Post by roraima on Mar 8, 2014 21:42:19 GMT -5
Hello all,
There is nothing quite like growing CP from seed, and I've gotten into the habit of putting a few Sarracenia seeds in LSM into the fridge for cold stratification for a month or so in the fall. In the hope that these seeds will germinate indoors under lights over the winter. It's proven a great way to pick up my spirits through the dreary days of winter.
This year I tried (~5 seeds of S. psittacina var. psittacina f. viridescens, Gulf Co; S. alata f. viridescens Washington Co. Alabama; and S. purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola, Liberty Co. Florida (Thanks purpman!!)) as usual I did get a few fatalities (even with ample fungicide I always lose a few to mold here on the wet coast) but I also has some good success given I only planted 15 seeds.
I'm excited to say thus far the most vigorous individual has been a particular S. luteola seedling that is quite large compared to it's siblings (It's largest pitchers are 4cm in length) and to the S. psittacina and S. alata (AF) seedlings. Here's a pic of an avg. sized luteola seedling next to the "biggy", these seedlings are 3 1/2 months old.
Although this plant had exhibited vigorous growth from very early on, I've noticed a couple of things as time has passed. Living in the media of my S. luteola are very small (~0.5mm or smaller), translucent-white, arthropods. I believe they are members of the Subclass (Collembola) otherwise known as springtails, but I'm no expert. I've tried to take several photos of them but the macro on my camera and phone are just terrible.There is no sign of them in any of the other pots of seedlings. But they've been abundant on and in media of the S. luteola since I started checking on the seeds and until recently I thought they've had no real effect on the seedlings.
But I've started to believe otherwise...I've noticed that the growth of my largest S. luteola seedling really skyrocketed after it had opened it's first few pitcher of decent size (1-2cm), I've also noticed that these smaller older pitchers have been partially filled...I can see this clearly when the pitchers are back lit. This is a terrible picture but the best I could do today, If you look carefully at the smallest pitcher in the center of the photo below and the smaller pitcher above it with the brown ring around the middle, both pitchers have been partially filled...with something.
Anyway as you can probably guess by now I'm starting to think that these springtails might be giving my seedlings an added boost by being caught in the smaller pitchers produced earlier in development. Interestingly the larger pitchers don't seem to be filling up as much, perhaps these tiny springtails aren't caught as readily by the pitchers with larger diameters? Once these smaller pitcher start to brown I plan on dissecting them to see if the results support my hunch or if the only thing full of it, is my theory .
There is nothing quite like growing CP from seed, and I've gotten into the habit of putting a few Sarracenia seeds in LSM into the fridge for cold stratification for a month or so in the fall. In the hope that these seeds will germinate indoors under lights over the winter. It's proven a great way to pick up my spirits through the dreary days of winter.
This year I tried (~5 seeds of S. psittacina var. psittacina f. viridescens, Gulf Co; S. alata f. viridescens Washington Co. Alabama; and S. purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola, Liberty Co. Florida (Thanks purpman!!)) as usual I did get a few fatalities (even with ample fungicide I always lose a few to mold here on the wet coast) but I also has some good success given I only planted 15 seeds.
I'm excited to say thus far the most vigorous individual has been a particular S. luteola seedling that is quite large compared to it's siblings (It's largest pitchers are 4cm in length) and to the S. psittacina and S. alata (AF) seedlings. Here's a pic of an avg. sized luteola seedling next to the "biggy", these seedlings are 3 1/2 months old.
Although this plant had exhibited vigorous growth from very early on, I've noticed a couple of things as time has passed. Living in the media of my S. luteola are very small (~0.5mm or smaller), translucent-white, arthropods. I believe they are members of the Subclass (Collembola) otherwise known as springtails, but I'm no expert. I've tried to take several photos of them but the macro on my camera and phone are just terrible.There is no sign of them in any of the other pots of seedlings. But they've been abundant on and in media of the S. luteola since I started checking on the seeds and until recently I thought they've had no real effect on the seedlings.
But I've started to believe otherwise...I've noticed that the growth of my largest S. luteola seedling really skyrocketed after it had opened it's first few pitcher of decent size (1-2cm), I've also noticed that these smaller older pitchers have been partially filled...I can see this clearly when the pitchers are back lit. This is a terrible picture but the best I could do today, If you look carefully at the smallest pitcher in the center of the photo below and the smaller pitcher above it with the brown ring around the middle, both pitchers have been partially filled...with something.
Anyway as you can probably guess by now I'm starting to think that these springtails might be giving my seedlings an added boost by being caught in the smaller pitchers produced earlier in development. Interestingly the larger pitchers don't seem to be filling up as much, perhaps these tiny springtails aren't caught as readily by the pitchers with larger diameters? Once these smaller pitcher start to brown I plan on dissecting them to see if the results support my hunch or if the only thing full of it, is my theory .