Jane Hendrix wrote:
> John, Could you describe the details in your successful Castilleja seed
> germination? I collected an unknown-to-me species of Castilleja in
> southeastern Idaho in 2009. I rubbed the coating off the seed, sowed it on
> the surface of a peat-lite seed-starting mix, put the pot in a plastic bag,
> dug into my 3-foot snowpack, placed the pot on the surface of the ground
> (which was not frozen under all that snow) and put the 3 feet of snow back in
> place. After 7 weeks, I brought the pot indoors, placed it under a
> fluorescent light in a room that's between 55F and 60F. for 16 hours on and 8
> hours off. I laid a piece of clear plastic film over the top to prevent
> excess evaporation of moisture. Germination began 12 days later. I don't know
> how many seeds I scattered on the surface of that pot but I got 16 healthy
> seedlings that I transplanted to the open garden about 6 weeks later. All
> were still alive and growing (albeit slowly) when the season shut down at the
> end of October. I f your method differed from mine, I will send your
> procedure to my Austrian friend.<
Dear Jane,
All my seed except that of ericaceous or woodland species is sown (generally in
December/January) in a mixture of 50% John Innes No. 2 (universal soil based
compost of approx. 7 soil/3 moss peat/3 sharp sand, with added complete
fertiliser and ground limestone) and 50% 2-5mm silica grit. In the case of
Catillejas the seed is sown on the surface of the compost under a thin covering
(5 mm) of pure grit. The pots are then stood in a shallow pan of water until
the surface of the grit becomes moist. They are then placed outside without any
protection in light shade until germination when they are moved into the
protection of a cold frame. If necessary the seedlings are thinned with
tweezers to avoid too much competition before being pricked out individually in
the same compost when they have two well developed true leaves (not
cotyledons). After watering as described above they are returned to the cold
frame and grown on until repotted or planted out.
I hope this helps, best regards
John
John and Pam Good
Bod Hyfryd
Graiglwyd Road
Penmaenmawr
Conwy LL34 6ER
01492 622051
Tel. +44(0)1492 622051
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