Re: Dracontioides etc

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1998.06.10 at 13:03:21(2260) >For those members who shared in the generous distribution of seeds of Dracontioides and Lasimorpha by Julius Boos I thought it might be of interest that the seeds I received have now germinated. Both at exactly the same time, almost to within a day of each other, and both after I had more or less given them up for lost. They were sown in chopped sphagnum and peat-based compost and kept warm and wet. I think the final trigger for germination was the arrival of the early morning sun in their window which rapidly heated the small propagator they were in to high temperatures (85-90 deg. F) before moving on and the temperature then lowering to a more normal level. I would imagine that the swamps in which they live, and the mud in which they germinate must reach very high temperatures at certain times of day. I now have a number of small seedlings with beautifully shaped leaves and I look forward to growing them on - hopefully successfully! Many thanks to Julius once again. +More Happy growing all, Geoffrey Kibby< Dear Geoff, Thank you for posting this, as I feel sure that there are others out there that were about to dispair over the non-germination of their seed; mine germinated within 2-3 weeks of being sown. I agree that heat probably is the trigger. I have had seeds of Urospatha that were forgotten (in a bowl of water in the darkness of my HOT garage) germinate at 100% live in 2-3 weeks! Good luck, and remember that I now suspect that Dracontioides require as much BRIGHT light as possible; mine (and those belonging to others, see Don Burns posting)) tend to grow leggy, and Eduardo tells me that Dracontium margaretae, another wet-growing relative, MUST be grown in FULL sun, or it will be weak, tall, and will not bloom. The Brazilian sun would be fierce on the wet plains where these species grow, so lets try providing as much bright light as we can, and report the results. Cheers and good growing, Julius ju-bo@msn.com email: Geoffaroid@aol.com website: http://members.aol.com/dgiscience

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