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Post by dvg on Nov 17, 2015 13:41:54 GMT -5
On November 11, a few days back, I was sowing the last of my fresh P. heterophylla seed.
There was also some fresh P. agnata seed to sow as well.
So while I was at it, and had all the materials out to do some seed sowing, I had a look through some of the old Mexi-ping seed that was sitting around still not sown.
I had several batches of seed labeled back from October and November of last year.
I initially was going to throw it out because I figured it might not be viable, but instead decided to sow it upon closer inspection, because some of the seed still looked large and plump.
The seed wasn't kept in the fridge, just in the basement, but it was all still inside of the dried seedpods that I had harvested the year previous.
Well last night I noticed that the first of the fresh P. heterophylla seeds had begun to germinate and this morning that a few of the year old seed material was also starting to come up.
Perhaps keeping the seed inside their seed capsules helped them stay viable, but either way I was happy to see the old seeds germinating today.
dvg
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Post by hal on Nov 17, 2015 14:04:52 GMT -5
What sort of electron microscope do you have that ping seeds look "large"?
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Post by dvg on Nov 17, 2015 14:21:30 GMT -5
I guess size like anything else is all relative. Compared to some of the other seed, P. lilacina, P. agnata, P. colimensis ,P. kondoi, the red rosetted P. moranensis seeds and the P. moranensis x heteropylla seeds were quite huge. The other smaller seed might have been dessicated and might not be viable, but I sowed it anyway, not to leave any stones unturned. dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Nov 17, 2015 22:53:51 GMT -5
Hi DVG - That's fantastic to know. Thanks so much for sharing your experiments with this! As I search for a source of some ping species, this makes me less apprehensive about purchasing seed.
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Post by dvg on Nov 18, 2015 15:45:26 GMT -5
Great to hear that you are undeterred to try Mexi-pings from seed Apoplast. Not many folks are willing to try that, but if you can keep the media moist, remember to feed a small leaf from time to time, and exercise just some moderate patience, the resulting plants will grow quicker than you would think and reward you with some awesome seed grown plants. Try looking for some seed at Best Carnivorous Plants...you won't need paperwork for just the seeds. And also look through their very extensive list of Pinguicula plants. If any of those appeal to you, you can get some paperwork ready for next year when they are shipping again. And States side of the border, you can look into ordering from Cascade Carnivores too. www.cascadecarnivores.com/index.php?cPath=25dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Nov 18, 2015 23:28:27 GMT -5
Hi dvg - Not only undeterred, encouraged! If I'm going to get the plant material I need, seeds seem the best option. Thanks for the tips! Feeding should be no problem. I now have a few collembola cultures that I use to feed my plants (thanks in large part to you! I saw you had fed your plants with them and had great success, so I've adopted the technique - thanks for that by the way!). I order from BCP all the time - the owner even knows me now. Unfortunately, BCP doesn't have many of the species I need at the moment. I've not ordered from Cascade before. I contacted them a few years back with a questions and got an unwarranted snippy reply. I was also under the impression that they didn't really carry ping seeds; great selection of plants though. I really enjoy growing CP from seed and have done VFT, dews of all sorts, Aldrovanda, Drosophyllum, Roridula, Byblis, Neps, Cephs, Dars, & Utrics. But not yet pings, and I have specific goals in mind here. If you have any other tips on where to get ping seeds, please do PM me. Thanks!
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Post by dvg on Nov 21, 2015 14:32:44 GMT -5
Quick update on the November 11 seed sowing.
The P. heterophylla seed came up, but the fresh P. agnata seed and the mixed pot of year old seed have not shown anything.
That particular strain of P. agnata which may have come from tissue culture may not be viable, but I'd still like to try pollinating a few more flowers on that one, before I give up on it.
The biggest surprise though was the seed from the year old red rosettes P. moranensis and the red rosettes P. moranensis x heterophylla.
Those seedling are coming up very thick. better than the fresh heterophylla and if I didn't know better, I would swear that they must be weeds.
Not sure why these ended up being so viable, especially after sitting for just over a year.
Really glad I did decide to sow these...looking forward to what these end up being.
dvg
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Post by lloyd on Nov 21, 2015 18:31:39 GMT -5
Seed germination is so complex, you may have increased germination by storing them for that length of time.
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Post by dvg on Nov 22, 2015 17:23:50 GMT -5
Lloyd, you could very well be right on that.
After reading through parts of that seed germination book you recommended here previously, I have an increased respect and admiration for plant's strategies to ensure their survival with their seed germinating secrets.
dvg
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Post by dvg on Nov 25, 2015 16:33:25 GMT -5
Here are some pics of that year old seed sown two weeks ago today, growing in a four inch pot. It came in a lot thicker than I thought it would, but then I wasn't expecting much. dvg
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Post by mackthompson on Nov 25, 2015 17:34:09 GMT -5
I think your gonna need more pots lol.
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Post by WillyCKH on Nov 25, 2015 20:48:19 GMT -5
So nice! I want some
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Post by Apoplast on Nov 27, 2015 13:31:33 GMT -5
Hi dvg - Wow, I am gobsmacked! They are beautiful. As always, I am impressed with your skill with these plants. At what point will you begin to feed them?
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Post by dvg on Nov 27, 2015 16:57:23 GMT -5
Hi Apoplast,
These are growing in thicker than I thought they might, so i'll wait to see which ones are hardier and more robust than the rest.
Also, the redder colored up plants will be given feeding precedent over the others.
This pot might turn into a survivor pot of sorts, the robust fed clones will self cull the weaker plants...survival of the favored and fittest.
dvg
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Post by Apoplast on Nov 28, 2015 15:20:38 GMT -5
Hi DVG - I'll look forward to seeing their progress, but what a great start! I also like the idea of turning this pot into a gladiator battle of sorts, leaving the strongest clones standing. Those who are about to die salute you.
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