Bob, Yes, I've noticed that netlike covering and I rub it off my Castilleja
seeds before I send them to growers. I know Castillejas don't need a host if
they're getting mainly the water they need. I just put that in my inquiry so I
wouldn't get replies telling me to sow the seeds with buffalo grass or lupine
or Penstemon or whatever "host" is in vogue. Ignorance is bliss! Before I
learned that Castillejas were "hard to transplant", I was manhandling (or is it
"womanhandling) them to the point I could almost hear them scream. I've pulled
out excess red C. miniata from my cultivated garden, thrown them in my bucket
destined for the compost pile, then reconsidered overnight, retrieved them
from that bucket and planted them in another area or in my neighbor's yard
where they perked up and continued to grow like nothing had happened to them.
Jane HendrixMountain View Experimental GardensPeak 7 Area - Breckenridge,
Colorado USAElevation: 10,000 feetUSDA Zone: 4Website:
http://www.picturetrail.com/hendrix
---------- Original Message ----------
From: "penstemon" <[email protected]>
To: "Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society; postings copyright by
authors." <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] Castilleja Seed Germination
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:22:25 -0700
>I sent seed of Castilleja miniata, C. rhexifolia and C. sulphurea to a fellow
>grower at a botanical garden in Austria. He has tried every combination of
>techniques (light, dark, stratification, sowing with a "host", etc.) and has
>only gotten 3 C. miniata seedlings. They don’t need any of that.
>Castilleja seed has a cork-like covering that is pretty much impervious to
>water. This can be rubbed off by putting the seed in the palm of one hand and
>rubbing it gently (gently) with a finger of the other hand. The seed is then
>vernalized by sowing outdoors (like, now) and the seeds come up like radishes
>in spring.A host plant is not necessary for survival in the garden, but it
>helps. (See James Borland, Castillejas: Indian paintbrushes, in Growing from
>Seed, Autumn 1989, pp.11-13.) Bob
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