leny
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Post by lloyd on Dec 20, 2012 17:12:45 GMT -5
I've got a likely host growing with some Hydnora africana seeds in the soil. I'm hopeful.
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Post by hal on Dec 20, 2012 20:09:56 GMT -5
Travel AND plants. The cactus book sounds greats.
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Post by lloyd on Dec 20, 2012 21:29:36 GMT -5
You've got to love a book where 3 quiet botanists ambush Chilean students who've never seen snow with a barrage of snow balls.
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Post by H2O on Feb 8, 2013 14:08:34 GMT -5
Going through a growing crisis so was searching for some book and found this site. www.gettextbooks.com/This site is amazing, it does all the searching for you, I can not find a cheaper place to buy books that this site doesn't include. Just search any book you've been looking for and you'll see.
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Post by lloyd on Feb 8, 2013 17:17:26 GMT -5
You can never have too many places to look for books!
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Post by Apoplast on Feb 8, 2013 18:48:14 GMT -5
Thanks H2O! I did some looking and they really can find lots of unusual books!
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Post by H2O on Feb 8, 2013 19:38:18 GMT -5
Just sharing the wealth! Got to thank Lloyd for showing me all the other sites that led up to this one. I like collecting plant books as much as the plants themselves and It always sucks when the book your looking for costs $250 on the main sites.
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Post by lloyd on Mar 22, 2013 12:11:34 GMT -5
Hey Justin, I couldn't find this book anywhere for a reasonable amount of money:
Eucalypts: A Celebration
Finally I tried the website you posted. It found the cheapest price anywhere plus the best S+H from a Canadian site! Just ordered it.
BTW, if you like to order on-line but don't have a credit card (or don't want to use it) the new Debit Cards (at least mine from TD-Canada Trust) can be used just like credit cards online only the money (I assume) comes right out of your bank account.
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Post by H2O on Mar 22, 2013 12:35:15 GMT -5
Thats great to hear! Good literature makes the hobby grow and when none of us have the money to buy it, it just slows the progress! I'm actually going to be buying a newly released Cypripedium book on there in the next couple days.
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Post by dvg on Apr 3, 2013 13:24:10 GMT -5
Just purchased a book on how to grow the 19 species of the Boswellia genus in cultivation. www.amazon.com/Cultivation-Boswellia-Jason-Eslamieh/dp/0982875118Jason Eslamieh, the book's author, may be the only grower in the world, currently growing all 19 Boswellia species. He has provided color photos of all 19 species in cultivation along with photos of most of these plants in their native habitat, as well. He gives accurate soil compositions, germination temps, humidity levels, germination rate percentages for each species, along with tips for growing these plants in containers, greenhouses or the ground. This is a niche type book for anyone interested in growing these plants. Jason also sells B. sacra seeds, considered the Hercules of the genus and also the source of the dried resin known as frankincense. I was very excited to obtain these seeds - i had been looking for these for over five years now, and a good guide on how to successfully grow them. dvg
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