I grow a fair number of Astragalus species, I have not really noticed any sort of allelopathic suppression of other seedlings. I don't try to grow them in pots however. I just toss the seeds in the place in the garden I want them to grow(hopefully). It is more often than not that I end up thinning the seedlings as they come up. I have noticed that germination is quite variable with some coming on immediately while others wait a year or two. Jim Hatchett Eagle, Idaho Zone 5 or so
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of penstemon Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 7:40 AM To: Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden Society; postings copyright by authors. Subject: Re: [Alpine-l] not necessarily the last word on astragalus, but .... In the wild they would be scattered more, not all next to each other as they are in a pot. > If you knew everyone in your family was out to poison you, you'd try to get as far away as you could, I suppose. Many astragalus seeds are relatively heavy and it stands to reason that the "most viable" seeds in the pod are the heaviest, fall first, and pretty much stay where they land. The rest would be doomed, of course, unless the plants only grew in places with 90 degree slopes in all directions. The inflatable "balloons" that some species make, to contain their seeds, suggests either water-borne or air-borne travel of some sort. But not likely. I've always sown all the seeds in one pot. The seedlings germinate, I transplant them, and they die later, but that's another story. Bob Nold, Denver, Colorado, USA _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
