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Post by Rug on May 25, 2007 1:51:49 GMT -5
Just a question about planting medium for VFT's. I got some seeds from Rare seed source and they say I can use 100% LFS to plant in. I did this in a grow starter kit (plastic grower cells and a humidity dome). I wet the moss then dropped some seeds into it and placed the dome on. I then put them under a "Power-glo" 18,000 K 15 watt light. Everyone I seem to notice has used peat moss and perelite mix and not LFS. Am I just wasting my time or has anyone tried it the way I did it. They have been in the moss for 4 weeks (2 weeks in the dark and 2 weeks in the light as their instructions dictated) and I still see nothing happening, although I know that they can take quite a while to germinate. Just curious to know your opinion. I put my next batch in the same type of kit but peat moss perelite mix. They are currently in the dark I guess for another week. I also planted some S. purpurea's in 100% LFS but nothing yet also.   |
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Post by insectivore on May 25, 2007 6:24:12 GMT -5
Did you stratify them for 5-6 weeks? Cya  |
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Post by curlingguy on May 25, 2007 7:44:55 GMT -5
Just to clarify- you don't need to stratify VFT seeds. In nature the seeds drop to the ground and germinate ASAP then the small plants go dormant and try to survive that winter. The seeds do not overwinter (ie: need stratification) in order to germinate.
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Post by mabudon on May 25, 2007 9:17:36 GMT -5
That's fascinating, Sdeering, didn't know that at all, thanks for posting!!
Rug- you're not necessarily "wasting your time", everyone does the same things many different ways with all kinds of results. That being said, what you describe should work OK, as well as any other method really
Without stratification (a couple months of COLD and wet conditions) them S.purpurea seeds might not germinate too well tho- you might get a few to come up, but be patient- mine got a REALLY good stratification and still took more than a month to sprout once the temps got nice
Hope this helps!
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Post by lloyd on May 25, 2007 10:10:03 GMT -5
You can also use gibberellic acid if you're impatient instead of or in addition to stratification.
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Post by Rug on May 26, 2007 18:37:21 GMT -5
How would u go about using that on the seeds. Can you tell me a mixture and instructions. I talked to a hydroponics store and they said that it was for quickening growth but they never used it on seeds before. Let me know how as I may just try it out. ITs been over a month now with no activity at all.
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Post by lloyd on May 26, 2007 19:10:01 GMT -5
The giberellic acid seems to break the barriers to germination. I use a 250 ppm mixture of GA3, a type of gibberellic acid. I soak the seeds for 24 hours at room temperature. It seems to improve the germination of stratified seeds. I had pretty good germination of some S. oreophila that weren't stratified.
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Post by vraev on May 27, 2007 0:47:39 GMT -5
I personally find that VFT unstratified gave me like 90% germination.  stratification actually made me loose some of that success rate. |
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Post by eql on May 29, 2007 12:19:12 GMT -5
ive never 'officially' stratified or done anything else... i just put the seeds on the soil and wait... id say 90% success.. though it can take a week to a couple of months...
i find that I end up keeping my seeds in the envelope by my window during the winter (cause I have no room to plant them at school) and when I come home for the summer i plant em and they grow!
when did u sow them? depending on how long they've been sitting around prior to shipping they could take a couple months...
*EQL*
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Post by vraev on May 29, 2007 12:22:15 GMT -5
remember though, it takes a long time for the seedlings to get to decent size.  These are like 6 months - 8 months old and they are like still the size of a dime. |
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Post by insectivore on May 29, 2007 16:42:12 GMT -5
Well Garden centre VFT's are the size of 3 yr old plants(Even tho they were from TC)... Cya |
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Post by Rug on May 29, 2007 20:25:29 GMT -5
Well I sowed the seeds back in March and another batch 2 weeks ago. The first batch I sowed in Canadian LFS which seems looser than the baile of LFS I got and the second batch in a peat moss and perelite mix. I have the seeds under Power Glo floresents. I have a humidity dome over both batches. I also have sarrs on the go too. I stratified them for a month and I'm still waiting on those too. |
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Post by eql on May 30, 2007 11:21:54 GMT -5
where r u keeping them?
i take my 'babies' outside on nice days to get some real sunlight.. it seems to help them start faster... not proven or anything.. just my feelings...
*EQL*
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Post by Rug on May 30, 2007 13:32:07 GMT -5
Just keeping them under the floresent lights one set is in my mini green house and the other on a desk. I'll try the ones in the green house outside and see what happens .  |
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Post by insectivore on May 30, 2007 16:59:35 GMT -5
How many lights are you using? Cya |
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stratification actually made me loose some of that success rate. 
