Glaucidium palmatum – experimenting on germination

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Opinions seem to differ about the germination of Japanese woodland poppy; of course the time of seed maturation and provenience/origin, age of the seeds, can all lead to different results.
A little while ago, someone asked a question about this and then a discussion started on the Scottish Rock Garden Forum. This being a highly desired and expensive plant, I decided to repeat sowing seeds using GA3/1000 ppm, just like I did a few years ago in order to have a final idea about what’s happening.

Glaucidium palmatum and G. palmatum ‘Album’ (syn. var. leucanthum)
15 seeds of each/2017 season, collected in SW Ontario.
Treatment with GA3 1000 ppm/sowing next day March 23th.
Pictures taken April 18, 19th
*I only had a few seeds from 2016, and not the very best, so I could not look at the potential effect of their age. Last time I had also sown older seeds and they did fine overall but I cannot provide the % of germination.

The following pictures are of Glaucidium palmatum. Glaucidium palmatum ‘Album’ is starting a bit late, only 3 seedlings can be seen at this time. I did enough damage for now, patience…
I had to take pictures fast but they are good enough for our purpose of counting the germinated seeds:

I removed some of the potting mix and we can count 10 seedlings

plus 3 good that fell off here (I broke one root, sorry), plus some leftover seed teguments – probably 2 seeds were empty

All in all – 13 seedlings from 15 sown (2 unaccounted for).

I went further with the experiment (the pot was too small anyway) and took out all the seedlings, recounted and replanted them, 3/pot. It is the first time I transplant such young Glaucidium seedlings and it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Some of the seedlings may produce a first true leaf (I will update this post later) but most will remain at the cotyledon leaves stage.
Don’t worry when at some point the cotyledons start withering, keep the pots in a part-shaded location and water once in a while. Next spring they will emerge with the true leaf!
For better understanding, here are few older images, with seeds sown/GA3 treated, a few years ago.

Glaucidium palmatum seedlings going dormant for the remaining of the season

Glaucidium palmatum – the same seedlings, emerged early next spring, and I grew them under lights for a while

Following other people’s experience, a good alternative to using GA3 is:
– sow in late fall/winter and provide cold outdoors; some seedlings will emerge in the spring, some in the second  year after sowing.

*Others report warm germination with freshly collected seeds sown in early summer. In my opinion this is not time feasible in the Northern Hemisphere because the seeds mature late; by the time you buy the seeds or receive them from seed exchanges, it will be late fall/winter or even early spring. Those who can procure seeds early in the season can give it a try.

 

Hepatica: pollination, seeds & germination

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One more section added to the Hepatica page; click on the picture or visit the main page.

One more to go…Let’s hope the ice storm goes easy on us and we can relax with the pictures gallery on the weekend.

Update on Jeffersonia diphylla germination

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Short update on Jeffersonia diphylla germination.
I kept a small batch of seeds in the fridge to see if they will start to germinate at cold; some species do it,  others not.

Those who bought seeds should see the first seedlings appearing somewhere in May :)

 Jeffersonia diphylla – germination start in early April at cold; seeds kept moist at all times, warm, then cold (fridge)

 

Warm Peonies

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Instead of getting warmer the weather seems to go backwards. Good news is that in the cold frames things are definitely moving in the right direction.

I noticed the first little red shoots of Paeonia japonica on April 1st. The seeds were sown last late summer: hypogeal germinators, forming roots during the warm period and the first shoots after the winter cold period (cold/moist stratification).

Paeonia japonica one year old seedlings with the first shoots peeking from the pot gravel, April 2018

This is the reason I recently recommended that seeds of Paeonia species (except Paeonia tenuifolia) to be bought and sown as warm germinators. The sowing can be done throughout summer (up to August in a cold climate).
If sown in late fall or winter nothing bad happens, just that it makes no sense to occupy the space with the pots since the seeds need a warm cycle first, plus in case of a wet winter the seeds may rot.

The summer-fall sowing is very straightforward, just use taller than usual pots, if possible: sow, water very well and protect the pots from the critters. Keep well watered and when the winter arrives, place the pots in a frost free location: cold frames, or ‘plant’ them in the ground.

Keep in mind that even if you don’t see anything there are (should be) roots inside the pots!
In this idea, keep an eye on the pots, not to receive excessive rainfall, especially when it gets very cold; this easily leads to roots rot.

Another sowing method is to provide the warm cycle required by keeping the seeds in moist vermiculite in a Ziploc bag (indoors at room temperature) until they form the roots and then place pot them up and place the pots in the fridge for 2-3 months for the cold period. This method requires more supervision; I did it once and now I think it is best to go with the natural cycles of warm and cold.

But if you purchase the seeds too late in the season or don’t have a cold frame, it is a doable method.

I am also thinking about a third method for those on cold climates who want/need to sow in October-November and don’t like to play with Ziploc bags: sow in pots as usual and keep them in the house until Dec./Jan. for the warm cycle (this would give the 2-3 months required), check gently to see if the roots have grown, then gradually place the pots outdoors under the snow (or in the fridge). Gradually means, first keep them for a while in a cold location (garage…); also keep in mind that we don’t usually have reliable snow cover.

I showed it with another occasion, and it is nothing new about it, but here’s what these peonies seeds are doing during the warm cycle,  no matter if sown in pots or kept in the Ziploc bags. We need to be aware at all times of the roots growing in pots that otherwise don’t show anything visible on top. If you let them dry out excessively or to freeze, of course no shoots will show up in the spring!

Paeonia rockii hybrid, emerging roots after a warm period provided in moist vermiculite; the roots will grow further, so best to use taller pots for sowing

As said in this older post The sleeping beauties, it is worth growing species peonies from seeds: they are beautiful, hard to find and when it happens to be available they are on the expensive side. Not all the seedlings may come true to species because of cross-pollination, but even the hybrids obtained from the species are special.

Little monsters – Podophyllums yet again

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How can one offer unusual seeds/species on a constant base?
Well, by first growing and establishing mother plants from which to collect the seeds, of course.

So, three years ago I engaged in growing from seeds various Chinese Podophyllums (which actually I promised to call Dysosma).
The protocol I use works wonders (see the related posts below) and in short time I ended up with more plants than I could ever plant in my garden. They surely grow like little monsters! After deep meditation, I decided to act like a responsible adult and part ways with a few of them.

Podophyllum versipelle x pleianthum, bare rooted plants, safe to be shipped at this stage

Then, I felt free to proceed sowing the next generation :)) It is a first for Podophyllum mairei!

Podophyllum mairei germinated seeds

Here’s to the next little monsters!

Podophyllum mairei – new sowings

Many warm germinators species have been recently sown as well; we’ll talk about them later…last touches are being made for re-opening the Seeds shop and accepting Pre-orders for the new season!

 

The pain and joy of dealing with moist stored seeds

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When I embarked on my seeds adventures few years ago, I’ve decided that there will be no DOD’s offered by BotanyCa (DOD = dead on delivery).
Sometimes seeds won’t germinate from unforeseen reasons, abnormalities and so on… Offering seeds that you know from the beginning won’t germinate or will germinate in very low percentage is a completely different story.

So, I accept the losses and the fact that there will always be leftover seeds germinated in the Ziploc bags by early spring.
When it comes to seeds, just like in nature, everything is accomplished with a great waste of energy. Yet, I am always sad when the time comes to end their ephemeral life.

Stylophorum lasiocarpum germinated seeds

Saruma henryi: germinated seeds which cannot be safely shipped anymore

 On the other hand, I imagine the joy of all those who bought moist packed seeds when they start to germinate!

Other species which ALWAYS start to germinate by late February when kept moist are: Asarum ssp,, Claytonia, most Corydalis,  Aconitum, Hepatica, Podophyllum spp., sometimes Maianthemum stellatum and M. canadense.
*If kept dry some of these species may germinate in the second year, in low percentage.
I hope there is be a better understanding now why seeds of these species need to be ordered in early winter!

 

Great expectations

The first Helleborus plants grown from seeds are set to flower this spring; knowing the ‘parents’ I cannot help having great expectations.

Helleborus x hybridus, grown from seeds of double red parents

I started to grow Helleborus from seeds just by accident really – read about the beginning in Helleborus journeying. Considering their high price on the market, it is something worth to grow yourself, especially when more than one plant is desired. And who can stop at one Helleborus?

Helleborus purpurascens grown from wild collected seeds (photo last fall) – it doesn’t seem it will flower this year but starting to look very much like its parents (see photos in the wild in Helleborus journeying)

Just like with the Epimediums, when growing Helleborus from seeds of open pollinated plants you should expect endless flower variations and many nice surprises along the way.
Not so nice surprises are also possible of course – that’s when the compost pile comes in handy ;)

There are more young plants in the pipeline: seedlings of anemone center parents (my favourites) including from H. Cherry Blossoms, various picotee forms, H. argutifolius, and the youngest of all – H. caucasicus (emerging seedlings in the featured image).

Helleborus argutifolius seedlings

Helleborus x hybridus seedlings

A most satisfying journey, indeed.

Growing Syneilesis aconitifolia from seeds

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Growing Syneilesis from seeds is a straightforward process if the fruits are OK.
The problem of empty fruits it is most likely due to repeated clonal propagation. Syneilesis it is mostly propagated by division which is a much faster method of propagation; however, we end up with large populations having the same genotype.
Syneilesis has bisexual tubular florets (featured image), fertile (according with Flora of China) but like most Compositae it needs cross pollination in order to set seeds. So, in order to obtain a good seed set it is necessary to have in the garden a few plants that were grown from seeds.

For now we will have to contend with the few seeds packets I manage to select from the fruits kindly provided by my friends.
It is really not worth the time selecting those few packets, but I like to do it when I can because not all people have access to buy plants. Their only chance of having this species (and others) in their garden is to grow it from seeds.

Syneilesis is a warm germinator (room temperature) and it can be started indoors under lights or outdoors as soon as the frost danger is gone; the ‘seeds’ germinate in about 10-15 days.

Syneilesis aconitifolia seedlings; they have only one cotyledon and may remain at this stage during their first season.

 

They seem like not growing much in this phase but in fact they grow up good size roots – for this reason it is best not to use very small/short pots for sowing.

After transplanting the seedlings usually go dormant for a while and sometimes put up a true leaf in late summer/fall. Some remain dormant and will grow the true leaves only in the next season.
It is possible that some seedlings will form true leaves right away just like Podophyllums do. This behaviour can be seen in other rhizome forming species as well.
The temperatures and water regime may also have a role in the growth pattern.

Syneilesis aconitifolia seedling showing the first true leaf

I will end with a few pictures from one of the donors’ wonderful garden. The pictures were also kindly donated, so please respect the copyright.

Syneilesis is by definition a foliage plant and you can observe how well it looks in this rich, textural composition with other shade/part shade species.

Syneilesis aconitifolia – late spring; when emerging the leaves are hairy

Syneilesis aconitifolia – summer

Syneilesis aconitifolia – late fall

Compositae (Asteraceae): seeds, achenes and cypselae

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Call them as you wish

Initially I wrote a short post for Growing Syneilesis from seeds for the germination page, and then I thought, wait a minute, it is not the only Compositae with fruits/seeds related problems.
So, I wrote a longer post on the subject and then thought, who’s going to read all this? Finally, I wrote another shorter post, and there will be more flower pictures later.

I think everyone knows that in Compositae (Asteraceae) what seems to be a single flower is actually a cluster – a composite of smaller flowers (florets), usually called a head which contains disk and/or ray flowers; both types can be bisexual or unisexual.
And, many species require cross-pollination in order to set seeds; the pollen has a special presentation mechanism which prevents self-pollination.

Probably many are also aware that what we call ‘seeds’ in Asteraceae are actually fruits. In simple botanical terms they are single-seeded nuts. Scientifically, they have been called achenes by some and cypselae by others (see note).

So, we don’t see, collect and sow the actual seeds, but the whole fruits.
It is often a deceptive situation because copious amount of fruits are formed but most of them are seedless (cypsela is a very good name to illustrate that) – like it often happens in the case of Syneilesis aconitifolia. Another example, from my garden this time, is Achillea ageratifolia ssp. serbica.

Syneilesis aconitifolia – lots of empty fruits

Achillea ageratifolia ssp. serbica, flowering very well last summer, alas just lots of empty cypsalae were formed

Conclusion:

If we call them fruits or seeds is not that important; I myself call them ‘seeds’. The important thing is to understand the distinction and be able to assess the situation when it comes to sowing, namely if you are really sowing ‘seeds’ or just ‘fluff’ (e.g., empty fruits).

This is why it is always a good idea to carefully check the fruits for many species of this family; take a note on Aster spp. and Solidago, Anaphalis, but not only.
Often is easy to select the good ones (which are plump) when observed with the naked eye; sometimes with the use of a magnifier – and a lot of time…The smaller they are, the harder is to distinguish the good ones.
For large quantities of fruits the cut method can be used by selecting samples.

Anthemis carpatica ssp. pyrethriformis – selected good and empty cypselae using a magnifiyng glass

Sowing seedless fruits, no matter what we call them, and no matter the plant family, will never result in germination.
Read about Linnaea borealis and Acer triflorum.

Note: “Fruits of composites have been called “achenes” because they resemble true achenes. Achenes are dry, hard, single-seeded fruits derived from unicarpellate, superior ovaries. Ovaries of composites are bicarpellate and inferior. Fruits derived from ovaries of composites are called cypselae “ – Flora of North America

cypsela – from the Greek kypselé, a box, hollow vessel

 

 

 

Seedless Friday – Compositae

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Well, not quite seedless – here’s one image. I didn’t have time to finish what I wanted to do for the Compositae family and, taking into consideration the weather here, maybe it is for the best. We can really use some colours at this time!

Centaurea salonitana seeds

So, just a gallery with mostly Centaurea and few others thistle-like species :)
The names are displayed on mouse hover, or click and browse through the gallery

Centaurea jankae

Centaurea salonitana

Centaurea triumfettii ssp. stricta

Centaurea pseudophrygia

Centaurea kotschyana

Centaurea drabifolia

Centaurea kotschyana yellow form

Jurinea mollis

Echinops crispus

Cirsium purpuratum

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus

Swallowtail on wild Cirsium

 

 

 

Friday’s Seeds – Boraginaceae

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I only have a small collection of genera/species from the  Boraginaceae family. I must work better at this family, that’s for sure.
Here they are for now: Onosma, Omphalodes, Pulmonaria and something a bit more rare, Craniospermum.
And because species placed formerly in Hydrophyllaceae are now included in Boraginaceae, there is also Hydrophyllum.

For names, hover over images or click to open the gallery

Brachybotrys paridiformis Maxim. ex Oliv.

Craniospermum subvillosum lehm.

Hydrophyllum canadense L.

Omphalodes lojkae Sommier & Levier

Onosma caucasica ssp. oligotricha T.N. Popova

Pulmonaria mollis Wulfen ex Hornem.

Only one species/genus is shown, a couple more species are displayed in the new Boraginaceae page.

 

Growing Podophyllum from seeds, including Dysosma and Sinopodophyllum

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While in the Berberidaceae realm, here’s a post where I outlined as best as possible, the process of growing Podophyllums from seeds from A to Z.

The Chinese Podophyllums (syn. Dysosma), share similar seeds and germination requirements as our native Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple). In all cases, the seeds are enclosed inside fleshy fruits. After the fruits are collected, it is important to extract and clean the seeds right away. This can be a bit unpleasant because the inside containing the seeds is gelatinous (use a sieve and lightly rub the seeds out and rinse, rinse and rinse again).

The sowing must be done right away (Sept./October) or the seeds must be placed in moist vermiculite in Ziploc bags until sowing. The seeds are easy to keep in moist vermiculite as long as were well cleaned; you only have to check the moisture level once in a while (one exception noted for Dysosma aurantiocaule, when the seeds got soft fast (but I had a small lot of seeds and cannot really generalize).

I must emphasize that these seeds are hydrophilic, and using dry seeds to sow, in my opinion, is a complete waste of time.

Dysosma seeds in moist storage

The required cycles for germination are: Light WARM (late fall temperatures)/COLD (winter)

  1. Sowing outside: the time would be early to late fall. Sow as usual in pots/large containers, water and keep them over the winter in a cold frame. Easy done, no worries!

Podophyllum peltatum, Mayapple, seedlings germinated outdoors showing the cotyledon leaves; they will remain at this stage in the first year and do not need pricking out. Later in the season, they become dormant (do not throw away the pots!)

  1. Sowing indoors: usually done in the winter/early spring with seeds that have been kept moist and allowed a light warm/cold period. The cold period can be provided in a cold garage/fridge. It is not advisable to use this method unless enough light can be provided for the growing seedlings (light stand, conservatory).

If someone wants to speed up the process, the Ziploc bags with seeds can be taken out of the fridge around late January/February and kept at room temperature; gradually the seeds will start to germinate and can be potted up one by one and placed under the lights.

Dysosma hybrids (pleiantha x versipellis, syn. Podophyllum pleianthum x versipelle) seedlings

Or, leave the Ziploc in the fridge until all seeds start to germinate towards spring (approx. March/April), pot them up and provide adequate conditions until they can go outside.

Dysosma hybrid, seeds germinated in the fridge, April 21

In most cases, only cotyledon leaves will be formed, in other cases the true leaves will appear as well. Usually, Podophyllum peltatum will form only cotyledon leaves in the first season, grow for a while and then go dormant; the Chinese ones are variable, most will form a true leaf. When growing from seeds there is always great variability.
Keep the seedlings in a part shaded place, water and feed lightly. At some point in the summer they may go dormant, especially in very hot weather.

All the seedlings which didn’t form a true leaf in the first year, will do it in the second year. Be patient, like with all other species that form a rhizome. In general, 3-4 years are necessary to obtain a good young plant; they will grow really fast after the root system has bulked up.

Podophyllum hexandrum (syn. Synopodophyllum hexandrum)

The difference in this case is that the seeds are not hydrophilic, so they can be kept dry in the fridge for quite a few years. Of course, when sown fresh (fall), they will germinate in the spring.

For dry seeds, a GA3 treatment followed by sowing at room temperature usually will result in rapid germination, and sometimes most seedlings will present the true leaf (but not always).

Podophyllum hexandrum seedling with true leaf

Important for all species: in the first 1-2 years lots of energy is put into forming the radicular system; this translates in the fact that the seedlings need enough space to develop. So, either sow fewer seeds per pot or transplant them in individual pots as soon as possible (in dormant stage!).
I think my pictures show very well what I mean; learn from my mistakes ;) If you sowed too dense don’t panic; when the seedlings are dormant (in very early spring), shake the soil, untangle the roots gently and pot them in a fresh mix in larger size pots.

Podophyllum hexandrum crowded seedlings after one season growth  in the same pot

Podophyllum hexandrum one-year seedlings prepared for repotting, notice the variation in size

Again, there is always variation when growing from seeds; we cannot expect all the seeds, even from the same batch, to grow the same: the collection site, mother-plant, ambient factors, all have an influence in germination & growth of the seedlings. This picture with one year old Dysosma plants shows it very well:

Dysosma hybrid one year old plants, prepared to be repotted in early spring

I hope this will be helpful for all wanting to grow any Podophyllum/Dysosma species from seeds – Happy Podos growing!